Clear-toned copper ale maintains candied malt foundation and chewy caramelized apple thrust as herbal hop serenade aids toasted barley subsidy, wheat biscuit torrent, and syrupy maple hint. Further tasting revealed ripe berry adjuncts. Unlike most indefinite copper ales, well-defined and well-rounded.
All posts by John Fortunato
LAGUNITAS CAPPUCCINO STOUT
Deliciously creamy prune-textured ruby-browned stout renders rich brown chocolate sweetness perfectly juxtaposing thickly sour cappuccino salience. Lactic sugaring deepens vanilla-toffee midst, hop-charred pliancy, and dark fruited remnant. Intensified roasted coffee bean finish pile-drives maple, butterscotch, and fig cog ’til protracted charcoal tarred aftertaste arrives.
LAGUNITAS BUG TOWN STOUT
Stellar cocoa-spiced stout gathers delectable dry mocha serenity and flowery hop seasoning for subdued cinnamon-toasted brown sugar opening. At midst, sweet caramel chocolate malts and toasted oat flakes resonate above pervasive bitter nuttiness. Though lacking rugged assertion of richer stouts, its not-so-subtle complexity compares favorably to excellent Rogue Chocolate Stout.
LAGUNITAS BROWN SHUGGA
Exemplary barleywine coalesces bittersweet spruce-hopped orange-tangerine tang with ripe melon, cherry, red grape, and fig-prune nuances, becoming medicinal as almond wine succulence secures alcohol-smitten oaken dryness. Chewy malt sugaring renders creamy maple, molasses, and cookie dough richness.
(EUMUNDI) LAGUNA BAY PALE ALE
Polite rust-hued Aussie pale ale combines mild roasted malt sweetness and demure dry hop bitterness with dark fruit pungency for refreshing summer sentiment. Water crispness and delicate carbonation imbibe light-grained lager-like finish.
LA CHOULETTE LES SANS CULOTTES
Effervescent French blonde brings buttery white wine entry to streamlined honey spicing, mild earthen graining, white peppered herbage and eclipsed floral bouquet. Although meshed well, indistinction yellow grape finish slacks off to relative blandness.
LA CHOULETTE FRAMBOISE
Fruitful copper-hazed pink-highlighted oak-seasoned farmhouse brew confronts cavernous sour raspberry frontage with dry-hopped cherry pungency, green apple gape, and tannic red grape tartness. At wheat-husked finish, tangy citric authority enhances dry white wine reminder.
LA CHOULETTE DE NOEL WINTER ALE
Ripened raisin prominence and pertinent stewed prune sequel saturate sugary candied malts for heady alcoholic holiday ‘biere de garde’ feast. Richer, creamier than ruby-amber hue suggests, settling into somber cognac appeal.
LA CHOULETTE BLONDE BIERE DE GARDE
Hazy white-headed artisanal blonde with up-front floral bouquet settling to grassy-hopped white grape midst before oak dryness permeates cork finish and mild medicinal aftertaste. Tangerine, peach, and pineapple spotted in deep recesses.
LA CHOULETTE AMBREE
Succulent artisian French ale reminiscent of apple wine or berry brandy. Butterscotch overtones invigorate vanilla, banana, and clove fluctuation while elegant hops tingle the tongue. Develops more character with each passing, finishing as a perfect aperitif.
LA BINCHOISE BIERE DES OURS HONEY ALE
Resinous amber-clouded alcohol-fueled ale maintains fine wine luster. Honeyed yeast heft receives vinous cider innuendo at resilient white grape-dabbed wheat wine finish.
LA BINCHOISE ARTISANAL BRUNE
Ambitious prune-browned middleweight gains dry raisin assertion and pliable orange-peeled tangerine tartness above soft earthen dewiness. Fizzy carbolic fluff undermines soothing barley-roasted nuttiness, losing some luster by fruit-dried malt-smoked finish.