Mild, smooth and watered down, soapy 3.8% ABV bottled porter (from ancient recipe) lacks distinction as nutty dark-roasted black chocolate malting and charred hop bittering prove insufficient. Sedate coffee, pumpernickel, burnt caramel, raw molasses and black tea illusions receive earthen mineral-grained musk. Disappointing.
Uncommon ‘foreign stout’ utilizes Omega, saison and witbier yeast for sour-fruited base bottoming spicy dark chocolate fudging, kilned black patent malt bittering and lactic Blackstrap molasses acridity. Tertiary vanilla, anise and cola nut illusions stay back alongside prune-stewed black cherry sedation.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, rich Belgian-styled strong ale aged in bourbon barrels brings sweet brown chocolate spicing to the fore above oats-sugared molasses sentiment and dark-fruited rum spicing. Casual bourbon nip picks up sherry, burgundy and whiskey reminders while ancillary vanilla, coconut and coffee undertones deepen mighty mocha richness.
Flirtatious English-styled barleywine needs better overall distinction compared to more affluent competition. Exquisite bourbon licks fade abruptly above toasted white oak influence, tangy fruit sweetness and subtle caramel malting. Cookie dough yeast sugaring appends cherry-candied orange bruise onrush and red-wined Lambrusco champagne sparkle. Honeyed peach, sugared fig and apricot nuances find tertiary space.
On tap at Coalhouse Pizza, soft-toned barleywine allows sweet bourbon influence to elegantly affect rum-spiced banana, fig and raisin illusions as well as syrupy peach, cherry and blood orange snips. Underneath honey-fruited surface, ascending hop astringency picks up lingered alcohol burn to contrast sweeter aspects.
Blissful lemondrop-hopped wheat ale with zesty lemon tang and ‘clean grain bill’ retains crisp mouthfeel. Orange blossom perfuming regales lemon meringue, blood orange, orange marmalade, clementine and mandarin orange placidity. Tidy floral bouquet sweetens halcyon lemon-juiced bounty.
On tap at Coalhouse Pizza, tropical-fruited Imperial IPA brings tangy mango, tangerine, papaya, cantaloupe and nectarine juiciness to the party. Sharp piney hop bittering reinforces sugar-spiced tropicalia as well as mild grapefruit-peeled orange rind subsidy, light floral accents and dank earth tones.
Tangy yellow grapefruit tagline brings juicy citric briskness to the fore of sessionable moderation. Grapefruit pith, rind and peel lightly embitter lilting mango, pineapple and orange nuances above mineral-watered cleanness, polite sugar spicing, musky herbal hops and French-breaded spine. A simple pleasure.
Emphatic lambic-styled sour ale given spontaneous yeast fermentation in oak barrel. Bubbly champagne sparkle, black-peppered red wine vinegaring and oaken cherry acridity pick up musky barnyard leathering. Ancillary cider, crab apple, green grape, plum, apricot and pear illusions sweeten over time.
Fine Galaxy-hopped version of brettanomyces-soured India Pale Ale offers lemony pineapple-grapefruit-orange tang and juicy mango-peach-passionfruit sweetness to sharp juniper-hopped bittering. Though bacterial brettanomyces influence remains uninvolving or merely secondary, pronounced fruitiness will appease sweeter thirsts dissuaded by acrid sour ales.
Captivating IPA-derived medium body with rocky-headed nickel hue brings dry piney fruiting to the fore. Bitter Citra-Amarillo hops combine sharp wood-toned acridity with bright grapefruit-peeled orange rind resilience and ancillary pineapple-mango-peach-nectarine tropicalia. At crisply brisk finish, feisty juniper bittering ascends above zesty fruited plain.
Obliging tangerine-juiced moderation, reminiscent of a tart lollipop, retains tangy citrus tenacity. Sweet tangerine adjunct allows withered orange peel, mandarin orange, clementine and grapefruit fruiting to blossom above grassy hop astringency, resinous pine reminder, herbal lemongrass snip and light medicinal acridity.
