On tap at Kitchen & Beer Bar. Retaining only some of the resilience of original Nugget Nectar, this bigger version ups the Simcoe hopped piney dankness but defers the spruce tipped insistence, lowers its honey-spiced fruiting and allows light white peppered perfuming to enter the fray.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, heavenly smooth Jameson Irish whiskey influence brings soft-toned splendor to dewy peat sweetness, caramelized Scotch whim and oaken vanilla buttering.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, offbeat meat-cured gourd spicing may seem too extreme for a caramel-toasted red ale, but the combo works. Maple-glazed bacon sweetness gains candied apple coating enjoining pumpkin pie-spiced nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice seasoning to linger atop smoked spelt-grained Weyermann malts.
Caramel toasted amber graining reinforces pineapple-orange-grapefruit zesting, “assertive” resinous pine bittering and earthen rye dryness of fascinatingly well-balanced West Coast IPA. Floral-sweetened mango, cherry, nectarine and tangerine tang softly penetrates sharp citric-pined surface (where mild alcohol burn beckons).
On tap at The Oath, wondrous ‘alchemy of wood and hops’ leaves initial caramelized bourbon vanilla sweetness upon sharp IPA fruiting, resinous pine lacquer, charred oak tannins and rosy floral aromatics. Boozy whiskey, sherry and cedar-chipped rum tones provide lightly lingered alcohol burn to bourbon-soaked orange peel, pineapple, peach, cherry and red grape tang as well as tertiary molasses-sapped coconut, marshmallow and pecan snips.
On tap at The Oath, sweet caramel spicing (derived from red ale) encounters sharp citric hop bittering and resinous pine needling (of IPA) for bold hybrid. Mild bourbon syruping drapes bitter orange-peeled grapefruit intensity, tangy tangerine-pineapple-peach vibrancy, ripe red grape remnants and dainty floral aspect above biscuity barley-flaked pilsner malting.
Busy as its eight-word namesake, lightly barrel-aged medium body embraces Mai Tai cocktail spirit with a salt-licked Margarita kick. Lime-peeled orange tartness sinks into tangy ‘pineapple and cherry pureed’ seduction above creamily caramelized malt toasting. Latent red grape sweetness and delicate sherry, Courvoisier and mull-spiced wine illusions increase complexity.
Wild Turkey bourbon barrels add grain alcohol pungency to sharply pungent citrus bittering contrasting honeyed wheat spine. Zesty orange-peeled grapefruit rind bite persists, picking up distant tangerine, pineapple and peach tanginess. Moderate wood-soaked alcohol burn gains acidic edge at finish.
Devilishly delicious Halloween ’17 treat (with hellish 6.66% ABV) plies cereal-grained cookie dough yeast to fruit-spiced center and mild pine resin. Initial caramel apple sweetness seeps into Bosc pear, peach and cherry illusions as well as tangier floral-bound orange, mango and tangerine tropicalia. Sweet toffee-like malting adds candied coating to terrific medium-bodied red ale.
Superbly aggressive IPA-designed red ale brings sharp citric hop bitterness to charred pine resin and dried leaf foliage to contrast creamy caramel malting and dark-roast amber graining. Grapefruit-seeded orange rind bite gains floral aspect as well as juicy pineapple, mango, brown apple and pear undertones, adding density to its dry piney citrus finish.
On tap at Biggie’s, brusque Christmastime red ale loads hop-forward ginger rooted orange peel bittering atop brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cardamom holiday seasoning, wintry Chinook hop-inspired evergreen stint and dewy pine nut snip.
On tap at Growler & Gill, fabulous raw-honeyed dry ale surrounds red, orange and yellow fruiting with mellow candy-spiced toasted caramel sweetness to contrast grassy hop astringency. Delicate floral-pined resonance increases peachy pineapple, mango, tangerine, nectarine, cherry and apple tang that’s mildly dehydrated by local Michigan honey.
