Pleasant lemony grapefruit tang, white-peppered citric hop (Mosaic and Amarillo) bittering, delicate evergreen pining and fresh-cut grass earthiness pick up pithy sugar-spiced sweetness. Orange-peeled pineapple, tangerine and peach illusions barely reach the surface while creamy wheat malts stay safely below. Stylishly slick.
Slick pale-bodied collaboration with Vermont ice cream mavens, Ben & Jerry, allows latent phenol astringency to overwhelm chocolate chip cookie sweetness and cookie dough richness. In the distance, mild mocha creaminess receives brown-sugared molasses snip and light vanilla sugaring to compensate mild hop-charred aridity. A minor confection.
Substantial spruce-infused pale ale contrasts refreshingly pine-needled spruce tip frontage and brisk juniper berry bittering against zesty lemony grapefruit tang and sugary crystal malting. Just below the surface, minty cologne musk and floral marigold-dandelion-lavender-lilac bouquet ride alongside sweet orange peel juicing. Resinous Douglas Fir-like conifer oiling drapes crisply clean citric-spiced finish.
Exemplary updated 2016 version of briskly clean tripel unleashes sunny lemony orange-juiced grapefruit tang and sweet banana-clove goodness onto mildly creamed candi-sugared crystal malting. Recessive lemon meringue, grilled pineapple, peach, mango and papaya undertones as well as wispy floral-spiced herbage deepen conviction. “Americanized” Simcoe, Columbus and Amarillo hops enliven effervescent fruitful nature.
Interestingly offbeat Breakfast Stout combines smoky Vermont maple syrup with bittersweet black coffee-chocolate murk, honeyed molasses undertones and sour toffee wisp above recessive hop char, but needs creamier thickness for better resonance. May need better balance of intangible adjuncts.
Creamy milk chocolate richness gains sweet rye whiskey resonance to serenade ample oats-sugared cocoa, vanilla and fudge brownie ascendance. Below the surface, charred cedar chips and plastique grouting affect wispy bourbon subtleties (and a hint of sherry).
Milky black chocolate creaming meets sour-milked dry cocoa swerve and caramelized “Belgian specialty malting” for off-dry Baltic-like porter. Moderate oily hop acidity, dubious vanilla-toffee conflux and murky cocoa nibs snip lean on the sour side. Nutty chicory coffee presence fades fast.
Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson re-designed 1850’s recipe for transitional English-styled porter. Besides the stylishly expected chocolate-roasted caramel malting and nutty dried fruiting, a peat-dried dewy earthiness and molasses-draped burgundy wining gain strength. In the recess, grape-leafed black cherry, fig and date fruiting gains spicy hop tingle and sugared cola nuttiness.
Lovely “fruit-forward” Ethiopian coffee roast rides above sugary pale malt base of elegant yellow-hazed moderation. Crisp lemony hop spritz provides smooth respite to lightly creamed coffee continuance as nutty vanilla-chocolate undertones add depth.
Topnotch silver-canned brown ale (brewed by Pennsauken’s Double Nickel Brewing for Bolero Snort) brings lusty cherrywood-smoked milk chocolate creaminess to rich coffee-roasted maple syruping. Heavy caramel-burnt mocha influence picks up cedar-charred bacon, honey-glazed ham and beef jerky illusions above oily hop bittering. Addictive stout-like smoothie.
Approachable sugar-spiced sensation and zesty lemon crisping pick up citric-laced grassy hop herbal tinge. Crisply clean Seltzer spritz provides easygoing flow. Dank earthen pining stays recessive.
Stylishly thin canned India Pale Ale maintains “aggressively laid-back” temperament, mildly black-peppered piney hop bittering and dainty floral respite. Light yellow grapefruit, orange, mango and lemon zesting brightens the overall tone.
