Nearly headless mahogany-hued dark ale not far removed from dry ‘black beers.’ Sweet chocolate tongue, toasted barleymalt crevice, and chalky cocoa bitterness coalesce alongside burnt cedar embellishment. Black licorice vies for backspace inside full-bodied islander.

Negligible mahogany-hued dry stout ransacks milk-soured chocolate malting, settling for coarsely char-hopped burnt toast innocuousness. Prickly Concord grape esters affect muted prune-raisin chasm and black licorice stint but deplorably relegate coffee bean discretion.

Named after Greek hippo promptly displayed on label, acceptable, if not exceptional, ruddish-hazed autumnal ale stimulates mocha richness with lively hop spicing, scaling back light crystalline sugar malting. Smoothed-over mineral grains embed wispy chocolate hints.

Aromatic dark roasted coffee bittering enhances dry cocoa souring and roasted nuttiness promptly countering rich chocolate malt creaminess. Lactose-aided blood-thickened mocha intensity overwhelms acidic dried-fruited latency.

Modest orange-labeled dark ale enlivens cracked wheat husk with candied malt sweetness. Dry earthiness provides contrast fading into mild bitter-hopped finish.

In 16-ounce brown jug, top fermented Abbey ale works inviting caramel-candied apple sweetness into sugared raisin-fig continuance, floral citric-coriander grove, and buttery malt woo. Subtle barley insinuation lacks determination as musty brown-sugared molasses finish fades quickly. Better than average; substandard and watery for Belgian ale.

Complex hard-to-find amber-clouded dark ale gathers sweet yeast upsurge and black chocolate malt stint to counter subordinate tar-like bitterness. Tangy orange zest and dark nut remnant expand full-bodied nature before watery consistency softens carbolic flow.

Ruby amber tan-headed dry-bodied winter warmer (with herbaceous juniper hop bite), reminiscent of malt-stricken barleywine, beckons caramel apple, purple grape, cherry, and plum penchant. Soured raisin-fig conflux overlays powdered chocolate jaunt, gingery orange expansion, and cinnamon-allspice spicing, mellowing to medicinal prune finish.

Clumped brown yeast residue layers viscous lumpy-headed Belgian-style dark ale. High carbonation soaks bruised orange tang, soured banana rim and sugary bubblegum stint. Rigid medicinal bitterness hinders chewy center and citric spicing.

Soft-tongued cola-hued porter-styled dark ale layers sweet chocolate malts atop almond-hazelnut-chestnut serenity and pipe tobacco hint. Hop-toasted dried fruits caress lucid barleymalt-roasted midst.

Somewhat peculiar chocolate porter ‘ale’ with blood-thickened yeast sediment, deep grain permeation, and minor tart-fruited holiday spicing penetrating mocha midst to evolving sugar-maple malt finish.

Warbled mildly carbonated coppery-hued medium-bodied English-styled amber ale pits sugary corn malt sweetness against oncoming musty peat, dry chestnut, and grape nut illusions. Toasted mineral-grained hop meander scarcely embitters tinny finish, stagnating sketchy Scotch slip. ’07 version bottled at Maryland’s Wild Goose Brewery possessed gentle honeyed caramel creaminess countering woody Chinook-hopped astringency and dried fruit bunker.