Stylistically robust medium body (supposedly reminiscent of a California Common Ale) peaks with tart citric overtones and stone-fruited alacrity riding above grassy hop astringency. Lively grapefruit-juiced orange-tangerine-peach-apple tang picks up zesty lemon notions to its soft white-breaded spine.
Amped-up Anheuser-Busch hybrid combines Michelob-related Scotch dryness with Budweiser’s beechwood-chipped corn sugaring for stronger 6% alcohol lager. Musky hop astringency addles starchy rice and cardboard-y caramel malts, but sweet spicing saves crisp, clean finish.
On tap at Taphouse Grill, middling amber lager needs deeper caramel malting, bitterer earthen hops and spicier fruiting to really take off. Nutty maple splurge and honeyed wheat bed turn to cardboard by musty citric-faded finish.
Stylistically full-bodied amber lager places musky lemon tang above wort-soured rye wheat gluten, caramelized sorghum and sesame-seeded caraway. Grassy Hallertau hops wane in the distance.
Murky English Bitter-like moderation meanders aimlessly as musky rice-caked Vienna malting and tepid caramel toasting fail to properly materialize. Nutty nip, earthen slip and vegetal dip negated by dismal sulfuric acridity. Bland, underwheling and nearly tasteless.
Indistinct German-styled altbier lacks sufficient conditioning to be stylistically up to snuff. Mushy flavor profile meshes toasted cereal graining with mildewed cherry, orange, apple and apricot fruiting over phenol hop-spiced astringency. Muted chestnut, praline and almond undertones in deep recess. Could pass for a decent red ale.
Amiable medium-bodied amber lager stays nuttier than most stylistic contenders. Buttery chestnut-roasted pecan, praline, honey nut and walnut illusions override astringent hop toasting. Styptic sour fruiting underscores coarse nutty finish.
Mainstream Czech-styled session lager remains just a tad stronger than pale-bodied competition. Easygoing hop-toasted bread crusting and dewy rye persistence sedately affected by superfine sugar-glassed sweetness. Caramel nuttiness cannot overcome bland phenol spicing.
Stylistically shifty amber lager ‘brewed with grapes’ proves to be rather obtuse as advertised grape influence takes a backseat to brisk fruited malting of ancillary autumnal Octoberfest. Seasonal apple-peach-pumpkin-pied gourd spicing usurps barley-toasted almond pasting and leafy hop resin above metallic phenol whim, creating creamy frothed opening. But musty grape-stemmed earthiness, dinky red-yellow-green grape speck, and thin mineral-grained Scotch lick lose out to sterile Band-Aid astringency, leaving unrealized finish to flounder.
On tap, hardy crystal-malted dry-hopped golden-tanned lager packs quite a wallop, retaining rich wheat graining and loud citric-peeled bitterness contrasting soft clean-watered crisping. Caramelized Munich malt toasting, lemony orange-dried tangerine tang, and minor floral eccentricity create well-balanced flurry. “A sessionable year round Oktoberfest,” indeed. ’14 re-tasting: dewy Vienna malts anchored musty ESB-like peat moss and fig-dried orange compote.
Smudgy flavor profile drifts off to nebulous dry-hopped phenol-spiced floral fruited waywardness. Tepid caramel malting, petty grape-skinned orange-soured tangerine-apricot tang and muddled coffee-stained Blackstrap molasses drear sink mild session beer dedicated to vinyl recordings of yore.