A fruity windfall scatters lemon-peeled orange-peach-tangerine tang above soft floral hop caress of coppery moderation. Mild pepper-spiced bitterness adjoins herbal eucalyptus-ginger twinge nuzzling cracked wheat base. Brewery defunct: 2010.
NIKSICKO TIVO
Snub-nose bottled, straw-hued Serbian pils retains aromatic muted peach sedation, faded buttered popcorn pleasantry, and phenol inclinations; lacking proper grain-hop assertion. Serve to Bud fans as a Euro alternative.
NICK STAFFORD TOLERATION
Here’s a first. A fruited full-bodied (no less) gluten-free English pale ale. Clear coppery liquid with tiny-bubbled soda-like carbonation lets astringent Cascade-hopped bittering sabotage initial artificial peach-cherry droll, impending green apple-browned pear lull, and cloy sorghum malt sugaring. Though corn syrupy stickiness and slight metallic snare constrain citric slide, this beats Anheuser-Busch’s similarly-styled Redbridge by a faux-barley-wheat strand.
NICK STAFFORD NIGHTMARE YORKSHIRE PORTER
More watery than bitterer mocha porters. Rocky tan-headed mahogany Englander delivers caramel-toffee malting to dry-hopped toasted nut bottom. Black-tarred molasses oatmeal recession deepens wood-seared stove-burnt coffee backend. Cola, hazelnut and peanut illusions lag behind. Not as creamy and hearty as most in its class, yet softly satisfying.
(NIAGARA) OLDE JACK STRONG ALE
Mild wheat-corn trickle and barren lemon souring inform grassy hop bittering. Displaced licorice niche and blunt alcohol astringency sink ho-hum slacker.
(NIAGARA) MILLSTONE PREMIUM LAGER
Smooth lemon-limed lightweight offers dulled whiskey malt sweetness to casual dry-hopped bittering. Soft wood smoked tinge leverages buttery finish.
NIAGARA HONEY BROWN MAPLE WHEAT ALE
Rarely do Canadian brewers dabble with ‘flavored’ beers and ales. So it’s disconcerting when this attempt aims high, but fails to deliver. Elusive maple thickness and dank barley-wheat backbone merely haunt astringent honeyed finish, compromising integrity.
NIAGARA GRITSTONE PREMIUM ALE
Pleasant mainstream ale allows sticky malt sweetness and compromised orange-grapefruit-tangerine tang to subsume mild honeyed creaminess.
NIAGARA EISBOCK
Clean Niagara water drifts through dry mocha malts, toasted barley, and roasted hops before malleable crustacean barleywine reminder filters into hazelnut-illuminated finish. Affable caramel sweetness picks up maple-rye undertones along the way.
(OB) NEX PILSNER
Fizzy-watered sweet-scented golden pilsner maintains grain-hopped lemon-dropped simplicity. More class and character than mediocre competition. Probably not on market as of 2006.
(YANKEE) NEW YORK HARBOR LIGHT PILSNER
Simple, crisp, neutral alternative to vintage New York competitor Rheingold offers faded sour malt opening, harvest wheat dryness, and silky hop-fizzed bitterness, countering slight caramel sweetness.
(YANKEE) NEW YORK HARBOR AMBER ALE
Eye-catching butterscotch-almond hue beats plain barley drear, dull candy sweetness, and metallic finish conclusively.