Dark and mellow with a lot of chocolate/caramel and a touch of molasses. There's a certain kind of tacky tartness that all these beers today had in common, which is a nice familial touch - but it is tacky.
A sweetish barleywine with some caramel or wood-vanilla notes. Pretty good but I only had a splash.
"An oaked version of our 10th anniversary beer (8.9% - 24 IBUs)"
This isn't a huge leap from the non-oaked version; the main difference is up front where there's a bit of woody bitterness/complexity that takes the place of that first approach of chocolate. I think this is a slight preference although it is a little less evocative of the cake.
Exactly as described - notes of fudge, lightly tart cherry, a "juicy" liquor flavor. Over time the tartness gets a little more dominant and does linger a bit.
A pretty solid caramel brown ale, a bit of brackish/roast dryness, but I really can't say this says coffee very strongly to me. Lightly sweet and mellow.
Firestone Walker Molé Merkin (2019)
In much, much better condition than the Parabola - clean, chocolate, cinnamon and just a hint of booze. Fruity in a cola-like way, and well-balanced.
Long in the tooth, with an uncomfortable amount of sediment. I'm not sure this was cellared well.
Very prominent banana fragrance and flavor; weird because they're not unlike common esters but clearly made with real banana. This is followed by the unexpected sweet follow-through provided by the vanilla and lactose. This is good! But maybe just in smaller quantities.
Thick and hoppy, as you’d expect. Something vegetal in the flavor that is interesting, but maybe not pleasing. Strong but clean bitterness.
Woodsmoke, dry, I think I prefer these with a touch more sweetness.
Where’s the POG? Decent enough up front pine-resin IPA, but it’s extremely bitter and does not at all evoke any of the ingredients of POG.
Really nice Pilsner, brackish, bitter, a little hoppy, but also cereal-sweet like a Helles. This is great.
Actually quite good: yeasty, caramel sweet, with a bit of tang to finish. Gorgeous label, too.
Clean, sweet-tart plum/raisin notes. Just a tiny bit of funk. Wears its alcohol quite plainly.
Has the characteristics of a Belgian pale: estery, mellow, but with a pretty heavy-handed hit of yuzu. Enough to say that this beer is almost lemon juicy, with a tart finish.
Tastes Belgian?? I am almost certain they poured me the white instead, especially considering the Hopworks pedigree. Logging it as the IPA though. Light, sweet, estery?
A hoppy lager with quite a bit of yuzu, although it's not so much like drinking a lemon (which makes it better than the T Y Harbor yuzu lager).
Peppery Belgian yeast character. Banana. Rapidly drying finish with a bit of funk. Bitter.
Roasty and creamy, milky-sweet. Subtle notes of licorice. Clean finish.
Smooth, lightly sweet, grassy, bitter finish. It's almost like it's on nitro. Leaves the tongue tingling. Don't know how much of my enjoyment is the view here in the Sky Room, but it's considerable.
Very light for a stout, makes me think more of a roasty brown maybe. Notes of coffee, cacao, caramel. Not sure I taste orange though?
Surprisingly this almost feels less hoppy than the lager. Clean, pine, orange, touch of resin but it finishes clean.
A surprisingly hoppy lager, clear, bright opening that gets piney and bitter fast. Quite a bit of resin.
Light, cloudy, coriander, citrus. Dry finish. Delicious as always.
Bitter, a little metallic. Not bad, but not great either.
The "draft" machine that made this in the Sakura lounge was certainly itneresting, especially where it injected the head separately and afterwards. Smooth and sweet.
Malty, sweet, slightly vinous. Somewhat bitter but flavorful. Reminds me of an English lager.
Pine-resin, quite dank. Bitter backend, although to its credit it is clean. There’s only so much I can enjoy a beer that tastes like sucking on sap though.
“This Landbier Hell is inspired by the country lagers of upper Franconia, Germany. Deep malt character highlighted by German heirloom malt and a bright, firm bitterness delivered by the highest quality Spalter hops.” Collaboration with Volks Bräu
Unexpected flavors for a lager, dry, bready, hints of spice. Definitely tastes rustic although it’s more drying than drinkable IMO.
Ultra-thin mouthfeel and translucent, brown. This doesn’t scream “stout” although it is fairly roasty. Tastes like coconut candy without much toasted character… wish this had more body. This is like a soda.
Thin mouthfeel, very light caramel, an overtone of bitter spice (anise?). Coffee is light, like a cold brew.
Chocolate-roast porter, creamy mouthfeel, pretty smooth. Finishes a bit bitter, a tiny bit tart.
Vinous and dry opening but the watermelon comes out bright and juicy soon after. It’s interesting because I remember this being a lot more murky in its non-barrel-aged version.
Quite a prickly stout, very roasted, with poky hops. Could pass for a particularly roasty CDA. The bitterness is strong, and lingers.
A thinnish stout with a smooth, simplistic sweetness to start. Had a kind of musty finish that reminds me of the pickled leaf that turned me off the actual dessert.
This is an odd one - starts lightly piney and then, although there's no indication of why in the bill, very strongly resembles a chile beer. Not spicy, but with all the other bitter, fruity, vegetal flavors you'd get. Which is a huge win for me, honestly, I love it.
Lovely nose with a gentle hops and malt aroma. Flavor then comes in hard with strong malt flavor, rare in IPA, and the hops layering on top with tropical flavors.
An ideal milk stout. Rich, creamy body but with enough roast to balance it out. Notes of bittersweet chocolate. Clean finish.
A light drinking, fruity pale that isn’t too challenging… reminds me of a Manny’s. Works really well with this curry.
Interesting mix here, definitely tastes like someone threw a red velvet cake into the raspberry blonde. Sweet cocoa, light fruit. The finish is a little out of balance in its bitterness, maybe.
Smells like candy. Flavor-wise, it’s quite tart but clean. You can’t avoid the feeling that you’re sucking on a lemon wedge though.
Don’t know if my palate is off but I don’t taste any of the tartness I noted last time. It’s still got some bitterness but it seems more in balance with the sweet cereal. I think I like this better now!
A little spicier, hoppier than I’d expect for an Irish Red. It’s got a nice sweetness, but it’s a bit simplistic.
Not bad - grape/apple/pine with a kind of resin sweetness that lingers. It does become a bit metallic and/or cloying by the end.
I think I"m going to upgrade this to delicious. A light chocolate flavor, dark, with definite notes of gochujang in the mix. A really inspired combination.
Doesn’t scream peach, maybe underripe plum. Slightly tart, a little funky. Finishes sweet.