Aromatic candi-sugared sweetness guides fig-juiced plum, prune, and purple grape template over beautiful buttery barleywine easement refining fizz-hopped, amber-hued, 8% alcohol concoction. As it warms, peat-y wood leathering and sour balsamic vinegaring usurp up-front dried fruiting, retaining firmer balance than Duinen’s Tripel Abbey Ale.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
(INVERALMOND) LIA FAIL STONE OF DESTINY ALE
Toasted barleymalt sweetness welcomes winsome chestnut-hued Scottish pleasantry. At midst, gentle hops envelop brown-sugared maple, hazelnut, and praline illusions. Thin dry prune finish picks up cinnamon banter, herbal tea spot, and earthy tobacco stint.
IRON HILL BARLEYWINE
Rust-clouded taupe-headed Belgian-styled barleywine places innate moldy yeast dankness above hefty chocolate malting and stewed prune swoon. Chewy butterscotch midst upends baked apple, bing cherry, and blackberry sweetness countering sun-dried raisin and grapefruit rind sourness. Tertiary cinnamon-gingerbread spicing latently crests.
(ITHACA) CASCA ZILLA RED ALE
Fine ruby-coppered ale with piney grapefruit-orange rind uprising given bright spruce-tipped hop pep and red apple-ripened peach-pear-nectarine tang. Red and purple grape esters also overlay wheat-cracked caramel malting. Compares to spicier Arcadia IPA and less sharp Fisherman’s Ale, only fruitier.
JASPER MURDOCK’S STACKPOLE PORTER
Though lacking specificity and mired by antiseptic roasted coffee linger, coarse cola-walnut nudge, slim black licorice resonance, and ashen earthy bottom intensify pleasing scorched wood dryness of hybridized Brit-styled (?) porter.
JET CITY ROCKET RED ALE
From its kaleidoscopic bright red label to its refreshingly robust gusto, smooth medium body satisfies both novice and professional tastes. Bittersweet grains pleat maple malts and toasted hops. Only quibble: indistinct finish. Brewery defunct: 1997.
J.W. LEES HARVEST ALE
Spectacular 11.5% alcohol content bodes well for absolutely perfect 9.6-ounce crimson-hued barleywine. Blood-thick malt extract and choice English hops provide rich luster to mocha creaminess. Sharp barleywine sweetness, rum raisin remnant, and raspy floral spiced bouquet soften dried fruit finish. Compares favorably to robust European Double Bocks and first-rate French Ales in both presentation and attention to detail.
(KARLSBERG) BEETHOVEN NON-ALCOHOLIC
Fluffy white-headed pale-bodied non-alcohol brew offers sweet rye permanence, dank doughy dalliance, and honeyed wheat surge. Meager hop bitterness, flat carbonation, and soapy finish stultify lightweight appeal as silky lace coats glass.
KEEGAN ALES OLD CAPITAL GOLDEN ALE
Smooth straw-hued moderate body brings dried orange souring and green apple tartness to the fore. Spicy lemony grapefruit midst punctuated by peppery hop bitterness, sugary malt sweetness, and slight herbal-lemongrass lilt, but coarse malt liquor-like mustiness and cracked corn astringency nearly ruin rustic lawnmower fare.
KILLIAN’S IRISH HONEY LAGER
Sweet-scented lager offers dominant honey coughdrop essence for refreshing carbolic change-up. Creamy malted barley-oats spruce up ashy mouthfeel to sweet caramel finish. But light water texture and dank grain indulgence ruin its combustion. Still, preferable to Sleeman’s Honey Ale.
KING’S I.P.A.
Frothily viscous penny-coppered ale lacks body and complexity, but caramel malt sweetness, perfume-y floral accents, and frisky seltzer-like carbonation will please softer palates just fine. Tamped down hops reveal diluted grapefruit rind-orange peel bitterness.
KMICIC PILSNER
Frivolous bubbly white-headed pale-bodied pilsner imbued by dank grain minerality and hard water flow. Threadbare barley-hop finish can’t recoup early losses. Website www.beerme.com reports brewery closed 2005.