Soured yeast flow and doughy baked bread backup lack hop muster as pallid fizz mires flimsy wheat base to phenol finish.
All posts by John Fortunato
CHRISTIAN MOERLEIN SELECT LAGER
Simply combines toasted oats, roasted barley, and sweet wheat in subtly hopped mild manner consistent with brewers’ finer Honey Almond Lager. Unassumingly rewarding.
CHRISTIAN MOERLEIN KOLSCH ALE
Mild German-styled golden ale layers toasted barley above quaint lemony vanilla tartness and simple crystal malt pleasantries. Buttery texture complements casual one-dimensional roastedness and soft carbonation rather well.
CHRISTIAN MOERLEIN HONEY ALMOND LAGER
Ripe cherry essence pleasingly overwhelms expected clover-honeyed almond grandeur and sizeable almond danish appeal. Coffee cake backdrop given semi-creamy stint lost by lean grain finish. One of the best cherry-related brews available now despite misleading namesake.
CHRISTIAN MOERLEIN BOCK
Bavarian bock more influenced by toasted barley, roasted chestnut, and sweet husked corn than expected full-on creamy malt thickness. Dry mocha and sweet chocolate coat underside, dissipating abruptly by mildly bitter hop finish. As usual, American bock version has less complexity than most Germans.
CHRISTIAN MERZ SPEZIAL RAUCHBIER
Less assertive than Aecht’s similarly styled German smoked lagers, formidable dry-bodied rauchbier retains sooty wood-kindled peculiarity Rogue Smoke A Rauch fans will enjoy. Hop-charred beechwood and burnt cedar gist receive peat-y rye malting, leveling off honey glazed ham, cured meat, and leathery beef jerky nuances.
CHOUFFE N’ICE (CHRISTMAS ALE)
Commendable limited edition green-bottled ’07 X-Mas treat boasts ‘curacao orange peel and thyme’ influence, but benefits better from chewy caramel creaminess, bittersweet raisin-prune ripeness, and red-wined grape tannins. Molasses-like brown-sugared vanilla sweetness drapes bounteous dried fruit finish.
CHOUFFE N’ICE
Elegantly candied ruddy-hued tawny-headed barleywine-styled digestif effectively maintains creamy froth, citric warmth, and carbolic fluff. Happily, heavy fizz doesn’t subdue nutmeg holiday flavoring, subtle malt-hop complexity, bruised orange tang, dried grape zip, and juniper pep. Thymu spicing accents caramelized medicinal finish. Enjoy the buzz…we did.
CHOUFFE MICROBREWED BELGIAN SEASONED ALE
Advertised as summertime seasonal, but much closer to winter ale styling with its black-peppered clove-nutmeg-cardamom spicing, tangy citric tropicalia, fresh mint stimulation, and yeast sinew. Softly nutty malted rye get-up receives top billing for highly carbolic, uniquely complex, cola-like Belgian strong pale ale. Peculiarities may offend soft-toned amateurs.
CHOUFFE MC CHOUFFE ARTISANAL BELGIAN BROWN ALE
Firm tan-headed prune-hued lollipop-scented artisan prods sinewy yeast with earthen peated grains and dried fruit resin, retaining clustered Brussels lace. Rich red-wined burgundy illusions inform citric-spiced raisin puree richness. Subtle barleywine-like double fermentation soothes cherry coughdrop finish of outstanding Scottish themed Belgian farm ale.
CHOUFFE HOUBLON DOBBELEN I.P.A. TRIPEL
Dry-bodied meringue-headed golden-hazed India Pale Ale/ triple bock hybrid retains yellow-fruited nature and earthen lemongrass supplement. Subtle floral fragrance picks up musty cork drift, enhancing orange-peeled green apple and grapefruit sourness brushing against candi-sugared passion fruit sweetness. A hint of juniper reinforces Tomahawk-Amarillo-Saaz hop bittering, herbal nuance, and sassy 9% alcohol influx.
CHOUFFE BOK
Prune hue and texture saturate burgundy richness, candied malt ballast, and sinewy yeast viscosity of excellent multi-dimensional brew. For bock style, lacking intensely alcoholic assertion, but silken buttery flow and medicinal finish will tempt pilsener-lager fans.