Deliciously provocative digestif boasts insinuating burgundy aromatics, head-on carbolic briskness, candied yeast tongue, and buttery caramel quotient. Bubbly champagne fizz surrounds musty raisin-fig conflux and overripe melon-cantaloupe sentiment to subtle black cherry coughdrop finish of the most uncommonly complex brown ale on the market.

Sassy medium-bodied ruddish-hued delight saddles mocha malt bitterness, roasted barley sear, and dry chocolate resin with illusions of pine combs, sappy spruce, walnut, cola nut, and tobacco. Prickly hop-spiced resilience lingers skyward.

Wonderful 8% alcohol Belgian dark ale with thick maple-sapped malt-smoked caramelized grain insurgence striking keen balance between sweet honeyed spicing, dried raisin-fig-plum consort and mild barleywine underling for heartily full-bodied treat.

Sweet chocolate aroma and mouthfeel, syrupy yeast sinew, and creamy mocha malting cannot disguise lack of fulsome nut finish. Brewery defunct: 2004.

Auburn-clouded ale with pungently aromatic mocha contour, prevailing crystal malt detail, and pepper-spiced hop bittering lingers to caramel finish, spanning stylistic range from frisky red ale to light chocolate porter. Brewery defunct: 2003.

Floral hops, dry prune, and chalky mocha regale meager barleywine essence, but foamy carbolic explosion overflows. Brewery defunct: 2001.

Bock-like raisin-fig distinction picks up fruity grape esters as caramel malt sweetness anchors roasted almond-chestnut-hazelnut undertones. Smitten butternut finish dotted by resinous hop dryness and ashy cigar remnant.

Auburn-hued dry-hopped moderate body carries diffuse mocha-prune sourness and relegated Baker’s chocolate parch to equally sparse nutty rye center. Peanut-shelled Brazil nut, walnut and cola nut soaping nips dark-spiced perfume hops. Dewy earthiness insulates sweet brown tea finish.

Fruity hop barrage and sourdough yeast sinew nearly overwhelm malt-smoked caramel creaminess of busy garnet-hued medium body. Candi-sugared cherry-apricot-banana ripeness and brandy-soaked fig-raisin-plum surge bring fruitful respite. But coarse 8% alcohol burn allows disturbing tinny backdrop to ransack spotty saccharine finish, lowering its appeal.

Dark chocolate waft, green apple quickness, and tannic red grape tartness rise above date-fig conflux bordering earthy peat resin. Burnt hop dryness and chaffed wheat restraint smear otherwise tinny sour malt finish of frothy flesh-tone laced dark amber.

Perfectly balanced blend of an IPA and brown ale. “Caramelized brown sugar” extract, dark maple syrup, and prune ripeness provide sinewy texture underlined by spicy adjuncts. Persistent barley presence contrasted by hop bitterness and sour mash. Burnt chicory finish lingers, adding further resilience. An exquisite complement to barbecue.

Too unassumingly fizz-induced to be labeled decent brown ale. Where’s the mocha? Grain flavors don’t separate enough and hops are undefined. But seasonal clove spiciness (unusual for this style) provides some depth to dry phenol finish. Brewery defunct: 2010.