Enchanting honeyed orange-hazed Unibroue offshoot spreads white cobweb across glass. Flawless fruity herbal spicing complements creamy candied yeast sweetness, rum cake seduction, and clove tinge. Banana nut bread suggestion and wispy apricot-tangerine-grapefruit tartness beckon in musty stewed prune-imbued midst. Engrossing finish, redolent of a lighter Grand Marnier, broadens palette.
Tag Archives: dark ale
HARVIESTOUN OLD ENGINE OIL
NEW BELGIUM 1554 BRUSSELS STYLE BLACK ALE
UNIBROUE TROIS PISTOLES ALE
Mellow billowy-headed sienna-hued strong ale with uniformly fading circular bubbles retains bittersweet raisin-plum-fig tenacity, dried apricot-cherry penchant, and tannic red-purple grape tartness. Dry grape-skinned Muscat-wined burgundy-port illusions pop up above capacious apple-spiced wheat spine. Ginger and orange peel make veiled cameos augmenting plumed yeast intricacy. With its puissant 9.9% alcohol content, why take Nyquil?
HARVIESTOUN OLD ENGINE OIL SPECIAL RESERVE
Brewed in malt whisky casks, busy black-hued maroon-highlighted relaxant sits well next to Marston’s dryer Oyster Stout. Sticky molasses-soured plum-raisin upsurge, syrupy whisky malting, and juicy orange-berry thew receive dry-smoked oaken parch. Sweet tobacco-leafed black cherry and chocolate rum cake illusions soothe ashy mocha residue.
OLD WORLD NEW YORK STYLE HARBOR ALE
WOODFORDE’S NORFOLK DARK ALE
Heavily carbonated, Scotch-wafted, bottle conditioned ale (a.k.a. Norfolk Nog) with foamy tan head creating web-like Brussels lace above amber body. Sourdough breading, toasted barley, earthen wild oats and bittersweet chocolate somehow form creamy soda-like consistency. Mild prune-fig coarsening settles above buttery bottom, countering fizzy flow. Problem: none of the assorted flavors maintain to informal finish.
HOPPY TOTAL ECLIPSE BLACK ALE
ORKNEY DARK ISLAND DARK ALE
YOUNG’S WAGGLEDANCE HONEY ALE
(HUONG SEN) DAI VIET DARK ALE
Generic honey-browned ruby-tinged German-styled altbier from Vietnam tosses soured chocolate malt astringency across rice-sweetened powdery cocoa parch. Metallic cardboard ridge depletes mild raisin-date snip and raw molasses acridity. Frisky 5% alcohol range, relatively high for Asian brew, never impinges.