A total misfire! Dubious soft-toned whiskey snip debunked by sour yeast pungency, minor corn oiling and stale breaded backbone. Subtle hop bittering lost to glutinous wheat bed of bland English-styled pale ale.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
BARREL TROLLEY PALE ALE NO. 3
Bereft red-fruited hop spicing wraps around toasted caramel malting and cereal-grained minerality as murky flavor profile meanders. Distant apple-cherry-apricot conflux and ascending grapefruit-tangerine tang battle back minor metallic astringency and soily earthiness. (Contract brewed by Genesee Brewing, New York)
LOST RHINO NEW RIVER PALE ALE
Opulent pine-needled fruit spicing of an India Pale Ale meets the musty earthen peat dryness dabbing an English-styled Extra Special Bitter. Lacquered peach-pineapple-pear-tangerine tang binds mild crystal malt creaming and hard-candied sugaring to wheat biscuit backend. Grassy-hopped bottom picks up resinous undertone at citric finish. Betters most milder pale ales.
(BLUE DAWG) RASCAL’S WILD RED RASPBERRY LAGER
Cloy Shandy-like Anheuser-Busch offshoot (with fluffy pink head sitting atop opaque magenta body) mistaken for fruity soda pop. Corn syrupy raspberry tartness allows tertiary pineapple-candied cherry, blueberry and strawberry sugaring to saturate champagne-fizzed misfire. Unassuming 8% alcohol volume will attract wine cooler crowd.
(EAST COAST) KICK BACK ALE
Pedantic amber ale, closer to a nutty brown ale, suffers from indistinct flavor profile. Burnt-toasted nut roast inundates cardboard-y caramel malting and setback phenol hop astringency. Peanut-shelled pine nut finish gets soapy.
LEFT HAND STRANGER AMERICAN PALE ALE
Mild dry-bodied amber-yellowed moderation embellishes barley biscuit sweetness and rye-honeyed crystal malting with doughy notions. Prickly grapefruit-tinged lemon zest tingles floral-spiced grassy hop astringency and herbaceous vegetal tinge. A smoothly straightforward session beer whose name is a misnomer since there’s nothing ‘strange’ about this pleasantly ephemeral offering.
NAPA SMITH LOST DOG RED ALE
Exquisitely perplexing copper-hazed pleasantry brings dry fruited alacrity to honeyed maple malts and wintry spicing. Naval orange-peeled bittering softly embraces red apple, cherry and apricot musk as well as tertiary cinnamon-swirled nutmeg-allspice nicety. Resinous pine undertones, peat whiskey niche and medicinal 7.2% alcohol astringency deepen backend of assertive (if somewhat dischordant) delight that’s stylistically robust.
(DEL BORGO) 25 DODICI
Enticingly sour-fruited copper-burnished winter warmer brewed with ‘bitter orange pill’ retains Blackstrap molasses bittering over dank cellar-wafted musk. Orange-rotted dehydrated fig entry picks up vinous cider, dried apricot, sour white grape and green raisin murk as earthen black-peppered hops surge past contrasting candi-sugared sweetness. Heightened 9.5% alcohol volume hidden beneath musty fruit esters. A well-integrated seasonal never undone by lack of expectant wintry spicing.
(B. NEKTAR) ZOMBIE KILLER CHERRY CYSER
Dazzling golden magenta ‘apple honey wine’ brings tart cherry-juiced apple cider entry to vinous champagne esters and plush rosé wining for an approachable soft-tongued dessert treat. Easygoing sour cherry pucker contrasts viscous honeyed sweetness, fortifying ripe green-red apple tones and ancillary strawberry, kiwi and honeydew illusions. A straightforward beer alternative for sugary wine cooler softies, casual sour ale fanatics, and twisted cider freaks. 2011 Mazer Cup Gold Medal winner is worth checking out.
FLYING DOG SINGLE HOP IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE (ELDORADO)
Soothingly crisp limited edition hop celebrator (with unintrusively bawdy 10% alcohol volume) merges expectant citric tropicalia with elevated Eldorado hop grassiness. Piney orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering contrasts candied pineapple-peach-mango-orange medley, creamy caramel malt sudsing and syrupy honeysuckle-flowered sweetness to biscuit-y backend. Minor alcohol burn found at frolicsome fruited finish of self-proclaimed ‘Golden One.’
ROGUE VOODOO DOUGHNUT BACON MAPLE ALE
Overreaching experimental smoked ale clashes peppery rauchbier-like meat curing against cake-frosted doughnut likeness for a peculiar mix that runs out of steam by its worn-out finish. Beechwood, cherrywood and hickory smoked malts make initial impression, contrasting pastry-like pancake battering, aromatic vanilla sweetness and syrupy maple sinew. Applewood-smoked bacon, glazed ham and charred cedar illusions get lost amongst crowded concoction in conspicuous bright pink bottle.
THOMAS HOOKER CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE STOUT
Heavenly sweet stout brings rich chocolate truffle theme to nutty toffee center, grazed cocoa beaning and mild coffee-dried niche. Utilizing Munson’s creamy milk chocolate as an effectual adjunct, fine dessert treat picks up crème brulee, vanilla ice cream, caramel latte, chocolate mousse, mochaccino and espresso undertones to contrast moderate dry-hopped char for an addictive sweet-toothed chocolate lover’s delight.