STONE CALI-BELGIE INDIA PALE ALE

Truly stunning West Coast-Belgium combination overhauls Stone IPA’s California-styled wood-hopped citric tang with Belgian-like candied yeast. Bright grapefruit-pinked pineapple, melon, nectarine and apricot tropicalia reinforces tangy orange-apple conflux countering resinous pine-hopped bittering. Creamy caramel malting sweetness undercoats subsidiary black-peppered coriander-clove spicing and lingered dark floral reminder.

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA 22 oz (3 Pack)

MIKKELLER STATESIDE I.P.A.

A lighter pine-embittered fruiting than typical IPA fare comes to the fore. Cascade-hopped oats-flaked fig-dried orange-tangerine tang lost to phenol spicing, earthen fungi, musty peat resin, and diacetyl vegetal snip. Astringent alcohol burn buries green apple tartness and apricot-dried grapefruit bittering below ethanol whir. Serve to exploratory ESB fans.

(PIETRA) COLOMBA WHITE ALE

Lackadaisical moderate-bodied chartreuse-hazed Belgian-styled witbier from France brings sunny lemon zest, sour-candied tartness, and dry Kaffir lime illusions to fizzy herbal-spiced modicum. At the midst, grassy-hopped juniper berry, orange peel, and peppercorn bittering outweighs coriander-spiced browned banana sweetness. A certain something lacks throughout.

SLY FOX ROYAL WEISSE ALE

Canned straw-hazed Bavarian-styled hefeweizen brings soft German pilsner malting to sour lemon-candied green apple tartness and billowy vanilla-creamed banana-clove-bubblegum sweetness. Metallic detergent-like oxidation relegates looming orange-fig-prune conflux, herbal woodruff -jasmine twinge and dark floral aspect. Bark-dried vegetal astringency at honeyed citric finish lowers appeal.

 

 

 

HIK BRUIN

Fluctuant Belgian dark ale brings aromatic cider souring to dry-hopped herbal citric tranquility. Bruised lemon, green apple, dried fig, red currant, and oaken grape esters inform unassuming 12% alcohol luster of bronzed grist-grained medium body. Marinated tealeaf finish secures refermented-in-the-bottle fizzle.

 

HIK BLOND

Pour thin gold-hazed moderate body slowly or risk overt carbonation. Cat urine aroma, astringent alcohol smudge, and murky yeast funk bring off-putting opulence to dry pepper-spiced raw-honeyed citric-soured white wine billow. Tart lemonade, green apple, and white grape illusions underscore mild orange peel serenade. But putrid odorous opening spells trouble.

BLUE POINT RASTAFA-RYE ALE

Snazzy Jamaican Rastafarian motif, label, and theme saddle ‘deep copper ale.’ Sweet rye-malted caramel toasting and almond-pasted cherry-orange tang juxtapose bright floral-spiced orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering. Biscuit-y mineral-grained peat-smoked cornmeal backdrop seeps into wheat base. Minus the fruity kick, Blue Point’s original version of Toasted Lager benefited from the same wheat-cracked almond-marzipan roast.