Fatigued vegetal scour and washed-out cherry-berry confluence confront faded nut coarseness as blanched wheat recess depletes tamped down hop dryness.
All posts by John Fortunato
RAMAPO VALLEY DEMON FUEL ALE
Summery rust-toned sour-spiced Saison-styled ale retains intricate bright fruity overtones and gratifyingly converse wintry cinnamon-nutmeg seasoning. Loud blueberry-juniper sensation increased by glistening floral resonance and eucalyptus-mint freshness, finishing with a strong alcohol kick. Tangy citrus sass infiltrates secondary syrupy barleywine illusions.
RAMAPO VALLEY COPPER ALE
Oddly original flat-headed copper retains reddish glow, sour cherry dryness, and alert hop effervescence to tinny finish. Coffee acridity and bitter forest mouthfeel encase cola flow.
RAMAPO VALLEY CHRISTMAS ALE
Syrupy maroon-hazed winter warmer sustains immediate nutmeg prominence, cinnamon spicing, and herbaceous nip. Spunky prune-raisin convergence moves along pipe tobacco roast to fruitcake finish, but firmer malt foundation needed.
RAMAPO VALLEY BLONDE LAGER
Pale sunny hue, neutral dry wheat chaff, and swelling citric-fizzed sourness provide initial allure whilst bread crust suggestion, lemony hop tang, and apple tartness lay low at dry finish. Brewery defunct: 2010.
RADER BLONDE ALE
Delicately sumptuous light-bodied aperitif with liquor-distilled 5% alcohol flow, billowy pearl head, and hazed yellow body brings ‘natural gin’ flavoring to mouth-cleansing mint-y ginger freshness. Zesty black-peppered juniper berry manifesto elevates inceptive floral-coriander zip, lithe lemony grapefruit sashay, and botanical herb smidgen.
RADER AMBREE ALE
Masked 10.5% alcohol flow underscores lively floral yeast tongue, sweet butterscotch sequel, and gin-spiced Grand Marnier waft of tan-headed rust-hued amber ale. Salty bottom counters subordinate coriander-clove-banana cluster, red licorice affixation, and cork-y register. Sticky candi-sugared malt finish dilutes lemony dry-hopped affinity and residual blueberry-peach-nectarine lag.
RADEGAST LAGER
Easygoing barley-hop mesh, softly-textured doughy rye flow, and yellow-fruited wisp of golden medium body compares convincingly to Rolling Rock, yet it’s a tad richer.
(RADEGAST) CZECHOSLOVAKIAN ORIGINAL LAGER
Earthen hop aroma, soft water flow, and dank barley-grained mesh lead to soapy finish. Happily, moderate-bodied frivolity lacks the sickly cloy sweetness of American counterparts such as Miller Genuine Draft or Budweiser.
QUISQUEYA EXTRA PILSENER
Rudimentary corn-sugared cereal grain sweetness overtakes doughy baked bread smear, barley biscuit surge, and sour yeast funk worsened by putrid sulfuric waft.
QUILMES CRISTAL PALE LAGER
Sluggish pale-cleared cumulous-headed champagne-fizzed pilsner-like bore with astringent grassy hop bitterness distracting cloy grain sugaring, buttered corn tepidity, and dank maize-husked acridity to metallic finish. Slight agave hint amongst distant cellar musk.
QUAKE RED CREAM ALE
Belly-bloating stout-like milk chocolate creaminess, lackluster barley roast, molasses hints, and ester-y aroma intruded by acidic carbonation. Relegated to extremely filling, albeit unassuming, 8.2% alcohol-stricken rue. Brewery defunct: 2003.