On tap at Poughkeepsie hotspot, Half Time, bland pink magenta fruit ale does disservice to Beat poet Jack Kerouac’s legend. Narrow sugar ‘beet’ tweak settles under completely subdued cherry-cranberry tartness and prickly hop-fizzed nothingness. Wispy watermelon sweetness barely detected above bread-y bottom.

Reddish brown-hued  ale with solid-bodied grain-deepened berry persistence and bustling carbonation feels processed. Refreshing but not nearly as rich as originally anticipated from pungent fruit whiff. Brewery defunct: 2001.

Sparkly light-bodied magenta-hued black currant-centered ale aged in medieval castle (Kasteel Brewery) comes across shyly dry and bitterly fruited. Fizzy soda flow enlivens raspy raspberry-boysenberry-elderberry tang, but citric nuance stays distant and faint dry cherry finish hinges on astringency.

Inviting spruce waft stimulates tangy orange brightness, dainty berry sweetness, and dim peach-grapefruit-quince tartness complementing deep floral hop bittering.

Simple, plain, auburn-cleared ale lacks sufficient bruised orange tang and mocha malt sweetness. Instead, herbal-hopped earthen peat resin, crisp tobacco-dried nuttiness, and lazy raisin-date-fig slumber saturate citric malfunction.

Tangy cranberry funk and vinous Lambic cherry pucker confront unobtrusive fermented marionberry sweetness. Creamed wheat backend and light chocolate malting mellowed by watery texture. Perfect for dessert or pouring over cheesecake.

True thematic banana bread waft and drier banana chip mouthfeel sweetened further by honeyed wheat Graham cracker expansion. Mineral-watered crystal malting backs up banana-seeded bubblegum midst of fascinatingly peculiar clear amber banana-breaded fruit ale. 2011 version: Dry-spiced cinnamon-ginger conflux overcome by medicinal alcohol-burnt astringency, compromising up-front banana breading and relegating wheat-sugared candied apple subsidy.

Snazzy refreshment ferments honey and fruit juices without becoming too sweet. Soft grain bitterness settles in well. Problem: too difficult to pick out berry luster.

Could a grape jam company succeed at making fine ales? Toned down purple grape aroma and lime-embittered unripe grape dryness overwhelmed by withered hop fizz and bland soda sweetness, managing to be fairly unique but not overly peculiar. Brewery defunct: 2008.

Reddish-amber fruit ale converges blackberry-blueberry-raspberry sweetness with increasing hop-fizzed bitterness that mutes supposed honey nectar influence. Dank grains weaken unresolved, meek finish.

Pour slowly champagne cork-scented nickel-coppered apple blossom special. Dry-hopped seltzer fizz caresses vinous quince souring and sparkling cider essence to barley-wheat backdrop. Pacific mandarin orange, white peach and persimmons tartness stays distance. But dubious finish assumes pilsner-like blandness.

Pronounced fruity aroma, fizzy wheat foreground, robust grain assertion and invigorating citrus flow make this one of Saranac’s better ales.