Satisfactory dry-bodied copper-hazed winter ale closer to English-styled pub ale due to organic earthen nature and peat-y rye malting. Toasted whole grains upend constricted piney fruiting. Date nut bread, pumpernickel raisin bread, and brunt toast illusions mask subsidiary pineapple-grapefruit-raspberry whir. Traditional-minded winter spicing (cinnamon-nutmeg-gingerbread) shunned in favor of dry-hopped dark wheat tendencies.
Easygoing copper-hazed fleshy-headed East Coast moderation perhaps stylistically closer to a mild English-styled IPA, or better yet, a toasted lager. Roasted caramel malting takes the reins, leaving expectant pine-fruited dry-hop prickle to tend softer backend. Cereal-grained marzipan, almond, and buttered pecan graze dewy earthen peat, lemony orange-grapefruit sass, and minor alcohol burn.
Brewed by Olde Saratoga Brewery for excellent Hartford brewpub, signature crystal-malted grassy-hopped medium body drapes toasted baguette, croissant, pumpernickel, and caramelized rye illusions over floral honey-spiced orange-tangerine sourness and negligible nutty nuance. Advertised licorice nuances nowhere to be found. Better on tap.
Casual all-malt milk stout layers lactic brown and black chocolate plasticity above creamy vanilla-coffee subtlety. Dry wood-smoked malt roasting, soapy soy milking, and dark-fruited tinge a tad too slick. Light nuttiness smothered inside frothy farmhouse fodder.
On tap, moderate-bodied golden-hazed Belgian-styled tripel illuminates floral-spiced enticement with fruitful citric glisten. White-peppered orange-dried lemon custard tartness contrasts lightly creamed cane-sugared crystal malting and surging honeyed sweetness. White peach, red plum, green apple, lemon peel, pineapple, tangerine, plantain, and pear lace mildest coriander-clove-lemongrass spicing.
Excellent limited edition small-batch 2011 offering (served at Jersey-based Andy’s Corner Bar) brings luscious brown chocolate sweetness to cedar-burnt pleasantry and nutty coffee retreat. Belgian chocolate spicing recedes as creamy chocolate-caked vanilla, toffee, black cherry, and espresso illusions top hazelnut, walnut, and cola nut subsidy. Perfect as a rich dessert treat.
Sumptuously mellow caramel-malted crystal-sugared delight draping soft peach, grapefruit, and orange tang across mild juniper bittering of limited edition small-batch offering (served at Jersey-based Andy’s Corner Bar). Red, green and purple grape nuances filter through neutral celery wisp.
Woodier hop dryness, deeper citric tartness, and sharper piney recess than related Old Scratch #40 (both limited edition small-batch offerings served at Jersey-based Andy’s Corner Bar). Lemon-soured grapefruit bittering stays above winsome pineapple, peach, mango and melon tropicalia. Advertised Simcoe hops never overwhelm sweeter aspects.
On tap, impressive full-bodied Imperial Stout (renamed Kujo circa 2011) bestirs superb fresh ground coffee roast with chewy brown chocolate creaminess atop toasted nut coarsening. Oats-sugared crème brulee, Kahlua, and Bailey’s Irish Cream illusions candy-coat vanilla, molasses, hazelnut, fudge and anise subsidy contrasting espresso-walnut bittering. The perfect winter aperitif, combining the bitter with the sweet in gloriously dramatic fashion.
Well-balanced blend of brewers’ Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale with Un-Earthly Imperial IPA contrasts sharp dry-wooded grapefruit-peeled bitterness against sugary caramel malting and vibrant pear-peach-apple-pineapple-mango-cherry fruiting. Slight alcohol burn and piquant black currant souring backend splendid nickel-hued medium-bodied Double IPA.
Stylishly confounding lactic-soured wee heavy lacks expectant sweet Scotch rampage, but impulsive earthen peat soiling above wavered caramel-chocolate malting finds space amongst blackstrap molasses, sour date, cola nut, and fennel illusions. Pungent compost-wafted fungi-smudged damp-wooded soy milking infiltrates chalky cocoa subsidy. Closer to a brown or black ale given low Scotch profile.
Perplexed dry-bodied coffee stout from New York’s remote Finger Lakes area recalls oily schwarzbier or less intense Cascadian dark ale (a.k.a. Black IPA). Earthen peat moss seeps into malt-smoked black grape, black cherry, and blackberry souring to mild cocoa-chalked coffee ground bottom. Tertiary espresso, black chocolate, and fudge illusions linger far behind.