On tap, engaging dried-fruited mocha spicing fronts soft-toned summer seasonal. Phenol fig-spiced date-breaded banana tartness envelops subtle cocoa nibs chalking above tobacco-leafed toasted breading.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
(PHILADELPHIA) WINTER WUNDER SPICE ALE
Approachable fig-spiced sugar plum entry picks up diffuse burgundy-wined raisin-prune continuance and ginger-breaded cinnamon-coriander-allspice upsweep. Tertiary orange-bruised black cherry, purple grape and brown banana ripeness seeps into well-balanced winter seasonal. Mild phenol astringency at dried fruited finish lowers appeal a fraction.
STONE BELGO ANISE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN STOUT
‘Pernicious’ adjunct stout drapes viscous dark chocolate entry with oak-aged anise thickness, retaining a pronounced black licorice finish that seeps into the tongue. Oats-charred black currant acridity, pungent vanilla-coffee bean insistence, and smoked chocolate continuance register alongside dark-roasted hop bittering.
SARANAC KOLSCH GERMAN STYLE ALE
Barren light-bodied ale not far removed from Busch Lager. Negligible citric mildness and papery white bread backdrop falter. Mandarin orange, kaffir lime and green apple hints barely register. Serve to neophyte lawn mowers on hot summer day as smoothly vacuous refreshment.
‘T HOFBROUWERIJKE HOFBLUES BELGIAN STOUT
Decisive dark browned full body raises peat-smoked mocha malting and cappuccino coffee creaming above viscous anise motif. Soured Belgian yeast funk picks up surging molasses-soaked dark chocolate, cocoa nibs and vanilla illusions, heightening dried-fruited black cherry, prune, raisin and fig nip. Midriff black currant bittering sidles massive mocha indulgence.
HARPOON RICH & DAN’S RYE IPA
Hardened hop-heads will delight in sharp citric-spiced bittering and resinous hop pining as lemony orange-peeled grapefruit prickle stays firm. But caramelized rye profile and sugary caraway-seeded Vienna malting lack resolve and get washed out. Tertiary pineapple, tangerine and citron illusions undone by minor metal astringency. 2012 version retained dry-spiced citric hop perfuming and fresher piney spruce crispness.
BROOKLYN CONCOCTION
Interestingly uncommon and totally complex bronze-clouded slow-sipping summer seasonal references an old-fashioned Scotch-soured ginger-honeyed ‘penicillin’ cocktail. Brisk lemon-juiced whiskey sour entry bolsters unexpected Band-Aid-like beechwood-stalked peat smokiness redolent of German rauchbier style. Recessive grapefruit-orange conflux, slick gin-like vermouth scurry, and distant ginger-snapped peppermint-oiled herbage reach limey bottom. Serve to experimental fruit ale lovers.
STONE OLD GUARDIAN BELGO BARLEYWINE
Exquisite amber-glowed ‘2011 Odd Year Release’ bakes almond-pasted marzipan, chestnut, and butterscotch sweetness into juicy peach-canteloupe-melon-banana tropicalia. Floral tangerine-orange tang stays beneath spice-hopped bittering. Chewy caramel malting thickens viscosity and warming 12% alcohol volume never interferes with rich flavor profile. But Belgian yeast influence seems suspect.
DICK’S INDIAN PALE ALE
Admirable amber-golden dry body with billowy beige head and herbaceous farmhouse waft picks up sharp floral-hopped grapefruit peel bittering atop apricot, apple and orange tang. Soft crystal malt creaming fluffs citric nuances, but rough alcohol burn and arid wood parching beckon.
YARDS BRAWLER PUGILIST-STYLE ALE
A soft-tongued, dry-toned, bronze-bodied, English dark mild ale. Feisty-named Brawler Pugilist brings brown-sugared, raisin-greened, port-sauced plum-fig-apricot illusions to coffee-iced chocolate nibs duskiness, picking up ashen nuttiness as well as chamomile tea herbage along the way. It’s claim as a pugilist styled ale may be a bit overstated for such a calming moderation. Perhaps, it’s only supposed to be a welterweight boxer they’re trying to emulate.
BOULDER KINDA BLUE BLUEBERRY WHEAT BEER
Taking its gloomy moniker and blueberry-horned label from free Jazz legend Miles Davis’ highly regarded Kinda Blue album, this fruited ale’s just not worthy of the exalted stature pertained to. Muted blueberry tartness stays subdued while the honeyed wheat spine gets frail, making an inappropriate impression for the moderate straw-hazed dry body. Mild grassy-hopped citrus subsidy mellows to lemon-limed juniper bittering as cake-like cereal-grained pale malting undone by fizzy carbolic astringency. A bland summery session beer for unenlightened lawn mowers.
GREAT LAKES ERIE MONSTER IMPERIAL I.P.A.
Beguiling pink grapefruit-sugared entry provides unrivaled India Pale Ale flavoring. Instead of loading standard citric-peeled bittering and resinous pine sapping to upscale Imperial styling, abundant grapefruit-juiced pineapple, mango, tangerine, and blood orange tang advances brisk honey-sweetened tropicalia over veiled wood-dried orange rind bitterness. Mild herbal tease and a pinch of clove found at backend of delightful candy-malted ripe-fruited turnabout.