Pleasingly dry chartreuse-clouded moderation (in a can) offers mild lime-soured lemon tartness and lively carbolic spritz to stylish sea-salted coriander spicing. Briny citric acidity gains mellow yellow peach twinge and clean-watered minerality above light grassy barnyard pungency.
Ridiculously appealing sessionable IPA offers judicious floral-perfumed fruit spicing and creamy caramel malting to moderately bitter pine-needled hop resin. Resilient red grapefruit, pineapple and navel orange tang backed up by equally juicy mango, peach, tangerine, cantaloupe, honeydew and lemon meringue illusions above biscuit-y wheat breaded spine. Arguably the best easygoing summertime session beer.
Pleasing 2015 trend towards more approachable and less bitter IPA’s continues with this ‘sessionable’ moderate-bodied ditty. Tamped-down herbal-citric hop astringency and mild pine bittering pick up lemony orange-grapefruit spicing. Good warm weather fodder now available year-round.
Sunny grapefruit tang leads the way for spicy floral-perfumed Mosaic hop tropicalia. Orange-bruised pineapple, nectarine, honydew, papaya and kiwi sweetness contrasts moderate piney bittering and weedy earthen resin. Syrupy spruce sugaring adds residual sweetening to rye-honeyed caramel malt base.
Mildly creamed crystal-malted rye spicing and piney grapefruit thrust “pave the way” for stylishly centrist medium body. Dry-hopped Mosaic and Amarillo hop bittering contrasts sugar-spiced navel orange, mango, red cherry, peach and tangerine tang over toned-down rye wheat influence.
First released February 2014, easygoing moderation blends citric hop crisping with caramel-honeyed barley malting and modest floral spicing. Dried grass astringency lightly embitters yellow grapefruit, navel orange and pineapple tang. Well done but not quite essential in crowded IPA field.
Delicately refined farmhouse ale with tangy Cascade-hopped tropical fruiting and ‘herbal highlights’ reaches ‘rustic dry finish.’ Earthen musk desiccates mineral-grained saison yeast tartness as zesty lemon briskness and muted orange-peeled pineapple sweetness rise above malted barley-oats base. Soft white-peppered coriander spicing and herbal lemongrass-peppercorn-basil-thyme conflux penetrate the surface as well.
Well-balanced Belgian farmhouse ale in 11.2-ounce can brings spicy candi-sugared yeast sweetness and floral-perfumed fruiting to herbal lemon souring, dry white-peppered respite and straw-grassed barnyard acridity. Tangy orange, peach, apple and tangerine tones pick up tart banana-clove whim. Emblematic citric-spiced flavor profile retains enduring sourdough malt richness its American competitors sometimes lack.
WARWICK, NEW YORK
Filled with Old World charm and nestled in the hilly rural refuge of Warwick 30 miles northwest of New York City, EDDIE’S ROADHOUSE TAVERN & GRILLE may be a hike for city slickers, but it’s definitely worth the trip. Between town fairs, open-air concerts, cool fishing spots, blueberry fields and the annual Applefest, Warwick’s a busy countryside community with a four-screen drive-in theatre to boot. And when the quaint brown and tan-fronted Roadhouse opened in November, 2010, the diminutive Main Street gastropub quickly became a travel destination.
A rustic hardwood-floored saloon with exposed ceiling ducts and framed black and white portraits (of Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler and Jack Nicholson), its fabulous upscale pub fare (appetizers, burgers, steaks, chicken and ribs) suits the swiftly rotating draught selections. At the red brick-walled left side bar are twenty stools, sixteen tap handles and choice spirits. Two windowed and three right side corian-topped tables comfortably seat lunch and dinner patrons.
During my initial August 2015 jaunt, Eddie’s gets packed by 5:30 on a sunshiny Saturday evening. Along with two newfound brews, my wife and I share the big, beefy Roadhouse Burger (with mushrooms) and On The Flat (a rewarding flat-breaded app with eggplant, hummus and olive tapenade dips).
Owner Eddie Cullari stops by before the crowd rushes in to offer some background.
“I grew up on Ballantine IPA in the ’60s. So i got used to the richer, heavier beers and when that IPA alcohol bite went away, I really got into serious beers,” he shares before adding, “Drinking craft was a no-brainer. Friends would buy a 6-pack for $4 in the past and they couldn’t understand why I’d pay $4 for one swing-topped import.”
Though previously untried Lost Nation Mosaic IPA, Against The Grain Jacque Trappe and Clown Shoes Crasher In The Rye Imperial Stout were gone by my arrival, two fruitful summertime brews got quaffed instead. Soft grapefruit rind-embittered passionfruit-derived Avery Liliko’i Kepolo and briskly citric-hopped Other Half Forever Ever IPA were damn near perfect stylistic representatives (check Beer Index for full reviews).
Just down the street from Eddie’s Roadhouse, CRAFT BEER CELLAR opened October 15, 2014. Its earth-toned stone front, brick red interior, exposed pipes, high ceiling, clean shelves and Brooklyn Brewery banner give the place a certain lucidity. Twenty tap handles fill growlers to go and a serious-minded bottle and can selection (of rarities and well-selected American and international fare) will please any beer enthusiast.
On tap at Eddie’s Roadhouse, soft-toned witbier benefits from elegant lemony passionfruit tartness of exotic liliko’i tropicalia. Dry lemon-limed grapefruit tang gains brisk limestoned citric pucker. Mildly creamed crystal malting provides latent white-sugared contrast. Tertiary pineapple, peach, papaya, grains of paradise and mango undertones tingle the sleek citric-hopped bittering. In the can, “spices and passionfruit” bring ‘tropical island flare’ to lemon-juiced mandarin orange, tangerine and gooseberry illusions.
Perplexingly newfangled smoked saison brings sour brettanomyces leathering to oak-seared Band-aid astringency and lemony cider-sharpened oaken cherry tartness. Light lemon vinaigrette acidity and recessive lemongrass tinge reinforce lactic souring.
Truly decadent barleywine (11.5% ABV) blends Buffalo Trace and kiln-bricked Willett bourbon barrel aging, comparing favorably to Jackie O’s less silken smooth, yet still excellent, Woodford-aged Wood Ya Honey. Sweet bourbon chocolate creaming proves resilient while compact dried fruiting and maple molasses syruping gain prominence at the heavily caramelized butterscotch midst. Black cherry-pureed raisin, plum and prune illusions sit alongside coconut-toasted almond, praline, pecan and chestnut pleasantries. Vanilla, marshmallow and cotton candy undertones further sweeten the distinct bourbon .
