Abysmal ‘tempered full bodied’ (try moderate, if that) Extra Pale Ale goes amiss with corny blandness and invisible citric blurb. Ho-hum. On tap, peppery-spiced tingle enlivens husked wheat-hay bed and subtle grapefruit souring.
Category Archives: Beers A-Z
HALE’S DRAWBRIDGE BLONDE ALE
Worthy fruit-spiced grain-saddled blonde with dank aromatic malting retains floral grassy-hopped bitterness. Mild lemon zest and subsidiary peach-pear-apple conflux reach subtle citric climax.
HAMPSHIRE PRIDE OF ROMSEY I.P.A.
Pour slowly carbolic white-foamed bronze-hued bottle-conditioned ale. Beyond crisp water flow lies bittersweet grain-malted soothe and diacetyl grapefruit splurge. Smoked barley finish retains spicy citric ebb and leafy hop resin.
HARPOON FRAMBOISE
Limited edition pinkish-headed magenta-bodied ale brings up-front raspberry puree notion and oak-dried cherry tartness to dissipating peppery hop sequence. As soda-like carbonation thins out, raspy cranberry dryness heightens.
HARPOON UFO RASPBERRY HEFEWEIZEN
Dull musty-fruited ’06 ‘Unfiltered Offering’ with lazy hazy amber translucence retains soapy raspberry sourness that never takes hold. Parched cranberry-grapefruit pucker and green apple tartness linger faintly above frail white breaded wheat-grass base. Dismal carbolic hop fizz jeopardizes latent blanched rosé illusion. ’12 re-tasting: washed-out Seltzer fizz immensely disrupted orange-dried raspberry theme.
HAYWARD’S 5000 SUPER PREMIUM LAGER
Sugar malt conviction and cereal grain bed given peppier sharp hop thrust than Hayward’s 2000 ‘model.’ Cotton-candied orange marmalade dots phenol alcohol remnant.
(HEAVYWEIGHT) CH-CHUCK BARREL-AGED BROWN ALE
Rather unassuming ruddy-cleared Flemish sour ale hybrid remains surreptitiously flat as aromatic Belgian yeast peppering, dessicated prune juice mouthfeel and oak-dried cherry pucker surround the face. Cork-y nuance enjoins wispy green apple mist, but acidic nature soils its earthy base.
(HEILEMAN) STAG LAGER
Deer head label is all to recommend of pale gold bore. Malt-soured maize simplicity meets fizzy flat finish that gets metallic to boot.
HEVELIUS KAPER
Hefty strong Euro lager (9%ABV) placates sweet barley-roasted caramel malting with sullen citric-herbal wisp, initially disguising its ethanol alkalinity. Despite undeniable strength, bronze-hazed Pol needs more pronounced black tea musk, lemon-peppered spicing and sweet bread serenity plus better all-around distinction. Miserly green apple tartness, scant white grape mustiness and slick malt liquor pastiness don’t help matters.
HITACHINO NEST WEIZEN
Give brewer credit for expanding Japan’s desire to experiment outside the lines of typical rice-wheat-barley-based pilsners and lagers. Spiced-up crystal malt elegance given orange rind-embittered apricot-peach resonance. Increasingly dry grape-wined white ale contrasts candied coriander-powdered sweetness reminiscent of raspy Belgian ale. Inconspicuously wheat-based, though cork-like citric tartness strengthens alcohol acerbity.
HOOK NORTON OLD HOOKY ALE
Heady dark rye influence inundates cereal malt sweetness and bittersweet honey insistence, forming sturdy base for musty-scented, phenol-spiced, solid-bodied middleweight.
HUBER BOCK
Taut molasses-caramel-cocoa sweetness given dry-roasted barley backdrop to secure resinously hopped alcohol-burnt bock. Pumpernickel-rye sequel and walnut shelling confirm busy frontage, but sugar water finish cheapens up-front zeal substantially. Still, quite decent for classic macrobrewed old-timer.