On tap at Taphouse 15, fascinatingly full-bodied stout layers dark-roast coffee frontage with distinct bourbon vanilla sweetness, gaining contrastive hop-charred bittering above barley-roasted mocha malting. Chewy molasses syruping, rich Black Forest caking, relaxing port-burgundy wining and latent hazelnut snip reinforce loud black coffee thunder.
Sumptuously creamed Irish stout (from Canada) brings baked gingerbread sweetness to sugared molasses sinew and caramel-burnt toffee fudging above contrastive coarsened hop char. Brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg and anise spicing deepens Black Forest-caked holiday spirit. Tertiary fig, black grape, black cherry, chestnut, hazelnut and dark cocoa illusions increase complexity.
Easygoing dark-roast red coffee bean resilience picks up ample Ghirardelli chocolate richness, bittersweet smoked molasses sinew and mild mochaccino undertones. Dry coffee roast finish picks up black cherry, blackberry and black currant nuances in deep recess.
On tap at Amazing Grapes, interesting soft-toned Neopolitan ice cream knockoff spreads creamy brown chocolate and vanilla sweetness above sugared strawberry sass. Beneath the surface, hop-charred black malts gain black currant bittering to contrast tertiary red grape, black cherry, raspberry and blackberry undertones and chocolate truffle wisps. In the bottle, dark-roasted nuttiness underscores chocolate-vanilla creaminess and less obvious strawberry tartness. Worthy dessert beer.
Creamily cohesive peanut-buttered black chocolate entry picks up dark-roast coffee influence. Nutty mocha resilience allows dark toffee, vanilla, espresso and cappuccino illusions to deepen its rich complexity.
By blending an Imperial Red Ale and Red Double IPA with an American-styled barleywine, wintry “rainbowed chaos” turns up the sharp alcohol brashness (10% ABV) to saturate its IPA-like piney fruiting and toasted caramel malting. Sparkling orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine and mango tang and subtler cherry-fig-plum undertones receive resinous wood-lacquered coating.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, stylishly light alcoholic (7% ABV) strong ale lacks spicy holiday spirit its name implies. Instead, an Imperial Red Ale-like caramel fruiting leads the way as red grape, brown apple, peach, fig and plum illusions pick up a sharp hop spicing as well as toasted nut whim, resinous pine notions and earthen grape stem phenols. In the bottle: parched dried-fruited acridity, astringent hop tannins and crisp tobacco roast desiccate ginger-spiced burgundy, raisin, prune and fig illusions and wispy black cherry pureeing.
Well-rounded winter seasonal (circa 2016) places sharp-hopped cinnamon, nutmeg and curry spicing alongside brown-sugared gingerbread sweetness to contrast less prominent pumpkin-skinned gourd earthiness. Tertiary walnut-pecan conflux and latent fig snip add depth to refreshingly clean-watered Christmastime treasure.
Mildly creamed smoked molasses entry fades into black-malted dark chocolate roast of soft-watered moderate-to-medium body. Just below the surface, coffee-soured cocoa powdering picks up hop-toasted soy, burnt coconut, cacao nibs and dark toffee cadences.
Bona fide sea-salted caramel nuttiness softly captivates as butterscotch-candied chestnut, praline and almond illusions sway below. Though body’s a bit frail, its sharp-spiced ‘salty and sweet ‘combo never falters.
Calm star anise adjunct influenced by semi-sweet Baker’s chocolate scape, embittered dark cocoa powdering and subtle soy saucing. Doughy chocolate midst gains modest fig-dried dark cherry tartness and distant coffee-burnt espresso snip.
Esoteric Baltic Porter contrasts brown chocolate sweetness and honeyed black molasses sinew against dried fruited souring in stylishly divergent manner. Moderate charcoal-dried hop bittering scours black grape, plum and fig illusions as dry mocha presence subsides a tad.
