Fizzy carbolic urgency melts away honeyed wheat biscuit sweetness and barren caramelized rye dryness for bland cardboard staleness. Soapy finish exhausts buttery bottom, minimal hop roast, and tart fruit trace.
All posts by John Fortunato
PARDUBICE DARK PORTER
Whimsical crimson-ruby Baltic porter not unlike sugared barleywine with its burnt caramel, chalky cocoa, and molasses exertion overriding raspberry, red grape, and dried raisin-fig hints. Frothy cascading flesh-tone bubbles and deep plum body hold early promise, but thin roasted hop finish forfeits creamy dark chocolate emphasis.
PAPER CITY WINTER PALACE WEE HEAVY SCOTCH ALE
Deep garnet-chestnut-hued hop-roasted traditional Scotch ale offers friendly coffee nuttiness, butterscotch-molasses-caramel sweetness and bruised cherry tingle, but lacks advertised ‘wintry seasonal’ (nutmeg-cinnamon) spicing. Toasted barley upends earthy peat-tobacco illusions and sarsaparilla hint, but supposed wee heavy needs extra lactose strength.
PAPER CITY WINTER LAGER
Limited edition winter brew lacks traditional seasonal traits, allowing sweet biscuit-y malts to drench bland wheat strand, tangy floral citric variable, and spiced hop restraint, but diacetyl finish lowers efficiency.
PAPER CITY SUMMIT HOUSE OKTOBERFEST
Soil-y harvest grains cover spoiled orange souring and wheat wafer sweetness of autumnal lager. Dank malt finish is problematic.
PAPER CITY IRELAND PARISH GOLDEN ALE
Relegated fruited malt tang slowly dissolves as countering piney hop uprising embitters backend. But sterile finish needs better grain insistence and sharper citric bite.
PAPER CITY INDIA’N PALE ALE
Slightly phenol IPA lacks proper lemony hop bittering as sugared fig, orange marmalade, and honeydew illusions fill out barren midst. Hesitant piney-tinged orange peel finish lacks vigor.
PAPER CITY HOLYOKE DAM ALE
Taut English-styled ale maintains well-balanced integrity as toasted grains and muted hops reach out to cocoa nuttiness in subtly soured orange-apple recess. Dry tea vagary at declining finish slacks off.
(PANTHER) THREE STOOGES PREMIUM LAGER
Effervescently-hopped pale lager with bleary sweet malt tedium relegated to average blue collar status. Due to lack of originality, the most appealing characteristic of this bottled lager is its Three Stooges label and the black tee-shirt I received. Serve to indiscriminant Bud fans.
(PANTHER) CURLY’S LIGHT PREMIUM PILSNER
Named after the Three Stooges character, bland pilsner has no noticeable aroma, weak malt presence, and hidden clove-agave spices beneath soft-watered cardboard finish.
HUVILA SAHTI
Impressive moderate-bodied deep-amber Finnish-styled farmhouse ale benefits from expressive red-fruited tang, squeeze-dried fig-date souring, and surprisingly high 10.4% alcohol luster, growing in complexity to plum-prune finish. At midst, red wine sensation quells vinous yellow grape tartness to wood-toned earthiness. Champagne-fizzed Chardonnay buttering and dry burgundy musk reach rewarding port-dried sweet sherry finish.
PANIL BARRIQUEE
Mouth puckering dry cherry tannin theme and vinous grape skin tartness give triple fermented oak-aged red ale an expressive soured gueuze feel. While eyes squint after each tempting sip, bitter hops surge above earthen bottom.