On tap at Track 84, muddled cola-hazed medium body never fully integrates. Murky maple sugaring depleted by raw molasses acridity and day-old coffee nuttiness. Brown-sugared black patent malting and chalky black chocolate snip lose luster.
All posts by John Fortunato
NEBRASKA HOP GOD BELGIAN STYLE IPA AGED IN CHARDONNAY BARRELS
Highly expressive triple-hopped Belgian IPA aged in Chardonnay barrels improves upon winning original recipe by increasing fruitful bliss with boozy white-wined banter. Floral-tinged lemon peel, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, nectar and cherry illusions receive gin-soaked Chardonnay buttering and sweet banana dacquiri swirl above earthy white-peppered basil-thyme herbage. Dry oak tannins soften citric-spiced hop bittering. Syrupy honey-combed caramel sugaring completes the score.
GREAT DIVIDE 19TH ANNIVERSARY STRONG ALE
On tap at Three Wise Monks, boozy celebrator brings caramelized birch syrup to brandy-fueled fruiting. Orange-bruised apple buttering and tangy pineapple-peach-tangerine-melon juicing meld to vanilla-creamed coconut milking. Grand Marnier, brandy and tequila snips crowd the vodka fruited finish.
OSKAR BLUES/ SUN KING THE DEUCE BROWN ALE
On tap at Three Wise Monks, busy hybridized ‘hopped up’ brown ale collaboration pleats mocha porter sweetness to IPA-fruited dark saison souring. Chocolate-covered cherry tartness straddles soured red grape esters and ripe nectar juicing. Ashen hop bittering and chalky cocoa acridity contrast its chewy caramel core.
BLUE MOON ROUNDER BELGIAN-STYLE PALE ALE
Vapid summertime moderation with negligible orange-peeled hibiscus influence and musty phenol spicing fails to make proper impact. Bland cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg illusions drape weak caramel malting. Pallid Belgian yeast strain is insufficient and ill-defined, lacking peppery citric resolve.
MAGIC HAT ELDER BETTY ELDERBERRY WEISS
Thin chartreuse-hazed German weiss/ American fruit ale hybrid offers dainty elderberry influence to washed-out banana-clove sweetness and coarse hop spicing. Light floral-tinged blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry illusions hit the nose but recede flavor-wise.
FULL SAIL SANCTUARY DUBBEL
Treasonous Belgian dubbel re-creation snubs stylistic barriers for a novel deconstruction relying more on nutty brown-sugared dried fruiting than peppery candi-sugared yeast spicing. Peanut-shelled cola-pecan-praline illusions, maple-sapped fig-date-prune-cherry nuances and molasses-draped sarsaparilla snips crowd the caramel-burnt toffee malting. Coarse ashen hop astringency counters the lovely soft-watered effervescence.
ASS KISSER VANILLA PALE ALE
Soft vanilla creaming depreciates by astringent phenol-hopped midst. Caramel-toasted almond, coconut and marshmallow illusions run out of steam while vacuous chocolate roast never materializes. Oily diacetyl buttering ruins the lame vanilla-sweet finish.
ASS KISSER CHOCOLATE BOX DARK OATMEAL STOUT
Desultory oatmeal-flaked dark ale fails to properly integrate. Dessicated grain-roasted dark chocolate malting picks up blunt lactose souring as raw cocoa nibs chalking, dry Baker’s chocolate astringency and musty vanilla bean snip get foiled by acrid hop char.
EPIC/ DC BRAU FERMENTATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION IMPERIAL PUMPKIN PORTER
Extremely complex, richly creamed autumnal dessert collaboration perfectly blends dark-roasted caramel nougat sweetness with Madagascar vanilla bean luster and molasses-sapped pumpkin spicing. Dried-fruited black cherry puree, raspberry, blackberry and raisin illusions push up against gingerbread-sugared nutmeg-allspice-clove seasoning as well as vegetal butternut-squash-yam nuances. Weedy earthen dewiness and ashen hop char deepen cocoa-dried black chocolate malting. Even a hint of marshmallow seeps into the busily eccentric mix.
EPIC 825 STATE STOUT
Unsustainable coffee roast entry, wispy dark-roasted chocolate nuttiness and fudgy cocoa snip washed-out by phenol carbolic fizz. Mildly creamed mocha froth gets soapy above wary oats-sugared spine. Inconsequential obsidian-hued brown-watered oatmeal stout.
BACK EAST IMPERIAL STOUT
Affluent cocoa-seeded dark chocolate roast and reedy hop char ascend above ashen pine-tarred tobacco chaw bittering. Oncoming espresso coffee contingent deepens creamy smoked mocha finish. Butter pecan, burnt caramel and toffee sweetness inundate the back-end. Casual dried fruiting (red plum/black cherry), delicate bourbon whir and wispy anise snip find tertiary space.
