Tidily traditional doppelbock brings expectant dark-fruited sweetness to chocolate-roasted caramel malting. Pureed raisin, stewed prune, black cherry, sugar plum and apricot illusions pickup sappy molasses sinew as well as light vanilla-toffee undertones. At mocha-fruited finish, mild port-burgundy wining and subtle pecan-almond nuttiness deepen busy flavor profile.
Heavenly IPA’s summery sugar-spiced fruiting brightens pine-oiled hop resin that contrasts creamy caramel malting. Tangy yellow grapefruit, navel orange, pineapple, peach, mango, melon and tangerine tropicalia enlivens juicy-fruited finish of rounded medium body.
Stylishly genuine Belgian pale ale (with warming 10.2% ABV) brings candied yeast spicing to white-peppered dried fruiting, caramelized butterscotch-toffee conflux, hard cider dryness and mildewed cellar musk. Apricot-bruised peach, cherry, pear and apple tones spread across sharp hop bite. In the midst, sweet yellow-caked banana and vanilla creaming tingled by clove, allspice and cardamom seasoning.
Stylistically thin, despite “rich malty, berry, grape and graham” assertion. Yet its centrist appeal will not displease bolder thirsts. Molasses-sugared dried fruiting and sweet wheat-flaked caramel malting contrast Cascade-hopped citrus bittering in a creative manner. Zesty orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and tangerine tang outdoes black cherry, raisin and fig conflux, picking up candied apple glaze by the fruitful finish. Tertiary Grand Marnier, almondine, port and blackberry wine notes sit below the surface.
Though lacking resilience and definitive stylish design, thin canned porter nevertheless will please most seasoned dark ale thirsts. Milk chocolate-y carob influence spreads across dark-roasted malting and murky hop char, but fades abruptly. Oily day-old coffee staleness and weedy basement dankness disrupt light molasses-soaked black licorice nuances.
Sessionable canned IPA provides ‘peach, mango and passionfruit’ tropicalia to creamy sugared malts contrasting lemon-seeded piney hop bittering. Centrist grapefruit, pineapple, orange and peach tang picks up floral nuances. Making fine use of Pacific-styled Centennial, Citra and Amarillo hops, Cincy-bound medium body hits the mark despite minor metallic tinning.
Summery straw-yellowed moderation (in a can) offers sugary lemon-grapefruit-orange-pineapple tang to delicate grassy hop spicing, pale-malted white bread spine and mineral watered crisping. Predictable, but efficient.
Unresiliently updated ‘vanilla espresso-infused’ 2015 version utilizes creamy Ugandan vanilla bean sugaring and less engaging Peruvian espresso influence but fails to fully charm. Bitter cocoa cacophony, slick coffee ground compromise and oaken hop char distract (instead of contrast) sweet side, leaving tertiary hazelnut brownie, sappy molasses, black cherry and blackberry illusions in the dust. By the finish, most of its vanilla espresso luster has faded and become a tad phenolic.
“Decadent” chocolate porter offers pronounced cocoa nibs adjunct to dark-roasted mocha malting, nutty coffee ascendance and moderate hop char. Bittersweet black chocolate influence deepens dark cocoa insistence. Sinewy molasses sapping seeps into distant raspberry and black cherry rasp.
Exemplary bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout retains fudgy milk chocolate goodness and dark-roasted hop char for oaken vanilla sweetness. Black coffee, cappuccino, burnt caramel, cocoa powder, anise and coconut illusions reinforce prosperous mocha theme. Wispy black cherry, fig and blackberry undertones fill out sugared molasses backend.
Penetrative dark-roasted barley malting and toasted hop crisping elevate cocoa-dried black chocolate affluence that contrasts fresh-brewed coffee bittering. Mild nut-charred rye breading works its way into molasses-sugared mocha finish.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, sashaying smoked saison loses initial peat-smoked campfire insistence to moderate citrus tartness and mildly dry earthen leathering. Creamy wheat syruping contrasts dewy earthen rusticity as sweet orange-peeled grapefruit zest lingers behind. A wayward hybrid bereft of advertised smokiness by arid citrus-induced finish. In the bottle, peculiar ‘amber ale’ with peat-smoked barley and dewy wheat syruping gains Band-aid-like astringency. Buttery phenol residue invades murky orange-candied tartness and dry whiskey nip.
