On tap at Morris Tap & Grill, luxurious bourbon-aged Imperial Stout stays dryer than most of its sweet peers. Bittersweet black chocolate-spiced entry gains vanilla-creamed molasses, hazelnut and cinnamon niceties. But its vermouth-laden bourbon influence and dried cocoa stint lean towards the dryer side.
Toasted Vienna-malted pale ale sets wavered caramelized sweetness against slick floral-citric spicing, leafy hop astringency, gluey cardboard riffs and earthen fungi mustiness. A bit unbalanced and stylishly nebbish.
Best of class. Dewy peat moss seeps into cocoa-dried Bakers chocolate malting and musky dried fruiting in a profound way. Rustic farmhouse yeast provides proper cellar-like mustiness to sweet n’ sour plum, prune, black cherry and burgundy alacrity as well as purple grape esters. Not far removed from a doppelbock with its brown-sugared breading, sweet toffee linger and spiced chocolate dalliance.
On tap at Ambulance, light brettanomyces souring and leathery oaken acridity contrast palm-sugared Jasmine ricing of hybridized lime-peeled saison. Tart white grape, pineapple and curacao orange illusions reinforce lemony lime pucker while straw, hay and raw oats dryness add parched mouthfeel.
Stylishly meandering medium-bodied IPA adds mild wintry spicing to caramelized apple nicety and evenly billed pear, pineapple, grapefruit and orange fruiting as dry chocolate-y nuttiness placates honeyed crystal malting.
Tranquil milk-sugared Imperial Stout layers creamy milk chocolate fudging above mild hop roast, picking up subtle coffee, coconut, vanilla, bourbon and Black Forest cake licks. Black chocolate syrup finish gains fig-soured dried fruiting and tangy soy whim while lingering softly.
Finally, a perfect Baltic Porter rich with flavor and never overcome by murky stylistic propensities like desiccated mocha powdering and uncertain earthen hop dankness. Instead, this enlightened Saboteur delights the tongue with rich black chocolate syruping, thick molasses fudging and chewy cookie dough malting, adding a profound milk stout dimension to the reluctant Baltic style. Dark toffee, burnt caramel, sugared cocoa, chocolate cake, dark rum, cafe latte, hazelnut coffee, dried cherry and anise tones abound above oats-dried charcoal hop bittering. Highly recommended.
Nebulous schwarzbier never catches fire. Indecisive dark-roast mocha malting wavers above chalky cocoa, soy, cola, walnut and port irrelevance. Milk-sugared brown chocolate center needs more prominence. A true goat!
Durable Brit-American hybrid offers hard-watered English-styled herbal dewiness and toasted grain pleasantry to citric hop-forward American IPA crisping (and mild cookie dough sweetness). Zesty orange-peeled lemon rind bittering perfectly contrasts floral tangerine-grapefruit-peach-apricot tang. Recommended.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, magnificent soft-toned India Pale Ale boasts busy fruited flavor profile above resinous pine pungency and musky cannabis snip. Syrupy peach, mango, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricot and fig sweetness as well as honeyed caramel malts luxuriously contrast citric-pined hop bittering. A small step beyond the usual lemony grapefruit-orange West Coast-styled IPA’s.
