Exquisite citrus sweetness, toasted barley persistence, and piney piquancy inform totally consistent ruby-hazed English bitter. Floral backdrop deepens spruced hop surge and candied malt purge. Upon ’08 re-tasting, astringent earthiness distracted lightened yellow-fruited meander and mustard seed twinge.
All posts by John Fortunato
TWO BROTHERS PRAIRIE PATH GOLDEN ALE
Smoky pale malting and dank hop bitterness provide rustic flow to slim fruited finish. Berry notes make a cameo, but flaccid golden ale is just too soft and under-whelming for serious consideration.
(TWO BROTHERS) INCINERATOR BLONDE DOPPELBOCK
Scintillating rust-hued moderate body closer to summery maibock offsets fruity peach-nectarine tang and corn syrupy caramel malting with veiled black peppercorn barb. Clove emerges beside almond-butterscotch tranquility augmenting whiskey-dabbed honeyed wheat backdrop.
(TWO BROTHERS) HOP JUICE DOUBLE INDIA PALE ALE
Fine limited edition IPA with hazy amber viscosity, thick yeast sediment, and sweet malt aromatics. Herbal-floral seasoning inundates dry-hopped orange rind bittering and pink grapefruit tang. Hints of pine comb fill out nectarous backdrop.
(TWO BROTHERS) EBEL’S WEISS
Modest straw-hued hefeweizen needs richer thrust. Floral-spiced Belgian yeast influence swerves into anticipated vanilla-sweetened banana-clove-bubblegum illusions, lacking full-on resolve. Dry lemon-soured white-peppered curacao orange bittering mildly infiltrates backend.
TWO BROTHERS DOMAINE DU PAGE FRENCH STYLE COUNTRY ALE
Rustic amber-coppered ‘biere de garde’ opens with gunky saison fruiting and dewy earthen fungi contrasting addictive caramel-toasted vanilla bean creaminess. Green apple tartness, red grape sweetness and navel orange tang counter dry grain bitterness. Flowery hop aromatics usurp warm maple tone, losing resilience and giving way to ashen acridity. Severe alcohol burn may turn off lighter thirsts. French-styled barleywine essence may be overstated.
TWO BROTHERS DOG DAYS DORTMUNDER STYLE LAGER
On tap, murky fruity malt aroma fits dark berry pleasantries and nut grain bitterness like a glove. Teasing hops tickle the tongue while impenetrable caramel malts provide much-needed assertion. A smidgen less imaginative and too watery and inconsequential than serious Dortmunder-styled lager competition. In bottle, dank-smelling German-styled light body brings unwanted metallic twinge to phenol citric-berry lark, benign sourdough breading, and washed-out nut grain bittering. Impenetrable caramel malting needs better assertion and leathery straw-hay earthiness gets acrid. Off-putting corn-oiled splotch blotches floral-spiced alacrity.
TWO BROTHERS CANE AND EBEL RED RYE ALE
Cane-sugared mango-pineapple-nectarine tropicalia and ripe apple-pear-tangerine tang put velvety melon-fruited rye wheat treat over the top. Alcohol-burned piney hop bittering underscores impending rye bread souring as well as less obvious vanilla bean fleece and cedar-maple tease.
TWO BROTHERS BROWN FOX SESSION ALE
Sour fruited, weak grained, uninteresting pale body with bland orange rind sputter.
(TWO BROTHERS) BONFIRE DUNKLE WEISS
Phenol murky brown dark wheat ale comes up short in limited ’08 release. For starters, dry-bodied banana souring needs to be pushed forward. Next, its lack of spicy clove-coriander sweetness, dearth of pineapple-orange fruiting, and off-putting smoked peat malting mire cocoa-tinged raisin-prune-fig tartness. Finally, moldy earthen usurpation ruins bland yellow-fruited finish. Busily muddled 2012 version chucked sweet and sour banana tartness in all directions, expanding stylish boundaries as unexpected beechwood smoking cluttered vinous red grape coarseness, musty grape-stemmed Muscat wining and yellow raisin snip.
TWO BROTHERS BEST BROWN ALE
Excellent coffee-wafted brown ale closer to mild dry porter with its bitter espresso, chocolate, and nut overtones. Creamy mocha malt assertiveness envelops highly effective coffee-stained finish. As strong as most moderate bocks.
(TWO BROTHERS) BARE TREE WEISS VINTAGE 2000
Luxurious barleywine entry given delicate floral hop bittering to form initial thrust of fabulous turbidly copper-hued ultra ‘weiss.’ Creamy vanilla-butterscotch splurge gets clove-coriander accent and distant raisin-fig-date splotch mid-palate. At illustrious finish, pear, nectar, and banana offer benevolent fructose rush. Well done!