Enticingly sessionable West Coast-styled IPA stays perfectly centrist. Lemony orange-peeled bittering spiking subtle piney hop resin preludes sweet honey-spiced fruiting. Tangy peach, pineapple, apple and red grape tones gain momentum, limiting its minor astringent alcohol burn. In the bottle, vibrant yellow grapefruit, candied red apple, sweet orange peel, peach, mango and pineapple tang overlaid sugary caramel malting. Spruce and pine nuances simmer beneath.
Though its brown ale styling may be a misnomer, pleasantly crystalline holiday seasonal (2014) wisely keeps it simple. Toasted almond, roasted chestnut and walnut-shelled pecan nuttiness fleetingly affects delicately wintry nutmeg-cinnamon spicing and red-fruited caramel malting. Subtle cherry, grape, peach and apple illusions forge forth above ashen nuttiness and soft spruce salience. Delicate hop zip adds mild finishing astringency.
Lusty full-bodied oak-aged stout leaves heavy bourbon mark on sweet brown chocolate and cream-sugared coffee overtones. Fudgy cookie dough yeast sinew melts into dark-roasted mocha malting, acrid hop-charred bittering and back-throated peat smoke. Benevolent vanilla, coconut and cola nut illusions deepen chocolate bourbon truffle finish.
On tap at Blue Ribbon Tavern, musky moderate-bodied flagship pilsner brings gluey cardboard-like pale malting to raw-honeyed sour lemon putridity. Lusty carbolic citric spritz negates musty vegetal herbage that wispily seeps into roughhewn bruised orange finish.
On tap at Blue Ribbon Tavern, richly creamed fruited stout loads fudgy dark chocolate syrup atop pureed black cherry insistence with exceedingly good results. Plush vanilla overtones sweeten black patent malting. Ancillary black cocoa, chocolate cake and cocoa butter illusions settle alongside cherry-dried blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry fruiting.
Elegantly soft-toned milk stout drapes raspberry puree atop coffee-stained dark chocolate with unique precision. Espresso macchiato milking enhances ancillary blackberry, black cherry and grape jam illusions. Subtle vanilla sweetness seeps inside glorious fruited mocha theme. Perfect dessert fodder.
Sessionable light-bodied Scottish ale with turbid copper murk offers dewy peat malting to soft caramel-roasted chestnut, buterscotch and Scotch illusions.
Ill-defined pearly-headed yellow-cleared moderation (with aggressive pour) ruined by cloying glutinous yeast, carbolic hop-fizzed desiccation and slick crystal malt sugaring. Candied lemony orange smear too far in the distance. Dreck.
‘Bold, aggressive’ amber ale sports brisk India Pale Ale-like piney fruiting. Yellow grapefruit tang and orange-peeled lemon rind bittering settle alongside dry wood sharpness. Resinous hop minerality seeps into ancillary pineapple, mango, peach, red apple and pear illusions. Juicy citric appeal hides earthen vegetal notch.
Musky Czech-styled red lager places Saison-like lemon-grapefruit-orange tartness above raw-honeyed pungency and grassy hop sedation for easygoing likability. Slight butterscotch sweetness contrasts backside vegetal dryness to saltine cracker spine.
Simpler one hop (Mosaic)/ one malt (pale) profile differs drastically from 2XIPA’s multiple hop-malt billing, but dynamic complexity never wavers for lively 2014 winter seasonal ‘strong pale ale.’ A painterly panache of sunny yellow-orange fruiting assumes parity with floral hop spicing and sharp wood-dried herbage. Mighty yellow grapefruit-peeled bittering contrasts tropical pineapple-juiced mango, guava and papaya tang as well as candi-sugared tangerine, peach, nectarine and melon notions. Mint-fresh black peppering contrasts nutty caramel sweetness underneath.
Lavishly designed “chocolate wheat Imperial” collaboration between Danish gypsy brewer and respected Akron craftsmen evenly spreads various mocha indulgences above heightened dark-roasted Tomahawk/ Chinook hop bittering and ashen pine embers. Creamy black chocolate, dark coffee, fudge, espresso, cocoa and vanilla overtones pick up smoked oats char at peat-moistened hazelnut bottom. Heavy anise influence tethers light dried fruiting to bustling chocolate-coffee theme. Leaning towards the bitter side, complex full-bodied dark ale never fails to intrigue.
