Gentle Cascade hop vibrancy lingers through roasted caramel malt pleasantry and faint fruitiness, appealing to mainstream tastes as well as slumming critics. 2010 re-tasting: Phenol vegetal astringency reduces chocolate-cocoa influence and wavering orange-dried apple-candied cherry tartness.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
(CATAMOUNT) POST ROAD INDIA PALE ALE
Fruited malt subtleties, creamy caramel incline, and barley-enriched bottom put this closer to a brown ale. Dry mocha and blanched nuttiness fade into lingering bitter grain finish. Brewery defunct: 2002.
(PRIVAT) JUBEL OKTOBERFEST
Wavering light-bodied chestnut-hued jug-handled Vienna marzen offers powdery cocoa malting and wheat wafer sweetness to invigorate sharp prune-plum backdrop. Light caramel creaminess underlines fizzy hop spicing. Brewery defunct: 2009.
QUAKE RED CREAM ALE
Belly-bloating stout-like milk chocolate creaminess, lackluster barley roast, molasses hints, and ester-y aroma intruded by acidic carbonation. Relegated to extremely filling, albeit unassuming, 8.2% alcohol-stricken rue. Brewery defunct: 2003.
RAMAPO VALLEY SUFFERN STATION PORTER
Dry tawny porter with roasted coffee frontage, charred pine contingence, and prolonged burnt mocha finish bottomed by bitter cocoa-black chocolate. Dark rum, sour fig, sweet tobacco leaf, and acrid citrus notes complement herbal timbre.
(MESTANSKY) REBEL BOHEMIAN PILSNER
Musty malt aroma, mild burnt toast palate, and fizzy carbonation given firm grain foundation for easygoing mass appeal. Cereal-cornmeal sweetness contrasts silken hop acridity and chalky cocoa dryness, gaining more overall bitterness than comparative German competitors. Soft and watery enough to attract bourgeois middle American tastes without prohibiting heartier thirsts.
RED HOOK BLACK HOOK PORTER
Worthy ebony-hued London-styled porter combines roasted barley-oat alacrity with thick black chocolate malt extract for mouthwateringly robust treat. Lively hops fuel carbonation as rich grain bottom solidifies dry nutty contour without becoming too filling, enabling you to drink that much more!
RED MOUNTAIN RED ALE
Halfway decent malt-fruited ruddish-clouded ale insignificant amongst strong stylistic competition. Needs sharper barley-hop bite. Brewery defunct: 2001.
RHEINGOLD EXTRA DRY LAGER
Once mainstream blue collar fodder sold at Mets baseball games, this traditional dry lager lives on in its better updated version boasting brighter orange-yellow body and minor turbidity. Pleasant fruited hop aroma and toasted barley-wheat backbone add new dimension to prominent sour malt frontage (which remains similar to original recipe). But sharp bitterness is gone by short-changed aftertaste.
(RIDGEWAY) SANTA’S BUTT WINTER PORTER
Amiable ruby-maroon English porter humorously celebrates Saint Nick’s wide posterior with off-dry mocha frontage, roasted coffee sequel, and toasted barley bottom. Tobacco-dried plum wine and port illusions enter the fray beside grape tannin souring. Sedate watery finish sops mild malt creaminess.
RIVER HORSE HOP HAZARD PALE ALE
Robust dry-hopped pale body contrasts sweet mocha and roasted barley against mild grassy-floral hop bitterness. Honeyed malt finish perforates mineral water lightness.
RJ ROCKERS BUCKWHEAT
Unconvincing, but inoffensive, dunkelweizen. Bland nutty coffee entry followed up by honeyed buckwheat malting, ancillary banana breading and wavered dried fruiting. Sour lactic persuasion mired by slick finish. On tap, wispy lemon-fizzed carbolic thrust pushes forth wheat-cracked honeycomb sweetness, but little else is discernible.