Exemplary Imperial India Pale Ale boasts hefty 86 IBU’s, but intricately-woven fruited hops and fruitier malts conceal sharp juniper bittering and expansive ethanol burn of 9.4% alcohol elixir. Prickly West Coast-styled pine needling saturates ripe red cherry, peach, pineapple, pear, pink grapefruit and navel orange tang. Creamy crystal malting and sugared almond-pecan glaze contrast floral white-peppered tingle.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
WANDERING STAR BERKSHIRE HILLS SAISON
On tap at Jimmy’s No. 43, smashing Belgian-styled saison utilizes Brassier Dupont yeast to give off proper sour fruiting. Dry white-wined entry picks up lemon-rotted cherry, plum, fig, and prune propensity skewering sweet banana-pureed lemon custard lurk. Ancillary black-peppered orange spicing and mild pekoe tea hint awaken plasticene clay-hopped herbage.
GOOSE ISLAND DOMINIQUE
Flagrantly sour American wild ale connects white-wined champagne dryness, tannic yellow grape esters, and oaken cherry tartness to bourbon vanilla assertion above funky brettanomyces-laced earthiness. Mouth-puckering cider pungency grazes tertiary white peach cranberry, fig, lime and kumquat illusions. Belgian gueuze-like profile enhanced further by piquant vinegar-soured raspberry vinaigrette acidity and pinot grigio parchedness.
RADEBERGER PILSNER
Musk-like German pils brings doughy stale-breaded mineral graining to corn-husked lemon rot peculiarity. Sharp Saaz hop grassing subsumes weirdly herbaceous whim and metallic honey-soured apple-peach depletion to wet cardboard backdrop.
VICTORY YAKIMA GLORY I.P.A.
Wondrous updated version of Yakima Twilight (circa 2011) better defined as mahogany-hued Cascadian Dark Ale (or trendy Black IPA). Abundant citrus splurge and resonant stone fruiting more pronounced than blackened hop char. Smooth dark-roasted caramel malting and powdery cocoa acridity harmonize well with grapefruit-soured, prune-stewed cherry-berry conflux. Resinous pine nuts crease burnt toast bottom.
THOMAS HOOKER OCTOBERFEST LAGER
Indistinct moderate-bodied copper-toned marzen places thin maibock-like fruited souring next to soapy hop astringency. Blanched orange-tangerine-cherry tartness deadens upon impact and phenol-spiced autumnal foliage lacks resolve. Biscuit-y bottom cracks.
CROSSROADS OUTRAGE I.P.A.
On tap at Jimmy’s No. 43, unyielding lemon-seeded grapefruit bittering leads the way above woodsy bark-dried pine grove and resin-hopped lemongrass herbage. Sugary crystal-malted citric candied lemon currying contrasts lemon-peeled grapefruit rind souring. Deep alcohol burnt astringency sidles botanical citron valor.
THREE HEADS SKUNK BLACK INDIA PALE ALE
Terrific mocha-leaning Cascadian dark ale with black grape intensity and cookie dough thickness discretely enriching lactic full body. Resinous roasted hop char deepens creamy chocolate malting and dry coffee oiling. Mint-y anise slipstream and nutty cola recess firm up backend.
THREE HEADS THE KIND INDIA PALE ALE
Expressive entourage of juicy tropical fruits befits medium-to-full-bodied West Coast IPA. Not as briskly conformist as most stylish competitors, its softened hop bittering never undoes grapefruit-peeled pineapple, peach, cherry and quince medley or ascending floral potpourri. Chewy caramel malt backbone heightens bright fruitiness. Slight alcohol burn at sharp citric finish lingers.
THREE HEADS BLIMEY ENGLISH-STYLE PALE ALE
Well-defined, well-balanced ESB firmly captures authentic English pale ale styling. Sugar-spiced fig regales rye wheat breading and capacious nuttiness to earthen peat bottom. Honeyed tea, raisin bread, and herbal leafy foliage provide ancillary niceties. But musty metallic tinning and sharp carbolic prickle agitate up-front profile.
THREE HEADS JAVA SUTRA COFFEE PORTER
Uproarious dark-roasted coffee bean theme heightened by tar-like hop-charred bittering and walnut-seared cola nuttiness. Milk-creamed espresso and vanilla creaminess add ancillary relief above earthen dewiness. But wait for lactic full body to settle in glass or brusque carbolic fizz will crowd out flavoring.
WEYERBACHER FOURTEEN ALE
On tap at Barcade, enjoyable 14th anniversary wheat wine (aged two years) retains milder sedation than richer barleywine styling, but may lack subtle complexities. Caramelized butterscotch-honeyed wheat malting tapers off as serene grape-wined seduction makes presence felt. Candied apple, banana bubblegum, orange marmalade, red cherry, pineapple, mango and grapefruit illusions flutter across acutely astringent alcohol burn.