Watch for explosive carbolic pour of unfiltered bottle-conditioned burgundy-hued Belgian dark ale claiming to be ‘unique distortion of Belgian witbier.’ Brown-sugared cocoa-powdered fig spicing and chocolate-covered raisin-pureed vanilla cake sweetness counter vanilla-beaned burnt coffee sourness impacting dry wood-burnt orange peel bitterness.
Dry piney-fruited IPA lacks sufficient grassy-floral hop bite, but lively white grapefruit, red apple, peach, tangerine, and pineapple ripeness stick out above biscuit-y malt bottom. On tap, freshly squeezed citric nosing, mild floral-spiced orange-peeled grapefruit bittering, and pervasive alcohol-burned pine-sapped peach-pear-apple-cantaloupe fruiting (as well as tertiary mango-papaya tropicalia) seep into creamy caramel malting.
Red Hook-brewed Hawaiian-styled pale lager may lack depth (and taste somewhat different from original version), but dry-bodied toasted bread frontage and multi-grained pumpernickel-rye respite will please whole-wheat bread eaters. Zesty citric esters and sour green raisin wisp bring meager fruited swirl.
Buttery vanilla-butterscotch opening lets in oaken bourbon-barleywine warmth for soft-toned rum-soaked cuvee. Mellow brown-sugared crème brulee, coconut, and plum illusions slip into caramelized core.
Washed-out aluminum-cleared moderate body with up-front raspberry tartness limping to honeyed wheat spine is hit and miss and lacks assertion. Less perfume-y and fruity than usual suspects, but perhaps a tad more floral. Soapy summer poolside fodder fades fast as wispy corn-sugared raspberry-candied soda pop mouthfeel diminishes.
Barely benign ‘American-styled’ amber lacks punch. Piney lemon-peeled orange rind, grapefruit and currant bittering mildly counters crystal-malted barley toasting to alcohol-burnt finish, where grassy hop moderation, bark-dried wood acridity and earthen vegetal tinge sneaks in.
Fizzy platinum blonde has bland character at 125 calories. Grassy maize-straw wheat astringency hampers bruised lemon, green apple, and unripe peach tartness to cardboard-y white bread spine. Fleeting buttery corn-oiled dankness turns cloy. Budweiser-owned Red Hook became a formulaic brewery way before these ’09 soft-bodies.
Impossibly pale-toned lightweight with sugared rice-corn sweetness wracked by skunked cabbage nosing and compost-addled sorghum funk still betters chemically altered ‘lite’ macrobrews.
Aggressively floral-hopped copper-hazed moderate-bodied IPA lacks necessary fruiting and expectant sharp bitterness but retains crisp cleanness. Resinous woody hop char minimizes grapefruit, orange, apricot, and pineapple tartness substantially as stiff alcohol burn increases above toasted caramel malting.
Tenuous moderate-bodied ‘golden session ale’ lacks sufficient Kolsch styling. Politely embittered lemony grapefruit-spiced hop pep counters buttered corn sweetness to slim white breaded spine. Vegetal nuance lowers appeal.
Perfumed floral-herbal highlights enliven sunny Seltzer-fizzed lemon glaze, tart blueberry midst, and orange marmalade reminder. White-peppered jasmine-lavender floridity bolsters ancillary eucalyptus, cardamom, and ginger herbage. Evergreen-fresh mint julep and mojito illusions provide further peculiarity.
Pour slowly nebulous cola-hued tan-headed medium-full body or risk foamy froth. Unspecific dried fruiting battles back ashy pine-like bittering and coarse nuttiness to acidic phenol finish. Wavered prune-fig illusions and snippy grapefruit-pineapple tang lost amongst tart coffee-stained cocoa-soured black cherry midst. Astringent black licorice remnant and light metallic twang create further disarray, but appreciable mocha malting provides depth to muddled befuddlement.
