On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, smoothly detailed and highly approachable Imperial India Pale Ale brings moderate spiced hops, toasted caramel malting and sugar cookie yeast to red, orange and yellow fruiting. Minor piney bittering freshens up grapefruit, navel orange and pineapple expectancy as well as tertiary apple, pear, peach, clementine and mango illusions. Sweeter than most hop-embittered IPA’s, its well hidden 8% ABV stays recessive, allowing the fruit-juiced finish to prosper.
On tap at Ambulance Brew House, crisply polished moderate-bodied pale lager utilizes highly concentrated citric hop oiling to ‘up’ the sour saison-like yellow fruiting. As gentle as a lamb, its floral-wafted German Polaris hop strain provides light lemony pineapple, papaya and guava illusions over soft pine tones and distant earthen musk.
On tap at Ambulance Brew House, delicate sunny day offering totally defines efficient California-styled pale ale style. Light floral hop spicing affects evenly dispersed navel orange, lemon, grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple tang, becoming a tad pine-dried by the zesty citric finish. Papery pale malting remains apprehensive, allowing subtle tropical fruiting to shine brightly above.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, high-octane 2014 Imperial is Founders first lager in 12 years. Mighty 8.7% ABV provides strong ethanol influence to tropical India Pale Ale-like fruiting and resinous pine needling. Grapefruit peel-embittered orange rind, pineapple, nectarine and apple tang receives fragrant floral-perfumed waft. Sugary crystal malting sweetens loud citric-pined finish.
Satisfying medium-bodied dark ale places dry-roasted rye and chocolate malting above moderate charred hop bittering. Black chocolate, dark cocoa, toffee and coffee overtones dry out as ashen charcoal acridity rises. Distant blackberry and black cherry illusions flutter by. Minor phenol astringency found at lactic mocha finish.
Nebulous Louisiana farmhouse ale (brewed at Lazy Magnolia) lacks specificity and character. Sweet ‘n sour navel orange, grapefruit, tangerine, date and fig notions fade into raw-honeyed molasses breading. Leafy tea-like bottom provides musty earthiness.
Easygoing gold-cleared Czech pils provides pale malt dryness for toasted white bread neutrality and strawed maize acridity. Fizzy hop spicing and drab yellow-orange fruiting don’t help matters.
Tinny purple-canned dark ale stays too aridly acrid for advertised maple sugaring to register properly. Off-putting grapefruit-orange souring never matches with hop-charred day-old coffee midst. Phenol finish picks up coarse walnut char.
Bothersome nickel-hazed Czech pils (in a can) tastes like an infected sour saison or problematic Belgian pale ale. Superficial orange souring and lemon rot spoilage reach bad cider finish, picking up tannic white grape tartness and earthen musk.
Suitably mainstream pale lager offers maize-dried astringency to corn-sugared sweetness, and silken crystal malt creaming, picking up a salty orange fizz at the midst. Pasty cardboard edges hedge in minor phenol astringency. Indifferent Mosaic hop fruiting deadens the mood.
Uninhibited limited release (2014 Smokestack Series) aged in bourbon oak barrels with cherries proves to be exceptionally complex. Bruised red cherry sweetness battles back vinous white-green grape souring, tart hard cider pucker, sparkling champagne fizz and buttery Chardonnay perk while smoky charcoal variance (from bourbon barrel char) adds noir-ish mood. Oaken vanilla mist enhances chocolate-covered cherry, Maraschino cherry and white pear undertones. Toasted coconut, marzipan and almond sugaring found at a distance.
Busy Imperial Stout utilizes thick cookie dough yeast, dark-roasted mocha malts and deeply charred hops. Dark chocolate, sugared coffee, cocoa bean, cappuccino, fudge and spiced anise illusions crowd the frontage. Tarry tobacco chaw bittering seeps into the mix. A hint of bourbon found at chewy mocha finish.
