Richly fruited limited edition ’09 barleywine deviates from typical brutish stylistic rampage. Instead of a veritable meal in a bottle, it’s a well-integrated strong ale with lagered champagne yeast perfect for dessert. Honeyed cereal grains sweeten French oak-aged Sauvegnon Blanc grape juicing and gorgeous floral bouquet. Creamy butterscotch midst secures green, red and purple grape illusions as well as lustrous peach-tangerine-pineapple-nectarine exotica. Pronounced cherry uprising, buttery Chardonnay subsidy, and tertiary raisin-date-fig dryness add further depth while peppery herbal hop zip enlivens modest spicing.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
GRAND TETON HOWLING WOLF WEIZENBOCK
Decent 2009 cellar-reserved bottle-conditioned ‘strong wheat beer’ with pleasant citric acidity and surprising mocha tenacity bides time as loud 8% alcohol luster gets heard. Creamy caramel-cocoa-chocolate malts ride above peppery clove-spiced fig-sugared vanilla sweetness and orange-bruised banana tartness. Molasses-like Sugar Daddy keepsake forges doppelbock-like character over musty yeast-creased candi-sugared Belgian ale peculiarity.
ESTRELLA DAMM INEDIT
Meek straw-yellowed moderate-bodied witbier-likened Catalan lager in green-tinted wine bottle could use better up-front doughy insistence and richer fruitiness (though its mild nature complements vinegar-based salads, tuna, and salmon). Seltzer-like citric spicing wavers below wet-papered sorghum flouring, wheat-honeyed crystal malting, and gentle ginger herbage. Washed-out lemon candied tartness, floral mandarin orange wisp and unripe peach subsidy gain acidity while under-whelming orange peel, coriander, and lime illusions prove negligible for fizz-toned summer session beer.
RIVER HORSE DOUBLE WIT
Instantly likable golden-hazed crystal-malted Belgian-styled witbier maintains fruit-spiced integrity. Coriander-clove spicing engages lemon zest, mandarin orange, tangerine, apricot, papaya, and pineapple illusions countering peppery-hopped orange peel bittering. Subsidiary whiskey-soured white wine tenacity overrides banana bubblegum undertones to doughy white-breaded wheat spine.
MAGIC HAT WACKO SUMMER SEASONAL
Impossibly clear pinkish amber hue proves even lighter and more transparent than soft-toned session beer itself. Faint orange dryness and distant grassy-hopped bittering coerce washed-out beet-sugared strawberry-melon-apricot astringency. Subtle pale-malted Pac Mac yeast influx doesn’t suffice and vacuous citric-soured finish leaves slight metallic twinge. Sadly, summer retreat ain’t nearly ‘wacky’ enough re-tweaking Magic Hat’s equally pallid beet-crazy precursor Kerouac Ale.
ROGUE MAIERFEST LAGER
Understated moderate-bodied Marzen-styled session beer perfect for lawn mowing. Sugary dough opening and crusty white bread plainness counter softly spiced sour citrus splurge. Sporadic orange, apricot, and fig nuances splash across spritz-y Seltzer fizzing of crisp, clean refreshment, avoiding bland neutrality by a whisker.
HARPOON HELLES BLOND BOCK
Casual moderate-bodied amber-hued German-styled blond lacks overall distinction and fruity pizzazz. Buttery pale-malted honey-roasted barley graining enjoins basic floral-hopped orange-peach-cherry tang and pastry-like sugar cookie sweetness. Vanilla, iced tea, and wet paper illusions receive tertiary whiskey-zapped ransom.
BREWDOG PUNK I.P.A.
Vibrant ‘post-modern classic pale ale’ brings tangy orange marmalade, pink grapefruit, and tangerine fruiting to lemon-seeded pine-needled bitterness and hop-toasted mineral-grained bottom. Zesty orange briskness rises above resinous herbal-floral latency and tropical finish retains nice currant bite.
BREWDOG MIKKELLER DEVINE REBEL
Easy-sipping whiskey-barreled Scottish barleywine with hearty 12% alcohol projectile needs a smidgen more up-front character for ‘big beer’ connoisseurs. Ripe black cherry overtones relinquished by candied apple, bruised orange, pear syrup, and spiced fig illusions gliding through chewy brown-sugared caramel malt creaminess and slim bourbon-sherry drift. Toasted marshmallow, fruitcake and vanilla nuances find tertiary solace.
BREWDOG CHAOS THEORY
Respectable ‘predictably random ale’ best suited as greenhorn crossover than rapturous hophead delight since medium-bodied IPA never distorts piney-fruited bitterness. Musk-y lacquer appropriation saddles spice-tingled red cherry, candied apple, cantaloupe, melon, peach, and pineapple sweetness as well as honey-sugared biscuit-y malting. Bittersweet orange and grapefruit zest plus diminutive floral bouquet round out busy Scot.
BARD’S GOLD
Advertised as ‘the original sorghum malt beer’ and brought east from San Jose brewery with subtle name change and less interesting character. Not far removed from Flying Bison’s negligible gluten-free version, its cloying honeyed sorghum motif sacrifices earthen mineral graining for compost-informed rice cake, white grape, sour orange, and sugar beet usurpation. Phenol-hopped coarseness seeps into wet clay glaze, augmenting tepid superficiality.
(STONE) KONA COFFEE MACADAMIA COCONUT PORTER
Respectable Stone-Maui collaboration brings oaken hop-charred grain roast and fruited nut temperance to endearing coffee theme, defining silken soft-toned Imperial Strong Porter. Milk chocolate-y vanilla pleasantry secures toasted coconut, macadamia and almond illusions as well as tertiary green raisin and red grape undertones. Molasses cookie sugaring, mild cappuccino whimper and burgundy-rum tease get watered down at bustling macadamia coffee finish.
