Wintry-spiced brew with merry berry startup, soda pop fizz, Coca-Cola swallow, and unexpected clove seasoning needs more convincing finish since fruitiness dries up, sweetness subsides, and deflective acidic undercurrent baffles.
All posts by John Fortunato
CROOKED RIVER PUMPKIN HARVEST ALE
Aromatic pumpkin pie sweetness gathers bitter-hopped gourd essence punctuated by cinnamon-nutmeg spicing. Sharper and richer than most pumpkin ales, though sweeter honeyed spicing would be welcome.
CROOKED RIVER ORIGINAL E.S.B.
Lovely roasted barley essence backed by chewy caramel sweetness. Glistening yeast-soured citric tingle hidden beneath timid mocha malting.
CROOKED RIVER KOLSCH ALE
On initial passing, toasted hop fragrance and roasted barley dryness gather slightest mocha tinge reminiscent of River Horse Special Ale. Frugal berry sweetness, thin almond notes, and muted orange tang firmly secure compact light-bodied finish.
CROOKED RIVER IRISH RED ALE
Efficient wood-chipped barley roast takes hold as effective butterscotch-caramel malt sweetness soothes. Cloudy reddish yellow hue matches blossoming orange citrus backdrop and softest spiced hops. A bit tender for true Irish-styled brew so serve to serious Pale Ale fans instead.
CRISTAL PREMIUM LAGER
Soapy, cloying, watery South American with phenol lemon spritz, moderate corn-flaked cereal-grained base, and pungently soured vegetal reminder. Caramel, butterscotch, and almond undertones paint sharp corners, saving otherwise weak brew from abyss.
CRICKET HILL JERSEY SUMMER BREAKFAST ALE
Strangely herbaceous floral-spiced citric nature and raw oat dryness give bright saffron-hazed wheat ale similar resilience as earthen Belgian Farmhouse Ales. So does mildewed fungi retrenchment, tertiary lemongrass-peppercorn influence, mild grapefruit bittering, and wispy banana-clove snip. Biscuit-y bottom anchors finishing lemon, lime, and orange candy tartness.
CRICKET HILL HOPNOTIC INDIA PALE ALE
Perfumed orange rind waft overmatches musty orange-apricot musk, dank grapefruit-lemon sedation and astringent hop bitterness of indefinite yellow-glowed English-styled IPA. Floral accents emerge in cracked wheat setting as fresh-cut grass-hay-horsehide illusions and vacant vegetal nuances skitter by sour-fruited diacetyl finish.
CRICKET HILL EAST COAST LAGER
Unobtrusive light-bodied pale lager matches dank sour whiff to acrid orange peel bitterness, sunny lemon-lime twist, and fizz-hopped alacrity. Cloy corn cusp deceives husked wheat dryness and arbitrary roasted barley-toasted honey sweetness mid-palate. This was the approachable helles lager that started it all for Cricket Hill in 2002.
CRICKET HILL COLONEL BLIDES CASK ALE
Boozy sour-honeyed orange-dried lemon peel-embittered cask conditioned ale retains sweet malt counteraction to restrict heady juniper usurpation. On tap 2011, gentle hop-spiced peach-orange fruiting breeched minor ethanol burn and plasticine clay-hopped peppering.
CRICKET HILL AMERICAN ALE
Mellow flowing pale ale conveys buttery caramel-malted cracked wheat tranquility as floral hop spicing increases fruity sourness, finishing mildly bitter.
(CRESTON) OLDE 4-20 DEADHEAD DRAFT
One-pint champagne-bottled premium microbrew with cork set up honoring now-deceased bohemian Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia. Highly carbonated, citrus-scented, opaque gold, fluffy-headed draught maintains tart yellow fruiting, dewy watercrescent lightness, and pleated cider-like souring. Only produced for limited time (circa ’97), each bottle numbered and signed by brewer.