Easygoing bourbon barrel-aged ale brings buttery rum-spiced whiskey nip to sweet Knob Creek bourbon licks for muted 9% ABV warmth. Mild oaken vanilla subtlety, caramelized toffee sugaring, meager dried fruiting and cedar-chipped almond wisp stay just beneath the surface. Delicately underwhelming, though maple-sapped whiskey finish is convincingly regal.
SPRINGDALE YAWP! PALE ALE
On tap at Poor Henry’s, crisply clean pale ale enlightened by IPA-styled citrus bittering and herbal hop astringency. Yellow grapefruit essence rises above orange rind bittering while mild pale malt sugaring guards the biscuity spine.
FUNKY BUDDHA VIBIN’ LAGER
On tap at Poor Henry’s, ‘groovable’ Noble-hopped pale lager retains bold summertime snazziness. Perfume-cologned lemon sunshine spreads across grassy wood tones, groaty cereal graining and plastique phenols. A hip hop-headed hybrid.
FLYING DOG FAMILY DRAMA IMPERIAL PILSNER
Bringing citrus zing to a supposedly traditional Holiday ale, lemony grapefruit, orange and pineapple zesting gains sugary spiced pale malting (sweetened further by champagne yeast) to contrast grouty hop molding of sharp 8.4% ABV Imperial pilsner. Not sure specifically what it has got to do with holiday season though.
MEAN MAX BREW WORKS
GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK
Just across the street from the firmly established Davidson Brothers Brewing in the heart of Glen Falls, three-barrel nanobrewery, MEAN MAX BREW WORKS, came aboard during August 2014. Founding proprietors Matt Barry and Dave Wells craft fine standard fare that retain stylistic intent as well as interestingly robust ‘big beers.’
Four patina columns, reclaimed wood furnishings and several international flags don the narrow space. Clustered clear-balled chandeliers hang at the L-shaped serving station (with twelve taps, electric beer menu and refrigerated bottles and cans). The back-spaced brew tanks relinquish many well-designed liquids.
My wife and I touched down at Mean Max during early December ’18, quaffing four swell dark ales and one ambitious pale ale on this overcast afternoon.
For starters, bittersweet More Funner proved to be a fruitfully balanced pale ale with juicy orange-peeled grapefruit, peach, pineapple, tangerine and mango tanginess guarded by light hop spicing and grouty malt graining.
Next came the darkies – each with its own fairly distinct personality.
Amiable dessert fodder, Shotgun’s Porter, retained sweet brown chocolate luster, glazed vanilla spicing and toasted coconut remnants over lightly embittered charred hops.
Sweet milk stout, Percolator Coffee, let its sugar-creamed coffee frontage gain fudgy dark chocolate undertones and mild cocoa nibs wisps.
Soft-creamed nitrogenated moderation, Stout No Doubt, brought mild nut-charred espresso coffee serenity to velvety dark chocolate malts.
Christmastime chocolate crème de mint knockoff, Twas The Night, proved to be a voluptuous porter as chocolate-chipped cookie dough malts gained dry cinnamon-barked spicing and delicate vanilla creaming.
There are also several Mean Max reviews of bottled and canned offerings in the Beer Index.
www.meanmaxbrew.com
KANE MORNING BEAN
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, indefatigable Imperial Milk Porter never ceases to amaze as cream-sugared coffee bean sweetness weaves into luscious bourbon-aged Madagascar vanilla bean capaciousness. Lovely creme brulee, cappuccino, brown chocolate, Kahlua and maple molasses illusions pad the luxurious mocha-spiced java richness. Highly recommended.
ALESMITH CELESTIAL DAWN SPEEDWAY STOUT
On tap at Poor Henry’s, invigorating milk-sugared coffee creaming rides atop syrupy chocolate malting. After a few sips, dry bourbon coffee theme erupts. Tertiary cacao nibs, vanilla, cappuccino and crème brulee notions deepen jubilant java journey. On tap at Ambulance, ample black coffee roast receives oats-sugared dark chocolate malting, treacly bourbon whim and gooey anise reminder.
THE BRUERY WHITE CHOCOLATE WITH CHERRIES
On tap at Poor Henry’s, luxurious barleywine glazes whiskeyed red cherry tartness with mildly sweet white chocolate spicing as well as wispily serene cacao nibs and vanilla adjuncts. Strong 15% ABV brings loud liquor lead-in to mocha cherry continuance, boasting bustling brandy, bourbon and burgundy profusion. Tertiary bruised orange, grilled pineapple, tannic red grape and dried fig illusions seep into busy mix.
EVIL TWIN / WESTBROOK IMPERIAL MEXICAN BISCOTTI CAKE BREAK AGED IN MAPLE BOURBON
On tap at Plank Pizza, mighty maple bourbon syruping and fruitful Marsala wining sweeten above black coffee, dark chocolate and vanilla-beaned cocoa nibs richness as well as ancillary habanero-peppered cinnamon and almond adjuncts. Whimsical bruised cherry, burgundy, sherry and anise illusions fit tersely into the busy dessert-styled blend as well.
KCBC DEATH FROM BELOW OYSTER STOUT
On tap at Ambulance, bold collaboration with Manhattan’s Randolph Beer (and Brooklyn clam shack, Cape House) gives oyster-shelled salinity a deeply embittered black-malted dark chocolate, medium-roast coffee ruggedness and charred nuttiness above its oats-flaked raw molasses bottom. Serve to robust bitter-tongued stout lovers.
GREAT LAKES IMPERIAL OYSTER STOUT
On tap at Plank Pizza, bittersweet black-malted cocoa nibs influence gains dry oyster-shelled salinity and mild brown chocolate spicing. Briny cocoa continuance affects ancillary espresso, walnut and earthen peat illusions.
MAGNIFY POINT OF DIVERGENCE STOUT – 2018
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, dark chocolate syruping drapes Christmas-spiced cinnamon toasting and gooey anise tonguing for Italian red wine-barreled stout. Subtle tannic grape esters softly penetrate cinnamon chocolate caking while tertiary black cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant illusions wisp below.
