Adventurous brandy-port aged ‘old ale’ reverberates convincingly with lavish liquor luster. Lovely cherry-bruised cognac warmth guides rum-buttered whiskey nip and orange-candied Grand Marnier snip in creamily caramelized vanilla setting. It spiced brandy flourish lightens the acrid fusel esters consuming the port-wined bourbon finish.
On tap at Hoover’s, delightful Mexican-styled stout lets dark chocolate malting gain subtle coffee and vanilla influence. Cocoa-powdered dark chocolate bittering sweetened at midst by toasted cinnamon spicing, wispy marshmallow sugaring and restricted chili pepper burn.
“Epic” high octane collaboration combines Wild Turkey bourbon-barreled Clown Shoes Billionaire Barleywine with Shmaltz Jewbelation 11. Eager bourbon-spiced dried fruiting contacts molasses-sugared vanilla sweetness in a sinewy mix. Loud fig, raisin and prune illusions pick up a light alcohol burn that dries out the cognac-licked dry whiskey finish. 
On tap at The Oath, rapturous mango juicing lacquers sour lemon twang and syrupy peach sweetness. Mildly creamed full-tilt mango adjunct gains floral-perfumed papaya, guava and nectarine tang . Mild herbal hop oiling reinforces honeyed mango stickiness.
On tap at Tiff’s, cocksure Galaxy hop-dried IPA enriches lemony grapefruit-orange bittering and sweet floral accents with honeyed pale malting. Resinous pine sapping picks up minor aspirin-like astringency. Subsidiary peach, pineapple, mango, tangerine and nectarine tang sweetens the back end.
Up in Ipswich, Massachusetts, a few fantastic East Coast India Pale Ales call home. One, Ipswich IPA, has been a well-received full body since the ’90s, clearly inspiring the other two, Clown Shoes’ Evil Crawfish Imperial Red Ale and Space Cake Double IPA. Despite its similar name, the ’16 version of Evil Crawfish Imperial Red IPA neatly dupes the Space Cake instead. A well-balanced update placing creamy cookie dough pastry cake sugaring and sweet peach-cherry-mango-nectarine-tangerine tang against rearranged Citra-Simcoe-Mosiac-Nelson Sauvin hop-embittered floral perfuming and sharp orange-peeled grapefruit and pineapple bittering, its depth and richness cannot be denied. Piney spruce sapping works its way into cereal-honeyed citric finish.
“Majestic” 3rd anniversary Imperial Stout (2016), aged in Heaven Hill and Wild Turkey bourbon barrels, drapes Mexican-styled chocolate malting and mild chipotle peppering over rum-spiced bourbon vanilla warmth. Mild coconut-toasted cinnamon, black cherry and almond illusions sweetly contrast light pepper heat below the mocha surface. A perfect nightcap.
On tap at Ambulance, heavenly espresso-flavored brown ale takes brewers’ Brown Angel on a milk-sugared cold brewed coffee journey. Dry black coffee bittering contrasts sugar-creamed espresso frontage and brown-sugared oatmeal bottom. Tertiary vanilla, caramel latte, cappuccino and hazelnut sweeten the back end. A delightful breakfast alternative.
“Cleaner, meaner and less bitter” dry-hopped medium body utilizes Citra, El Dorado, and Mosaic varietal to help differentiate from brewers’ similarly detailed Evil Claw Fist Imperial Amber. Approachable hop-spiced fruiting receives creamy caramel malting as IPA-like orange-peeled yellow grapefruit tang gains strength alongside tertiary red apple, red grape, red cherry, mango, tangerine, pear, pineapple and peach tones.
Boldly swaggering Vienna lager loads sharp Citra-Simcoe dry hops atop oily pine resin, sweet floral perfuming and caramelized amber grain toasting. Vibrant orange-peeled yellow grapefruit tang and zesty lemon zing brighten tertiary mango, pineapple, peach, apple and pear fruiting. A fine crossover for middle-of-the-road IPA lovers.
On tap at Ambulance, fiercely complex Imperial Stout-dominated hybrid (limited edition 2015) blends brewers’ bourbon-aged Undead Party Crasher’s chocolate-chipped cookie dough yeast with Scotch-barreled Blaecorn Unidragon’s vanilla-creamed mocha malting and Pierre Ferrand Billionaire’s cognac-aged barleywine for a completely over-the-top full-bodied monster. Rich caramel-burnt black chocolate creaming picks up luscious rum-spiced vanilla bourbon, sugared molasses, black cherry and burgundy sweetness to contrast less prominent black-tarred hop char (and whimsical black coffee bittering). Tertiary peat whiskey snip and latent fig-raisin quip slip inside mighty mocha marvel.
