Fabulous whiskey-barreled Imperial Stout picks up wood-charred bourbon-rum whir to enhance lovely gourmet coffee bean bittering of tapped ‘Speyside’ version. Cedar-burnt espresso, black chocolate, cherry puree, dried fig, and anise illusions fill out oats-flaked caramel-smoked malting.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
GREEN FLASH PALATE WRECKER IMPERIAL I.P.A.
On tap, raspy wood-smoked pine-needled resin-hopped bittering pungently reinforces front-loaded juicy-fruited glisten. Lusty floral bouquet enhances tart grapefruit peel veneer as well as apple-ripened pineapple, mango, banana, passion fruit, and kiwi tropicalia. Gin-soaked juniper berry harshness and sharp alcohol bite never exceed creamy malt richness, giving this a deeper resonation than most in its highly exalted IPA class.
POINT BURLY BROWN AMERICAN BROWN ALE
Lacking the brawny brashness, but not the steely metallic pungency, of its ‘burly’ descriptive, this coarsely phenol brown ale gets mired in sour nuttiness. Grain-burnt peanut-shelled walnut char coats resinous hop astringency, overwhelming chalky mocha malting. Bitter rough-edged nutty finish falters.
POINT EINBOCK
Pleasant Vienna-styled caramel-malted grain-roasted sweetness heightens red apple, cherry, peach, and melon fruiting that fades too quickly into phenol recess. Wood-dried floral-spiced hops and teasing grapefruit rind tartness subtly embitter fruited front end. Mildewed fig-prune souring and puckering white grape tartness fill the back end. But better maibock lagers have sweeter malt residue, brighter nectar juiciness, and bitterer hop counteraction for truer springtime ambience.
FLYING DOG GARDE DOG BIERE DE GARDE
In the bottle, moderate-bodied French-styled biere de garde lacks originality, complexity, and character. In need of deeper rye malt penetration and rounder sour-fruited enhancement, this wavering golden-hazed farmhouse ale cannot properly follow-up likable bruised orange souring. Lemon pith, green apple, and apricot illusions lose luster as juniper berry bitterness gains prominence. Precarious dry-spiced tingle barely registers. On tap, light white-peppered hops prickle salty lemon-limed orange-grapefruit rind bittering and herbal nuances of veritable session beer.
SOUTHAMPTON BIERE DE MARS
On tap, French-styled copper-toned medium-bodied Bier De Garde spreads honey-roasted malts across sugar-spiced fruited plain and funky cellared yeast pungency. White-peppered grassy-hopped bittering reinforces acidic champagne-like white grape and green apple tartness illuminated by nectarine-peach-tangerine-mango tang. Sour-fruited midst receives sweet cinnamon-coriander spicing and tertiary sherry-burgundy wining that tames gin-soaked ethanol luster.
BLUE MOON GRAND CRU
Balmy limited edition Belgian-styled witbier aged and sold as boozy Grand Cru brings tangy white-peppered yellow fruiting to frisky coriander spicing of yellow-hazed medium body. Tart orange-peeled lemon-bruised white grape proliferation enhances creamy butterscotch, vanilla, and banana liqueur whir as tertiary peach, pear, and cinnamon apple illusions receive gin-soaked candi-sugared sweetening. Though opulent peculiarities mesh well, its understated warmth and overall richness deteriorate over time.
KUHNHENN MAYHEM BELGIAN DARK ALE
Lavish candi-sugared Belgian-styled dark ale much closer to warm barleywine. Rich orange-bruised cherry puree uprising, sweet caramel apple bounty and tertiary banana-pineapple-mango tropicalia enhance whiskey-slurred bourbon-burgundy-brandy boozing. Brown chocolate-spiced continuance heightens rum-soaked raisin, plum, fig, and date fruiting. Luscious dessert treat is perfect as a nightcap.
FLYING DOG RAGING BITCH BELGIAN-STYLE INDIA PALE ALE
Complex 20th Anniversary commemorator lacks true wild-flowered Belgian-styled yeast funk, but benefits from sharp citric essence. Tangy nectarine, peach, tangerine, pink grapefruit, and red grape sweetness invigorates abrasive spruce-tipped green hop compression of ’untamed’ medium body. Zesty pineapple-mango-melon-papaya tropicalia contrasts black-peppered orange peel and lemon rind bitterness seeping into creamy candi-sugared crystal malting to honeyed wheat spine. Wispy jasmine, lilac, and fresh mint waft through fruitful hophead delight.
PORTSMOUTH BLACK CAT STOUT
Smooth medium-bodied mahogany-hued Irish-style dry stout proves quite versatile. Full-blown mocha frontage surges past burgundy-bourbon boozing bracing sticky anise-seeded dalliance and black coffee coda. Black cherry souring, ester-y grape tartness, brassy walnut singe, and latent charcoal burn embitter hop-oiled oats-smoked cocoa malting to earthen peat bottom.
(SPEAKEASY) SCARFACE IMPERIAL STOUT
On tap, chewy melange of milk chocolate-y creaminess, oak-aged cacao nibs parching and cresting black coffee bittering form robust mocha theme for bourbon-barreled delight. Tertiary peat-y compost dampness and ashen wood coarseness deepen caramel-burnt cocoa-powdered vanilla-sugared cookie dough density. In 22-ounce bottle, cedar-smoked black coffee frontage and mild bourbon persuasion deepen oats-charred maple molasses, dark chocolate, black licorice, vanilla and toffee illusions.
YUENGLING BOCK BEER
Passable ’09-brewed American-styled bock relegates bittersweet chocolate-cocoa malting and coarse hop-roasted char to phenol metallic deficiency. Latent brown-sugared dusting lost amongst fizzy carbolic implosion. Buttery diacetyl notion compromises mocha-chalked dried fruiting.
