On tap at Grafton Street – Cambridge, soft-toned beauty lets floral perfumed fruiting shine above mildly creamed pale malting. Tangy orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple, peach, mango and nectarine juiciness picks up resinous piney hop bittering as well as mild gin-like juniper snip.
LAMPLIGHTER SOUND & VISION – RASPBERRY
On tap at Russell House Tavern, tart raspberry adjunct gains zesty lemon souring, vinous green grape esters and oaken cherry pucker, remaining soft-toned and approachable. Recessive herbal fungi mustiness fades.
MAINE ZOE
Amazingly prolific brown-clouded full body goes way beyond simple amber ale tag. Hoppier stylistic profile ignites IPA-like grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, resinous pine nuttiness and mild chocolate raisin sweetness above burnt-breaded barley roast. An Imperial Amber, perhaps?
SAUGATUCK DAZE ON SAISON
Musky dry-hopped farmhouse ale retains herbal lemon souring and damp barnyard funk to its salty bottom. Wispy mandarin orange and white grape tartness as well as mild lemongrass-peppercorn conflux settle behind Mandarina-Mosaic-hopped lemon rot essence.
DECADENT DOUBLE TOASTED MARSHMALLOW
On tap at Beef Trust, mild IPA plies toasted marshmallow sweetness and Madagascar vanilla beaning to dry-hopped citric brightness. Lightly creamed vanilla topping contrasts tingly resinous hop bittering as campfire-toasted marshmallow theme fades just a tad at the finish.
LOUGH GILL IMPERIAL COCONUT TOASTED PORTER
On tap at Blind Tiger, indeterminate medium-full body lets toasted coconut adjunct get lost amongst murky caramel-burnt chocolate spicing as well as coffee-burnt cola, hazelnut and walnut sequence. Distant red and purple grape esters waver.
SCHLAFLY COCONUT CREME ALE – 2017
Less interesting bottled version (2017) suffers as desolate “wheat ale” aged on lightly toasted coconut flakes stays watery and thin. Mild coconut pureeing pushed aside by airy carbolic spritz. Distant coconut-sugared lemon wedging and pineapple juicing provide wavering Pina Colada spurt.
PIPEWORKS LIZARD KING PALE ALE
On tap at Beef Trust, distinguished Mosaic-hopped pale ale embraces sharp IPA-like fruiting with its floral-daubed grapefruit, orange, pineapple and mango tang fronting light piney hop pungency and subtle caramel malting. Brisk lemon-limed carbolic spritz brightens the load.
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH PUPPY DRUM PALE ALE
Sessionable billowy white-headed pale body places mild grapefruit-peeled lemon bittering against spicy orange-pineapple tang and sweet caramel malting, picking up lightly salted citric hop astringency. Tender on the tongue.
WEYERBACHER DALLAS SUCKS
On tap at Beef Trust, sessionable autumn ’17 pale ale (made in collaboration with Philly restaurant Jose Pistola’s) recalls English bitter with its dewy sweetness, mossy earthiness, musky herbage and vegetal acridity. Lemon-rotted orange tartness and resinous pine hop wisp created mostly by Simcoe-Centennial-Cascade hop trio. In the can, lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering stays zestier and tarter above dewy wood-dried soiling.
SARANAC STRAWBERRY TART
Dubious kettle-soured wheat ale blitzes lemon-dropped strawberry adjunct with vinous green grape tartness, spritzy grapefruit zest and coarse citric hop bite. Needs higher strawberry concentration.
FLYING DOG PEACH COBBLER ALE
Veritable peach cobbler’s a ‘classic confection’ featuring inconspicuous vanilla bean bittering, lightly sugared cinnamon-nutmeg-clove spicing and earthen Perle hop astringency while retaining a sharp peach tartness. At the finish, mildly lacquered peach syruping picks up wispy cherry snip above caramelized biscuit bottom.