Easy-flowing straw-hazed Bavarian-styled hefeweizen brings tart lemon-soured banana-clove entry to dry rice-maize midst and honey-spiced white wheat backdrop. A bit blanched, though some crystal malt sweetness shines upon sunny citric scamper.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
NASHOBA VALLEY OAKTOBERFEST
Though aged in oaken maple syrup, its trifling affect is negligible upon burnished amber autumnal seasonal. Expectant leafy-hopped foliage caresses cinnamon apple-spiced cherry-peach-pumpkin pie sweetness to affable cornbread backdrop. Richer than most marzen-styled brews so try with hearty Thanksgiving dinner.
NASHOBA VALLEY I.P.A.
Total hop-head delight! Vibrant West Coast fruiting and creamy crystal-sugared malting contrast lively pine needled bittering of dark amber IPA. Everlasting resin-hopped grapefruit rind template upped by sharp juniper bite, inviting ripe tangerine, pineapple, cherry and peach tang to invigorate latent orange peel bittering and wispy floral subtlety. Indelible.
NASHOBA VALLEY HERON ALE
Wavering amber-bronzed Extra Special Bitter fights off bitter alcohol burn with singed mineral-grained alacrity, woody Fuggle hop dryness and herbal tea respite. Slight dimethyl sulfide acridity drowns out toasted caramel malting, lemony orange-peeled bittering and apple-skinned brown pear nuance.
NASHOBA VALLEY BOLT 117 PREMIUM LAGER
Styptic German-styled lager allows gassy carbolic iodizing to agitate bitter citric-fused juniper bite, raw-grained herbal spicing and mild grassy-hopped stipend. Backend celery-rhubarb notion amplifies coarse reedy crudity. Closer to a bitterer British golden ale, perhaps.
EAST COAST BEACH HAUS WINTER RENTAL BLACK LAGER
Fine black lager (or dry schwarzbier) brings cola nuttiness to light cocoa malting and heavenly brown chocolate midst. Dark spicing fades early, but ethereal honey nut roast sweetens ancillary fig, date and praline illusions. Nicely contrasts brewers’ initial summer brew.
BLUE MOON VINTAGE BLONDE ALE
Iffy dry-bodied fruit ale (circa 2011) brewed with Chardonnay grape juice struggles to find a solid groove. Tart white grape tannins and a lemony Pez reminder sweetened by ripe raspberry-cranberry conflux, but acidic esters and citric zest nullified by sharp astringency. Minor cider pucker, washed-out white wining, nominal pink rosé inkling and bland plantain snip become acrid over withered white wheat base.
CAVALRY DOG SOLDIER GOLDEN ALE
Another fine English-styled ale by rural Connecticut brewery. This earthier Brit variation bests lighter, less bitter American-styled goldens. Well-balanced citric-spiced crystal malting, raw wood-smoked oats graining and twiggy bark-dried tinder crudity congruently integrated. Vegetal corn-husked celery, carrot and fennel astringency grazes buttery biscuit bottom.
FLYING DOG BARREL-AGED GONZO IMPERIAL PORTER
Glorified whiskey-barreled version of full-bodied ‘Gonzo’ pleats cedar-seared bourbon boozing with sweet chocolate-vanilla richness, syrupy molasses-smoked opulence and milked coffee residue. Mildly creamy velveteen texture reinforces heavily lactic flow and charred oats base. Chocolate-caked cocoa powdering surrounds expansive burgundy, sherry and blackberry brandy ethers. First-rate slow sipper recommended to all porter-stout aficionados.
SIERRA NEVADA / DOGFISH HEAD LIFE & LIMB
Impressively heady second-year collaboration (2011) not far removed from wood-aged stout but listed as American strong ale. Creamy maple and birch syrup provides thick molasses sweetness to naturally carbonated overachiever. Brown sugared toffee-candied Tootsie Roll-like splendor and dark chocolate-y black coffee overtone impact mellow bourbon-port ascension. Black cherry, raisin puree, blackberry and raspberry illusions contrast oats-toasted hop char and black tarred resin. It’s all too much and evolves rather peculiarly, but Big Beer aficionados need apply.
SHIPYARD SMASHED BLUEBERRY
Brazenly engaging purple-browned ‘malt beverage’ christened as a porter/ Scotch ale hybrid never gets bombastic despite saturated mocha fruiting. Initially, creamy coffee-roasted black chocolate richness and ashen pine-tarred charcoal astringency overwhelm advertised sweet ‘n sour blueberry blot. Bourbon whiskey esplanade reaches sharp cola nuttiness, chafing blueberry pie tartness as well as tertiary blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry and acai pureeing. Confectionery blueberry-jammed blueberry muffin underside, slim bruised cherry wisp, and teensy hazelnut drift likewise affect rich mocha-molasses malting. Imagine a liquid German Black Forest Cake with blueberry syrup.
WOODSTOCK INN AUTUMN ALE BREW
Sublime brown-sugared cinnamon apple sweetness elevated by pumpkin pie spicing and diffuse gingerbread-nutmeg-allspice-cardamom niceties. Sharp-hopped carbolic frisk tingles tongue as cinnamon cider theme increases intensity. Tart Granny Smith apple souring and medicinal cherry coughdrop snip refine frosty autumnal splendor. On tap at Doherty’s (2016), dryer apple influence picked up sour cider-fig snip to counter sweet cinnamon spicing.