Nyack
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

 

On-tap at Beer Revolution, in Oakland.

Some beers, like people, are just naturally better looking than others and for my tastes barleywines happen to be the most attractive of them all. This one has a polished ruby tone which cannot be rivaled by any other drink, save maybe cranberry juice. Its head is impressive - even more so considering the strength - and leaves sand dunes for lacing.

The aroma is sweet as candy! Literally, it is candy! Or, considering its heat, like candy-coated cough drops. Normally that might be a negative but this almost syrupy character seems to have extra-terrestrial powers and keeps drawing me into it as if I were under its sexual spell. I find it irresistible. It smells a blend of raspberry and black cherry yogurt.

Just when I had thought that I knew all that could be expected from barleywines, just as I started to feel they had become tired and predictable, Drake's Nyack comes along and starts tasting of pecan pie covered in raspberry yogurt and candied orange zest, topped with black cherry jam and blackberry preserves. (You bet your stars this is sugary-sweet!)

Give yourself a good hour to finish it. This stuff not only kind of tastes like cough syrup, but it has the intense power of it too. It's a beer to be served in teaspoons. Just writing in my notebook I felt my hands moving slower and saw my printing getting messier... yet my palate yearned for more. It may be a nightmare for the liver, but it's a dream in the mouth!

Just because I've given this beer a high score doesn't mean it's drinkable in the conventional sense. In fact, it's a lot like a cough syrup in that it's kind of hard to ingest but ultimately soothing (except it'd be hard to prove that anything about this 11% ale is healthy for the throat, let alone the liver, brain or waistline). So what? I'll still consider it my tonic!

On-tap at Blue Palms for Drakes/Triple Rock Tap Takeover

A: The beer pours almost copper in color with a finger of white head.

S: Intensely sugary is a good way to describe this. Brown sugar, caramel, molasses, and candied citrus. Floral and perfumey hop notes along with a little bit of grapefruit and tangerine.

T: Very, very sweet on the tongue as well. Caramel, toffee, and molasses flavors with perhaps a touch of bread. Some citrus and floral/perfumey hops with very, very minimal bitterness to balance out the sweetness.

M: Medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation.

O: This had potential, but just far too sweet to drink much of.

On tap at Jupiter's in Berkeley. From notes.



A: Pours a dark, reddish maroon body. Despite its darkness, the body displays great clarity when held (briefly) to the sunlight). The head is a finger or so of beige foam, though it has subsided by the time the waitress brings it over.

S: Strong notes of caramel and citrus, which give the impression of candied grapefruit. There's a mild floral presence as well. Some alcohol is noted.

T: Strongly sweet and malty: burnt caramel, molasses. But they are counterbalanced by a very strong, citrus-forward hop bill. As noted in the nose, there's a mild floral taste that imparts some lasting bitterness, but in the aftertaste it's eradicated by strong candied grapefruit flavors.

M: Chewy, a little hot, but not unpleasantly so. It's definitely heavy on the palate. As with some of their other beers, I'd describe it as "rough."

D: Two of us got what I believe was a 10oz pour, and we both struggled to finish ours. I managed to do so, but just barely. With some tweaks, this could be great. Right now it's just something you can show off as a decent local beer.