Uproarious dark-roasted coffee bean theme heightened by tar-like hop-charred bittering and walnut-seared cola nuttiness. Milk-creamed espresso and vanilla creaminess add ancillary relief above earthen dewiness. But wait for lactic full body to settle in glass or brusque carbolic fizz will crowd out flavoring.
WEYERBACHER FOURTEEN ALE
On tap at Barcade, enjoyable 14th anniversary wheat wine (aged two years) retains milder sedation than richer barleywine styling, but may lack subtle complexities. Caramelized butterscotch-honeyed wheat malting tapers off as serene grape-wined seduction makes presence felt. Candied apple, banana bubblegum, orange marmalade, red cherry, pineapple, mango and grapefruit illusions flutter across acutely astringent alcohol burn.
WEYERBACHER SIERRA
On tap at Barcade, rich obsidian-hued English-style milk stout retains lactic brown chocolate sweetness, sappy molasses sugaring and creamy vanilla buttering. Barley-roasted oats toasting picks up ancillary cola, hazelnut and walnut char.
KLEIN DUIMPJE PORTER
Floundering soft-textured lactic porter searching for clear identity. Smoked caramel malting and Baker’s chocolate chalkiness fade into light cola-fizzed nuttiness, picking up wavered black cherry nuance and sweet vanilla subtlety. Minor molasses breading needs deeper thrust.
KANE DRIFT LINE
On tap at Barcade, approachable American brown ale brings soft Vienna-malted sweetness to oatmeal-toasted hop char. Dry ashen nuttiness shelters cocoa-buttered dark chocolate midst and oily coffee drift. Hazelnut, walnut, praline and pecan illusions reinforce lactic medium body.
DRIE HORNE BANANATANA
Sultry fruit ale too washed-out and unassertive. Easygoing dessert treat combines flittering banana-skinned plantain placidity, squelched banana-leafed tranquility and pureed banana cream-pied ambiguity above mild peppery hop astringency. Advertised sultana (golden raisin) influence is a non-factor. Under-whelming banana liqueur nip and light vanilla sweetness quashed by soapy spell.
CROSSROADS BRADY’S BAY CREAM ALE
Approachable moderate-bodied session ale. Light caramelized creaming and doughy baked breading contrast subtly perfumed grassy hop bittering. Lemony grapefruit splurge picks up mild herbal tea nuance above wispy ethanol pungency, finishing with a zesty citric-spiced zip.
CRICKET HILL TRAPPIST I.P.A.
Chewy Belgo-American India Pale Ale retains musty Belgian yeast funk, lactic brown chocolate creaminess and black-peppered dried fruiting. Prune, raisin and fig illusions thicken multi-grain breading above reedy hop resin. A hint of bourbon and a snip of crème de cocoa found at coarsened chocolate-spiced finish.
CRICKET HILL PAYMASTER’S PORTER
Sessionable prune-browned tan-headed medium body layers sour soy-sauced cocoa powdering and sedate roasted hop bittering above creamy brown chocolate sugaring. Ashen walnut char, toasted pumpernickel breading and latent hickory nuances fill the dewy earthen gaps.
CIGAR CITY MARSHAL ZHUKOV’S IMPERIAL STOUT
Delightfully complex lactose stout (with frothy brown-tanned head and viscous mahogany body) loads milky brown chocolate creaminess atop nutty dried fruiting. Devil’s food-caked dark chocolate pudding entry and oats-toasted caramelized toffee impulse deepen serene mochaccino-cappuccino conflux. At midst, hazelnut, almond, cashew and honey nut illusions emboss ashen Blackstrap molasses bittering to contrast maple-sugared vanilla sweetness. Tertiary black grape, black cherry and blackberry wisp amplifies burgundy-bourbon-port wining caressing big chocolate finish consuming desirable dessert beer.
BRONX PALE ALE
Straightforward medium-bodied session ale richer than most American competitors. Creamy caramelized malting and wheat biscuit toasting suffuse mild peppery hop spicing. Ancillary buttery nuttiness sidles peach, orange, pear and apple nuances. Minor alcohol burn may put off lighter thirsts.
BARRIER GREEN ROOM PALE ALE
Casual copper-hazed medium body places citric-spiced rye malting atop grassy earthen mineral graining. Bitter grapefruit-peeled ascension overrides recessive vegetal nuances. Minor astringency lowers mainstream appeal a tad.