Truly middle-of-the-road canned pale body merges sour Kolsch fruiting with toasted lager crisping. Tart orange oiling, parched lemondrop-candied pucker and dry cherrywood reminder waver through sedate grassy-hopped prickle as well as distant corn-sugared Vienna malting. Musky sourdough breading envelops honeyed biscuit wheat spine. Tertiary banana, apple and grape illusions need ripening.
RJ ROCKERS BLACK PERLE DARK INDIA PALE ALE
Velvety smooth fireside sipper picks up piney molasses sapping over soft hop roast, wavered chocolate liqueur spell, dry-roasted coffee resin and wet-grained wort-like aromatics. Busy backdrop gathers dark chocolate chalking, black grape tannins, astringent nuttiness and fudgy vanilla. Arguably South Carolina’s best dark ale.
LIEFMANS FRUITESSE
INVERCARGILL YEASTIE BOYS POT KETTLE BLACK
BREW KETTLE OLD 21 IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE
On tap at Chappy’s, vibrant tangy fruited full body seduces the senses immediately. Brisk grapefruit peel bittering, resinous hop oiling and sugary malt sweetness get captivated by luscious cherry-apricot-apple entry. Ripe orange-tangerine-pineapple-mango-raspberry blitzkrieg storms ahead, magnifying the zesty fruitful resilience and distant rosebud-dandelion-tulip bouquet. A terrific fruit cocktail.
SPIDER BITE FIRST BITE PALE ALE
PORT JEFF RUNAWAY FERRY IMPERIAL I.P.A.
Jubilant full-bodied merriment’s the pride of Strong Island. Cognac-spiked bruised orange overtones provide a tart lead-in above pine-sapped bittering hops and spicy floral nuances. Ripe cherry, cantaloupe, pineapple, peach and melon illusions add depth while buttery Chardonnay undertones receive a strong ‘whiskey back,’ affecting the fresh fruited finish, where a brazenly boozy alcohol burn awaits.
ROOSTERFISH HOP WARRIOR IMPERIAL I.P.A.
Well-rounded medium-bodied tropical-fruited refresher stays less hop-embittered than defensive war handle suggests. Soft-toned grapefruit/orange-peeled bittering receives grassy hop respite contrasting juicy pineapple-tangerine-peach-apple tang sweetening its creamy malt subsidy. Subdued ethanol crescendo ensues.
ROOSTERFISH SCOTCH ALE
ASS KISSER ROYAL DONK DOUBLE I.P.A.
(RINKUSKAI) COCKA TOO POMEGRANATE LAGER
Cruddy fruited lager (with heightened 12% alcohol flow) tastes like cheap corn-syrupy malt liquor dreck. Cloy sugaring ruins advertised pomegranate influence and slushy strawberry-cranberry slurp. Miserable whiskey-backed honey wheat base and dreadful vodka niche further deride Lithuanian stinker.
PERENNIAL BLACK WALNUT DUNKELWEIZEN
Leaning more towards dried fruiting than most banana-sweetened dark wheat ales, its advertised walnut essence gets upended by an overriding fig-sugared green raisin and purple grape souring that works its way into creamy Vienna malts. Banana nut bread, honeyed praline and almond illusions provide background subtleties.