Pungent grain bitterness and rich pale malt sweetness combine for distinct full-bodied pilsner. Judicious fruited-hop tang and raunchy yeast souring punctuate musty grain grit. By peculiar tart cocoa finish, a mellow creaminess creeps through.
JACK OF THE WOOD PUBLIC HOUSE
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
Directly after visiting French Broad Brewery, August ’08, had lunch at JACK OF THE WOOD PUBLIC HOUSE, a Celtic-styled downtown hotspot serving Green Man Ales (crafted a few streets away and kegged for local distribution). Many fine local, national and international beers are also available alongside locally sourced food items on the fine pub menu.
Alongside galleries, bars, and small shops, the red-bricked mid-size space had front patio, tawny alcove at dark blue entrance, central wood bar, old cement floors, small stage, sided dining, sun god motifs, agrarian artwork, and upstairs space. Menu offered English-styled dishes such as shepherd’s pie and hempnut burger beside burgers, grouper, and salads.
Lemony honey-roasted cereal-grained hop-spiced cornbread-finishing English Bitter-styled Green Man Gold and dry-hopped peat-malted orange-quilted tea-honeyed rye-backed ESB went well with salmon salad.
Robust Green Man Porter countered coffee-stained stewed prune and sun-dried raisin souring with toffee-sweetened burgundy luster.
Best bet: high gravity 9.2% alcohol Belgian Gold, a candi-sugared ale with bittersweet banana and red cherry illusions fortifying butterscotch malts.
LAGUNITAS 2009 CORRECTION ALE
‘60s hippie-cultured ‘We’re all bozos on the bus’ snicker and ‘this is not a Double IPA’ disclaimer aside, this recession-proof pale ale won’t scare away budgeted hopheads. Bright floral-fruited frontage receives piney-hopped grapefruit-peeled bittering. Tangy peach, apple, and tangerine illusions enjoined by tropical pineapple-mango seduction to rye-dried cracked wheat spine.
WOLAVERS CERTIFIED ORGANIC BEN GLEASON’S WHITE ALE
Advertised orange peel-coriander blend perfectly suits dry light-bodied hazy-yellowed Belgian-styled witbier. Sour lemon zest and herbaceous mint undercurrent rally above skeletal fizzy-hopped white-breaded wheat base. Funky fungi-like wildflower yeast reminder, reminiscent of farmhouse ale, infiltrates backend.
SAPPORO PREMIUM LIGHT LAGER
Washed-out aluminum-hued dry-bodied lightweight ruined by tinny corn-oiled rice wine souring and nasty cider-y finish; leaving tinny aftertaste. Nasty stuff.
LAGUNITAS GNARLYWINE
Glorious slow sipping 11% alcohol-fueled dessert treasure (limited ’09 release) dazzles the senses with well-balanced nature and fascinating complexity. Ripe cherry, bruised orange, and brown banana illusions enliven chewy brown chocolate-y molasses creaminess rising above cotton-candied dark-spiced floral-hopped midst. Medicinal cognac-bourbon warmth brings finish to fruition.
HOOK & LADDER NO. 2 LIGHTER
Anyone for salted pretzels or buttery popcorn? This light-bodied lager suffers from doughy nothingness and astringent corn-maize nature. Faintest butterscotch-marzipan flicker saves lightly toasted malt finish. Contract brewed for Maryland’s Hook & Ladder.
HOFSTETTEN KUBELBIER
Spry orange-peach mist and sharp-hopped mineral graining enrich cloudy amber moderate-bodied zwickel (an unfiltered bottom-fermenting German-styled lager). Baked bread-y sourdough finish almost conceals tidy butterscotch sweetness.
HOFSTETTEN GRANITBOCK
Chewy molasses-soaked raisin-pureed stewed prune opening enriches dark-spiced brown-sugared chocolate malt sweetness of robust doppelbock. Honeyed nut, almond, pecan, and hazelnut illusions gather along tertiary port-whiskey slip.
THE BRUERY TRADE WINDS TRIPEL
Elegant beige-headed bronze-hazed bottle-conditioned Belgian-styled tripel drifts in and out of stylistic deluges with mostly positive results. Thai basil and rice provide lightly spiced Southeast Asian appeal to creamy full body. Polite white-peppered orange peel bittering counters sharp prune-fig souring, chewy banana liqueur illusion, and fleeting clove-coriander-allspice wisp at busy midst. Tertiary honeysuckle, peppercorn, and lemongrass influence intertwines tangy tangerine-peach-pear sweetness. Slight alcohol-burnt finish allows cinnamon cider, burgundy, and white wine illusions to seep in softly.
SLY FOX WGV PALE ALE
WGV stands for Whitbread Goldings Variety, a dry hop style worthily informing this soothing moderate body. Tingly dry-spiced lemon-grapefruit rind mildness embitters steadfast tea-like malting, grassy earthen musk, and minor tobacco nuance. Woody hops absorb citric acidity.
SOUTHERN TIER IMPERIAL INIQUITY BLACK ALE
Well-integrated velvety smooth dark ale maintains mocha-driven piney fruited complexity. Maple molasses-sapped caramel malts infiltrate chocolate-covered raisin, black cherry, spiced rum and sugar plum illusions. A hint of bourbon or burgundy fills out recessive coffee easement.