Muted sweet malt aroma, soft-bodied watery consistency, and corn sugar dalliance counter tamped down hop frolic to salted butter finish. Better than all urban-marketed malt liquors.
BROOKLYN OKTOBERFEST
Rich tan-headed golden fall fodder (circa 1999) with aromatic yeast sweetness, creamy caramel malt variance, floral citric waver, and watery texture lacks pizzazz when soft grain finish fades too quickly. Yet pleasant cider notes linger in the midst.
(ZYWIEC) TATRA PILS
Hardy, but rancid, opaque amber pilsner languished by spoiled orange murk, oily diacetyl must, and steely metallic undertone. Fleeting butterscotch whim overtakes brittle pumpernickel-rye encumbrance and corn husked astringency sabotaging mucky finish.
ZYWIEC PORTER
Roasted barley-mocha persistence and dry rye affluence inundate tongue as impending burgundy sweetness deepens truly splendid porter. Nutty raisin-prune follow-up enhances mellow port wine luster of perfect dessert beer.
ZYWIEC PALE LAGER
Pronounced Ji-veech, this lightweight pale lager tosses gooey honey malting atop sharp floral spicing. Mild sourdough tease, sugary almond pasting, nutty coarseness and lemony subtleties linger across phenolic hop bittering to indiscernible watered-down butterscotch finish.
(ZYWIEC) LEZAJSK PREMIUM LAGER
Premium Polish brew since 1525 features regal Scotch malt poignancy favorably comparable to neighboring German and Czech beers. Delicate silk flow, barley-wheat sweetness, honeyed yeast tenderness, and lively citric-floral hop zest merge for evenly textured pleasure.
(ZYWIEC) KRAKUS LAGER
Pure mountain spring water flows through dirty mineral grain essence to soapy finish that’s indistinguishable even for a light pale body. Conservative barleymalt saunter under-whelms.
Z STREET MOCHA JAVA STOUT
Mahogany-hued brewpub fave bottled by magnanimous Mercury Brewery creates dramatic fragrant coffee bean theme intensified by roasted-hopped oatmeal soothe, black chocolate swirl, and slight charcoal slip. Less doughy, spicy, and sticky than multi-dimensional Mercury sibling, Ipswich Oatmeal Stout, yet heavily ambitious.
ZLOTY KROL BEER
Musty sour yeast aroma sets up frisky-hopped bitter malts and moderate buttery creaminess. But too predictable by third passing.
ZIMA MALT LIQUOR
Disgustingly gross faux-wine cooler with beleaguered lemon-limed 7-Up spritz. Who buys this rueful drool? Trendy ’90s-bound seltzer-spumed scum suckers. ‘Zumthing Ztupid.’
ZELTA GOLD LAGER
Drab clear-bodied white-headed pale lager settles to fair barleycorn sweetness after frustrating musty yeast nose, moldy malt liquor pungency, and oxidized herbal hop fizz recede.
(DE BIE) ZATTE BIE ARTISANAL BROWN ALE
Bold, assertive, fluffy tan-headed brown ale with 9% alcohol depth offers chewy barleywine essence, buttery malt flow, and dried-fruited plum-prune-date assist. Busy soda fizz contrasts sour yeast sinew judiciously consuming bitter hop spicing ’til wee heavy toffee finish gains control.