Fizzy soft-grained hop-charred opaque amber retains clumsy puffy tan head. Humble buttery yeast sweetness, earthen pine easement, and sleek pale malt mildness enhance winsome spicing to toasted caramel finish. Pecan, almond, and hazelnut illusions waver.
TUSKER PREMIUM LAGER
Serviceable pale-toned light-bodied Kenyan with pure African spring water given initial spry hop spurt. Barley-roasted cracked wheat center and white-breaded yeast backing find faded lime tartness at mild bitter finish. An eclectic Middle of the Road lager.
TURK’S HEAD ISLAND PALE LAGER
Wavering rye-breaded honey wheat entry juxtaposes mild grapefruit-peeled mandarin orange bittering. Retains sharp hop bite and rich mineral grain finish lesser Carib pilsner lagers lack.
TURK’S HEAD ISLAND LIGHT PILSNER
Canned light pilsner with passive soft-hopped wheat frontage and mild lemony grapefruit-pineapple tropicalia turns slightly acidic, wiping out mineral grain semblance. Bottled version ain’t much better.
TURK’S HEAD ISLAND AMBER ALE
Quaffed at sunny West Indies Mexican-Italian joint, Hey Jose’s Caribbean Cantina, then Geckos Restaurant, May ’04. Sweet crystal malt nose drifts into sharp spiced hop fruitiness (berry-melon-orange) as peppery snippet tingles soft wheat base.
TUPPER’S HOP POCKET PILS
Unfiltered amber-hued pilsner with musty fertilizer aroma, blackened mocha malt bittering, and brisk hop-spiced tingle. Quite filling and rich for watery brew (much like British lagers). Always assured in its uniformity of purpose.
TUPPERS HOP POCKET ALE
Exquisite golden harvest ale recalls organically crafted Oregon ales with its dry piney-hopped bitterness, lively grain-malt interaction, and brisk water flow. Maple-sapped barley roast and floral-accented nectarine tang illuminate bold mocha finish.
(TUNNER’S) ROCK RIVER LAGER
Acidic carbolic nature encroaches thinly veiled barley strand and timid pale malt pleasantry. Muddled graining and lack of distinction also help deep six medium-bodied dullard.
(TUNNER’S) PIEDMONT PORTER
Dryly bitter porter with coffee-burnt dark chocolate creaminess retains semi-rich mocha malt finish. Neither as bold nor as filling as most porters, leaving only trace of roasted cocoa at washed-out toasted grain finish.
(TUNNER’S) BERKSHIRE SPRINGS STOCK ALE
Buttery chocolate malt creaminess, fizz-hopped nutty caramel dirge, and wavered fruit esters give loosely defined stock ale an apparent light porter essence. Oxidized chemical insistence leads to metallic overload. Rich, robust up-front; losing steam by bleak finish.
(TUNNER’S) BARBARY COAST GOLD RUSH STYLE PILSNER
Iceless fermentation creates tamped down hop dryness above sour vegetative pungency and unwelcome tinniness. Sweet rye malt blandness and ester-y cherry-grape subsidy cannot overcome indistinguishable oeuvre.
TUCKERMAN PALE ALE
Blending wheat cracker tepidity with unripe citric blandness and orange peel bittering, this casual cardboard-y dry amber lacks distinction.