Crisply sessionable clear-yellowed light body layers salted lemon zesting atop buttered Italian breading grazing soft barley-maize-rice bed. Brisk carbolic nature from spritzy citrus spicing gains gentle herbal hop musk.
(HORNY GOAT) BERRY HORNY SUMMER BERRY ALE
Precarious tart raspberry entry fades as shrill hop coarsening and washed-out soapiness outdo ancillary cranberry, cherry, strawberry and green grape souring to blandly astringent fruit finish.
HORNY GOAT HOPPED UP ‘N HORNY INDIA PALE ALE
Starting as a strong pale ale in its original formulation, newly tweaked 2012 IPA version gets a dry-hopped uplift and bitterer citric presence. Crisply floral herbaceous fruiting given less inviting cardboard-like biscuit malting. Bitter Cascade-hopped grapefruit peel and orange rind astringency contrasts tangy tangerine, peach, pear and pineapple supplement. Slight iodine-like alcohol burn and pungent metallic char singe the bright citric finish.
HORNY GOAT BROWNIE PORTER
Surprisingly amber-toned for mocha porter. Like Saranac, most Horny Goat beers seem slick and blue collar in approach. However, the efficient chocolate brownie-like entrance, brown-sugared cinnamon sweetness and cocoa-puffed toffee dollop of this dusky moderate body make a convincing pair. Nevertheless, disturbing diacetyl buttering gets in the way of less effective cacao-nibbed vanilla, gingerbread and honey nut dalliances.
HORNY GOAT STACKED MILK STOUT
Laidback soy-milked brown chocolate chalking given wavered oats-charred bittering and slick dark toffee sweetening. Stove-burnt coffee souring outlasts maple molasses meander as oily hop residue becomes way too astringent for slack moderate-medium body.
HORNY GOAT CHOCOLATE CHERRY STOUT
Ambiguous fruited stout lacks creamy dark chocolate malting and advertised (black or red) cherry tartness. Instead, minor astringency affects barren oats-charred mocha roast as well as coffee-stained cacao nibs niche.
THE PONY BAR
BEAR REPUBLIC WINE COUNTRY WHEAT
LAKEFRONT RENDEZVOUS
SOUTHERN TIER 2XMAS
Invigorating winter warmer emulates Swedish glogg by bridging autumnal brown-sugared pumpkin pie likeness to sweet Christmastime spicing and muted mull-spiced wining. Fig-sugared stewed prune, golden raisin, bruised cherry and mandarin orange peel fruiting picks up wintry gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and clove seasoning. Pecan, butterscotch, vanilla and sugar cookie illusions penetrate the fruitcake finish.
(STEENBERGE) WITCHES BREW GOLDEN ALE
Entertaining bottle conditioned amber-hazed blonde tripel (with well-hidden 9.3% alcohol volume) brings candi-sugared sweetness and butterscotch fruiting to honeyed barley-oats spine. Pastry-like filo doughing usurps unripe banana tartness and orange-soured marmalade splurge at mid-palate. Tropical nectarine, melon, honeydew, peach, mango, pineapple and papaya illusions linger below.
FLYING DOG K-9 WINTER ALE
As with previous ‘Cruiser’ version, bland 2012 edition lacks specificity. Wintry brown-sugared mulling spices get musty and phenol hop bittering dissolves alongside dreary caramel malting. Murky orange, cherry and apple nuances never suffice.