Pleasing lemony grapefruit easement lightly embitters grassy-hopped wheat husk, cardboard-y pale malt dryness, and mineral grained recess. But pasty texture and slight alcohol burn cloak apple skin snick and floral lick.
All posts by John Fortunato
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE BROWN BIRD BROWN ALE
Appealingly sweet ‘n sour medium-bodied brown ale hides chocolate-covered honey-malted almond paste sweetness beneath oily phenol-hopped walnut char, sour-creamed hazelnut uprising, and molasses-soaked burnt toasting. Swirled vanilla bean souring recedes to peat-y wood bottomed stridency.
CAPITAL WISCONSIN AMBER LAGER
Bubbly-headed amber gains moderate hop bitterness, sweet toasted barley undercurrent, sour Vienna malt obstruction, and caramel nuttiness to murky citrus finish. A tad creamier than fruit-dried pale ales yet limited in overall appeal.
CAPITAL WILD RICE
Unspecific German-styled summer ale relegates orange-fruited nature and dry nuttiness to delicate grain base as buttery diacetyl flail nearly detracts from poignant mango-strawberry midst.
CAPITAL OKTOBERFEST
Dry orange mouthfeel and soft focus hop presence form front end of faded white-headed penny-hued autumnal brew. Raisin bread midst fades quickly. A bit staid and predictable yet easygoing, tart, frothy.
CAPITAL BAVARIAN LAGER
Labeled as “German style,” but bubbly white-headed pale amber remains too inconsequential to make effective distinction. Musty toasted grains get sedately cardboard-like as soft hop fizz annuls Scotch malt souring.
(CAPE ANN) FISHERMAN’S PUMPKIN STOUT
Ripe pumpkin pie surge integrates lactic mocha-molasses expectancy and sharp-hopped cinnamon-nutmeg spicing, but earthen autumnal seasoning may preclude frothy brown chocolate sweetness and mild espresso bittering a tad. Cola, hazelnut and walnut dot fungi potassium soiling to peated vegetal bottom. ’12 version: earthier pumpkin-seeded astringency, weedier black tea bittering and sourer stove-burnt coffee trove enhance pungent Brit-styled gourd spicing and dry stout tendencies.
(CAPE ANN) FISHERMAN’S BREW
Robust rocky-headed tawny-hued amber lager with rigid barley-rye affluence, sweet toasted malt back, and serene hop spicing satiates zealous blue collar thirsts and curious ale heads alike. At crisp mocha-embellished finish, red and yellow fruits enjoin herbal-floral modesty, wispy honeyed nuttiness, and twiggy nuance.
(CAPE ANN) FISHERMAN’S ALE
Durable dry-bodied India Pale Ale conveys ripe red-fruited sharpness and ancillary floral nuance, finishing with well-carbonated bitter hop bite less aggressive guzzlers will appreciate alongside heartier thirsts.
CANTINA LAGER
Strong sour malt pungency wafts through light pale body as slightest barley roast lingers above cardboard-sidled sugar water fizz for pleasant seltzer substitute.
CANTILLON VIGNERONNE
Champagne-wafted lambic with Italian muscat grape skin esters and raspy vinous abundance providing puckered sour-fruited tartness to musty hay-like leathering. Oily viscosity and dotted yeast sediment storm bitter cask wood-dried unripe peach tone and hard cider squint for acidic pungency that’ll rip lining of weaker stomachs.
CANTILLON ROSE DE GAMBRINUS
Brewed with sour raspberries – though difficult to detect at mouth-puckering front end. Spontaneous fermentation provides strong alcohol luster, but watery texture becomes problematic. Tart berry fruitiness lost amongst indistinct adjuncts. Mild oaken musk, musty farmhouse funk and dry champagne fizz get acrid. Only seasoned drinkers with a taste for the unexpected will appreciate this improbable dry rosé.