Easy drinkin’ ale lacks distinction. Light grain-roasted pale malting receives minor hop spiced fruiting. Unexpected holiday ale seasoning persists.

Rich brown-hued AAA sports ‘floral’ roasted malt aroma and fleeting caramel underpinning. Slightest hint of bitterness lingers to moderate finish. Caught between ineffectively finding the right balance of ale perkiness and porter heaviness. Brewery defunct: 2002.

Slightly sweet and easy flowing, satisfying novice tastes with simple mineral graining, subtle hop bitterness, and soft mocha finish. Too watery and unassuming to be truly distinct. Note: in or around 2002, Harpoon Brewery of Boston bought the Catamount factory. Brewery defunct: 2002.

Thickheaded copper-toned spice-hopped amber delicately caresses toffee-mocha malts and earthy grains with lively fruiting. Moderate creaminess melts into sweet cracked wheat backdrop too swiftly at thin finish.

Decent, if unassuming, mineral-grained ale goes down smooth and creamy, leaving lingering barley wheat imprint but in need of better up-front fruited hop luster. Brewery defunct: 2006

Imbibed in Cambridge at 99 Restaurant & Pub, this spice-hopped amber ale with moderate bitter-grained spine softens to delicate orange-tangerine-induced finish, retaining faded spiciness casual drinkers will find smooth and heartier thirsts will compare to less malt-y Bass Ale or less involving Sam Adams Pale Ale. Brewery defunct: 2006.

Spice-hopped sour malt tempest obtrudes off-dry grassy-hopped wheat-cracked horsehide-hay lathering, abating supine sweetness prematurely as carbonation flattens to dismal aftertaste.

From the beautiful Adirondack Springs comes this slowly aged cold winter refresher. Aromatic chocolate malts and smoked grains obstructed by deflective carbolic fizz blocking full-bodied nature. Bet it’s a 4 star winner on tap since bottled versions of Saranac ales lose more character (especially maple and yeast) than most other brews.

Quaffed at San Diego’s Seaport Village’s Asaggio, a Chicago-styled thick-crust pizza joint with Cubs-Sox-Bears memorabilia. Replacing same-named E.S.B. listed below, this pleasurable medium body sweetens its cracked wheat spine with apple-pear-apricot fruiting to counter snuggly orange-peeled bittering. Honeyed oats gird mild caramel malt creaminess.

Russet amber with soda-like flow and bottoming sediment clumps registers caramel-mocha thickness. Sweet barleymalts, sticky yeast sinew, and tangy citrus notes exhibit fertile richness not far removed from ‘busier’ red ales. Brewery defunct: 2002.

Bottle conditioned tan-headed amber brings rye-dried honeyed malt coalition to unripe fruited souring. Spicy Saaz hops fortify delicate bittersweet chocolate endurance.

Like fine champagne, took whiff of cork to predict worthiness. Prevalent sweet wine refinement offers exquisite tangy grape sharpness and vinous dry oak tartness to expedient grain-enriched yeast heft. Sip foamy-headed amber-hazed pleasantry slowly to enjoy every ounce.