On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, bold full-bodied Imperial IPA (limited ’14 edition with high hop resin) drapes rye-honeyed fructose tropicalia over tangy grapefruit-orange ripeness, but rigid 11.1% alcohol burn, massive 111 IBU hop bittering and chewy caramel malting completely overload fruity onrush. In skinny 12-ounce can, clay-hopped pine needling sharpens syrupy cotton-candied pineapple, peach, nectarine, tangerine and mango tang.
Exemplary full-bodied red ale with vibrant India Pale Ale leanings brings summery tropical fruitiness to wintry evergreen freshness. Zesty grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering and resinous pine sapping thicken over brisk mineral-watered crisping. Ancillary honey-spiced pineapple, peach, tangerine and mango tang picks up rosy floral aspect.
Coming on like a lighter-tongued German schwarzbier with its lactic sour-milked black chocolate creaming and cocoa-dried caramel nuttiness, this so-called ‘top-fermented old beer’ or ‘dopplesticke lager’ follows up Mad Scientist’s initial ‘09 barleywine and ‘10s coffee bock. Ancillary stone-fruited spicing overlays tobacco-roasted French bread crusting, enhancing the resinous mocha motif.
On tap at Barcade, medium-bodied obsidian-hued porter brings beechwood-like smokiness to burnt-toasted dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, and coffee bean influence. Tobacco-charred walnut roast and earthen hop oils deplete initial smoked wood surface.
On tap, brusque German-style bohemian pilsner retains musty bread-crusted grain malting, dried-out yellow-fruited pungency and earthen hop musk. Sweet biscuit-y notion placates raw wheat bottom, sour mash wort and mild resinous bittering. Stylistically robust.
Perhaps closer to a less woody, more alcohol-bent IPA than a prevalent barleywine styling. Floral-pined grapefruit bittering and grassy tobacco-leafed crisping contrast hop-spiced apricot-tangerine-cantaloupe tang of amber-hazed medium body. Frugal brown-sugared baked apple pie nuance bears witness. Set back pineapple, mango and peach melba illusions add tropical wave.
Supremely complex Brooklyn porter brewed with local Gorilla Coffee Ethiopian Yergachette blend second only in exultation to Red Hook Black Hook Double Black Stout (featuring Starbuck’s coffee). Luxurious fresh-roasted coffee bittering perfectly contrasts sweet anise goo, chewy molasses sweetness, and baker’s chocolate resin. Milky cappuccino-espresso emboldens hop-charred coffee ground finish as tertiary smoked cedar, burnt caramel, and hazelnut reinforce rich mocha backbone.
Quaffed on tap at lower Manhattan’s d.b.a., hand-pulled rust-glowed cask conditioned smoothie offers piney yellow-fruited frontage assuaging floral daisy-rosebud waft and sweet spruce reminder. Soft Cascade-hopped ripple conveys dewy melon-mango-kiwi-papaya-pineapple-nectarine tang and secondary grapefruit acidity. Lovely lemon meringue fluff consumes zesty fruited finish.
