Soothingly mellow crystal malt sweetness lingers to bland paper-thin clay finish of mild gold-hued medium body. Vagrant barley hops swish around watery texture for incomplete, indistinct follow-up. Brewery defunct: 2002.
All posts by John Fortunato
SUPREMA PREMIUM PILSNER
Bread-like yeast aroma stinks up room quickly as cereal grain, fresh maize, and dainty citric-floral hops pep up fizzy severity. Watery pilsner substitutes usual agavi-tequila subtleties most South American brews endure for caramelized honey nut caress and rice-like Asian template (reminiscent of Tsingtao).
SUN VALLEY BLONDE LAGER
Offbeat whitish-hazed blonde with deflating pearly head, floral lemon scent and wheat-backed dry white wine sourness gains eye-squinting green grape tartness. Tangy lemon encumbrance lingers inside delicate citric-spiced finish. A sour-fruited acquired taste for those expecting mildly sweet fruited lager. Use as palate cleanser to flush out impurities of bad food.
SUNDAY RIVER BLACK BEAR PORTER
Gunky molasses sapped entry and frothy lactose creaminess embellish astounding malted-like Portland porter. Aromatic black chocolate overtones deepen black coffee roast, cherry puree souring and hazelnut-walnut respite before woody hop-charred resiliency coarsens. Chalky cocoa and vanilla illusions settle beneath.
SUMMIT HEFE WEIZEN
Sweetish pale-hazed German-styled wheat beer with soft lemony orange insistence, clove overtures, and bubblegum hints mellowing polite hop fizz to delicately integrated grain bottom underlining arid citric finish. Try with a lemon.
SUMMIT GREAT NORTHERN PORTER – 20th ANNIVERSARY
Ebony-hued 20th anniversary celebrator (2006) placates wood-smoked chicory coffee waft with deep-roasted hop bittering and molasses-thickened tar mudding and tobacco chew acridity. Impending black chocolate influence fortifies burnt toast base and dry walnut din.
SUMMIT EXTRA PALE ALE
Lively lemony hop spritz awakens mild earthen grain bitterness as orange peel tang provides boost to expressive tart citrus flow.
SUGAR HILL GOLDEN ALE
Stark saltwater fizz, sullen malt sweetness, and off-dry hop sass put this in league with musty lagers. Murky sourdough backdrop, bland maple jot, and floral spicing fall short by desolate roasted finish. Too close to inefficient macrobrews despite olden African recipe.
SUDWERK DOPPEL BOCK
Expansive ‘premium lager’ alleviates roasted chocolate-caramel malting and buttery cocoa elegance with soft barleywine warmth, picking up minor cinnamon-nutmeg tingle and dark rum spicing at lingered dry prune-raisin finish. Closer inspection reveals creamy maple-cola immersion.
STRAUB LAGER
Mainstream green-bottled straw-hued fodder maintains pungent yeast odor, sour malt swag and dry wheat backbone enhanced by peppy hop fizz. Durable corn nicety sweetens crystal water flow.
STOUT BROTHERS YODELER WEISSE
Gentle hop fizz contrasts soft coriander-spiced vanilla-banana vestige laminating wheat wafer spine. If lemony tartness was more pronounced, exuberant German-styled brew would be better defined as Belgian-styled white ale. Brewery defunct: 2007.
STOUT BROTHERS UNDERGROUND I.P.A.
Bitterly pepper-spiced orange frontage fortified promptly by wheat-honeyed Scotch malt thicket and dry hop frisk. Perfumed floral waft engulfs nose. Weird herbage undermines backend. An acquired taste, for sure. Brewery defunct: 2007.