Sweet pineapple waft welcomes brisk tropical-fruited India Pale Ale. Zestful lemony orange spritz sprays peachy pineapple tang and mildly dank piney hop dryness.
ARMADA MERMAID COVE INDIA PALE ALE
Tag Archives: ARMADA BREWING
ARMADA OCHO IMPERIAL STOUT
Rich 8th anniversary celebrator aged in apple brandy barrels plies serious bourbonized sherry-cognac-brandy warmth to syrupy dark chocolate. Fudged brownie, Graham Cracker, Black Forest cake, toffee and anise sweetness counter tarry vanilla-beaned Blackstrap molasses bittering as baked apple ascendance sidles cedar-dipped cigar pleasantry. Fascinating.
ARMADA OTTO
Bold 17% ABV 8th anniversary milk stout celebrater aged in maple syrup bourbon with Yellow King coffee gains lovely brandied dark chocolate black cherry succulence. Elegant Kentucky bourbon barrel aging picks up oaken vanilla tannins at its cinnamon-sticked coffee stead. Tertiary chocolate-covered pomegranate, stewed prune, green raisin, pureed raspberry and burgundy illusions deepen resolve and slight floral-backed black peppering complete luxuriously detailed nightcap.
ARMADA ACHT
Profound 8th anniversary stout aged in bourbon brings oaken vanilla tannins to syrupy dark chocolate, roasted coffee and chewy caramel cluster, picking up tart dark cherry luster. Below the clean off-dry surface, brandied cherry, whiskeyed cherry, cherry wine, cognac and burgundy whims emerge.
ARMADA IMMORTAL PRINCE TRIPLE IPA
Pine-needled lemony grapefruit bittering and brisk orange peel tang slide thru ascending 10% ABV vodka whir of busy lactic IPA. Floral-bound mango and berry influence stays setback as boozy resonance pierces Mosaic-hopped fruit salad frontage. Lactic oated NEIPA meets sharp citric West Coast styling.
ARMADA EDGE OF DARKNESS DARK LAGER
Besting most nebulous dark lagers with its upfront hop-charred coffee roast and nut-seared dark chocolate bittering, medium-full-bodied recalls a mocha stout given fizzy clean-watered effervescence.
ARMADA LUMINARA PALE LAGER
Mild yellow fruited pale lager with gluey pale malt lagering and lagging earthen vegetal musk. Delicate lemony grapefruit bittering counters wavered navel orange sweetness.
ARMADA NEPTUNE’S DAGGER PALE ALE
Soft fuzzy white-headed moderation with politely citric IPA-like tropicalia. Mild lemony grapefruit-seeded pineapple bittering contrasts less prominent cantaloupe-melon sweetness, picking up dry-spiced herbage and light metallic snag as overall flavoring diminishes.
ARMADA BREWING
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
Inside an ole red brick Industrial warehouse formerly housing Bigelow Boiler Company, ARMADA BREWING came to fruition in 2022. At the underdeveloped and previously abandoned Fair Haven section near the Quinnipiac River, the family-owned brewpub is led by head brewer, John Kraszewski.
Armada’s brick-walled, concrete-floored, high ceilinged interior features multiple TV’s, three elongated lacquered wood community tables, overhead doored barrel seating and a couched cove. The back bar’s ghoulish black and blue wall design captures the eye alongside the colorful tomb-like chalkboard beer list while scattered back tanks service the dozen tap handles.
I made the journey to Armada March ’25, quaffing three draughts before bringing home a few more Armada brews, including three expressive 8th anniversary barrel aged stouts, reviewed in Beer Index.
Crisp Confirmed Pils prickled musky husked graining and Saaz hop herbage with a spritzy lemon fizz.
Equally as crisp and clean, brisk lemony passionfruit bittering and mild guava-gooseberry tartness engaged Iron Gold Passionfruit Blonde.
Coffee-burnt dark chocolate spunk and dewy moss got draped by light Blackstrap molasses for Lord Chancellor Oatmeal Stout, leaving mild cola-walnut snips on the maple oats spine.
ARMADA THE LOST BEACH IPA
Lemony yellow grapefruit and orange rind bittering lingers alongside resinous pine dryness contrasting light pale malt spicing of West Coast-nicked NEIPA. Slight ethyl vodka whir surrounds sharp citrus bitterness and distant cherry, pineapple and mango illusions flutter.
ARMADA SORCERER’S TEMPLE DUNKEL LAGER
Frothy dark cocoa-powdered chocolate roast lightly tethered to dewy salted caramelization and mild cola-hazelnut-chestnut snips. Betters less mocha-induced American dunkels though many German originals have richer body and compare favorably.
ARMADA SACRED THRONE HELLES LAGER
Decent helles lager with dewy tobacco-roasted barley crisping segueing to lemony orange-candied Grand Marnier pleasantry as musky earthen hops counter gluey wheat malts down low.
