All posts by John Fortunato

RHEINGOLD EXTRA DRY LAGER

Once mainstream blue collar fodder sold at Mets baseball games, this traditional dry lager lives on in its better updated version boasting brighter orange-yellow body and minor turbidity. Pleasant fruited hop aroma and toasted barley-wheat backbone add new dimension to prominent sour malt frontage (which remains similar to original recipe). But sharp bitterness is gone by short-changed aftertaste.

REISSDORF KOLSCH ALE

Murky fruit-wafted sourdough pungency overrides delicate sweet-spiced fizziness and floral-herbed restiveness softening easygoing pale-bodied moderation. Lemony apricot and banana trifle receives phenol hop restitution. Not far removed from a summer ale with its perky citrus spritz and passive wheat backdrop. Fine all-purpose brew for light-bodied thirsts.