Eye-catching butterscotch-almond hue beats plain barley drear, dull candy sweetness, and metallic finish conclusively.

Perfect for cold winter’s eve, this marvelously complex Cascade hop-fused chestnut amber exerts dark chocolate bitterness underscored by roasted barleymalt simmer and caramelized yeast glimmer. Syrupy black cherry fruitiness lingers to superbly creamy dessert finish. Under Sea Otter pseudonym in ’07, chewy cookie dough tether, honey-glazed citric surfeit, and woody alcohol burn beckoned. Under Jazz Guy Ale nom de plume, biscuit-y cardboard-candied Pacman yeast influences honey-roasted caramel malting, blanched cocoa-chocolate nicety, and wattle-seeded caraway nuances.

Fizzy soft-grained hop-charred opaque amber retains clumsy puffy tan head. Humble buttery yeast sweetness, earthen pine easement, and sleek pale malt mildness enhance winsome spicing to toasted caramel finish. Pecan, almond, and hazelnut illusions waver.

Smoothly carbolic berry-scented amber with crisp mineral-watered citric zest. Zippy blueberry-blackberry snip and slipping mocha nip initially captivate the senses. Sweet caramel malting frames sharp-hopped barley-roasted wild oats and candied mint stint at busy midst.

Musty fruit-wafted amber ale overlaid by roasted wheat, toasted oats, and biscuit-y barley. Dry-hopped floral citrus midst depleted by carbolic intensity. A simple, effective crossover lagerheads could appreciate.

Unassuming floral aroma, pleasant citric hop bite, and vague caramel malt sweetness become indistinct. Not a serious contender, but inoffensive.

Thick up-front maple malting gains hop-spiced bitterness by sour fruited finish. Oak bark hint resonates below vigorous caramel creaminess. Serve to dark ale fanatics. Brewery defunct: 2007.

Pleasantly mild brown ale-like mocha-nut ambiance consumes sharp-grained honey malting. Decent alternative for amateurs scared of richer, creamier porters, but a tad watery.

Billowy tan-headed copper amber too fizzy and soft-bodied to finish strong. Still, despite dank grains, lack of holiday spices, and inert chocolate flirt, it goes down easy. Dos Equis version is better.

Named after homebrew Godfather Charlie Papazian, this far-out full-bodied ruby-amber ale pits grapefruit-peeled lemon rind sourness, perfumed spruce-hopped linger, and pine needle recess against sweet granulated barleymalts. Extremely prickly carbolic tongue-tingle and rising bitter finish may scare off lightweights.

Seriously heady sunset-hued barleywine-spiced ale awakens senses with moldy tangerine nose, gin-soaked juniper embrace, and silken Chardonnay-Cognac-Courvoisier subsidy. Alcohol-soaked syrupy malt setting invites fig-prune affluence to saturate rum raisin contour, overripe banana illusion, vanilla offing, and creamy caramel catapult. Medicinal finish picks up dense sour apple and bruised peach nip.

Brown-sugared caramel malt sweetness parlays mineral-grained hop-smoked light-bodied ale to above average status. Vinous ester-y grape sourness simmers beneath metallic Scotch-soaked alcohol burn.