Lemony vanilla-creamed luster invites honeyed tropical fruiting and floral-spiced herbage to the party. Prickly hop fizz adds carbolic spritz and white-peppered Belgian yeast fungi provides contrasting bitterness. Coriander spicing trickles into ancillary nectarine, mandarin orange and peach sweetness as well as tart grapefruit, pineapple and mango tropicalia. Champagne grape, orange marmalade, lemon custard and almondine undertones add complexity.
Exhilirating ruby-browned Belgian strong dark ale (2013) brings brown-sugared candied fruitcake holiday decadence to chocolate-spiced caramel malting and toasted hop bittering. Its syrupy orange-bruised black cherry fruiting weaves thru mild alcohol warmth. Anisette, coffee brandy and caraway illusions fade into molasses-sweetened sugarplum, stewed prune, raisin and fig nuances, giving the chewy medium-full-bodied winter seasonal further complexity.
On tap at Dog & Cask, peerless java stout features domineering Guatemalan coffee bean roast that sweetens over time. Smooth soft-watered crisping provides crystalline backdrop for terrific milk-sugared coffee theme. Oats-charred molasses tease and mild dark chocolate snip found in deep recess. Hazelnut coffee, cafe au lait, caffe latte and espresso illusions deepen this unearthly delight.
On tap at Dog & Cask, hybridized draft-only “urban farmhouse ale” burrows funky-fruited Belgian saison yeast into bold Americanized piney hop bittering. Softly creamed crystal malts contrast lemon-rotted orange souring and grapefruit-peeled tartness. In the backdrop, musty herbal nuances dance across earthen amber grains, providing ample support for the dry honey-spiced citrus finish.
On tap at Dog & Cask, sessionable amber lager brings raw-honeyed lemon rot souring to the fore. Mild grapefruit bittering contrasts sassy sugared spicing just below pale-malted grassy hop stead. Baked bread, barley biscuit and toasted caramel undertones fade abruptly.
Well balanced limited edition 2013 Caribbean-styled IPA (in a can) drapes subdued tropical fruiting atop wood-dried grassy hop bittering. Soft-toned lemony orange-tangerine-clementine tartness and tangy grapefruit-mango-pineapple tropicalia sit atop tepid tea-leafed herbage. This version utilized the lesser-known Kohatu hop varietal.
On tap at Growler & Gill, limited edition draft-only ’14 saison offers expectant sour-fruited tartness to light white peppered herbage and raw vanilla bittering. Pale malted dryness picks up earthen fungi nip.
Unspecific ruby-browned limited edition (2014) American strong ale never truly suffices, defying easy categorizing by mismanaging enormous 100 IBU hop char. Mish-mashed black chocolate roast, black-breaded pumpernickel bittering and ashen nuttiness lose firm footing as distant fig-date-pecan conflux picks up tobacco-dried crisping. Simply imprecise.
Aggressive ‘velvety concoction’ loads sugary Belgian-styled brown chocolate spicing atop sticky anise sweetness and lilting bourbon subtleties. Dark-roasted mocha malting picks up charred hop bittering (and chalky cocoa reminder). Light black cherry undertones find room beneath syrupy molasses sapping.
On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, well-received tropical-fruited strong ale (formerly Alchemy Hour) hides lusty 9.1% alcohol volume behind luscious grapefruit-peeled pineapple, mango, guava and papaya juiciness (generated by Mosaic hops) as well as pungently resinous pine needling. Ancillary peach, pear and apple nuances pick up the pace alongside subtle herbal-tinged floral bouquet.
On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, easygoing nitro-based dry stout retains mild eggshell-headed creaming and soft-toned mocha bittering. Delicately dark-roasted black patent malting and relegated toasted hop char pick up distant roasted nuttiness. Dark chocolate, black coffee and espresso notes linger. Despite commonplace comparisons, it’s not nearly as flavorful as Guinness Extra Stout.
