Leave It Be
West Kill Brewing

Loose tawny pocked head that fades over chestnut body; maple, toffee and maraschino nose; slight bread crust, dried cranberries, burnt caramel, and leaf; smooth, low carb, slightly cloying.

4 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.75

Looks pale, smells sticky, drinks sweet.
There's a sarsaparilla, chocolate-covered cherries malt intensity like some English ruby ales. But therein lies the problem, with no hops, roast or anything else to cut that maltiness, it's just too sugary to quaff. This plus the ABV makes for a lack of drinkability that's way off style.
And what, exactly, are the leaves bringing? I like WK's whole locavore aesthetic, but that won't last long if they start doing adjunct additions just for the sake of it.

A concept that loses sight of its roots.

This pours a dark-ish brown color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells herbal and slightly bitter, with caramel, light chocolate, and some breadiness.

I’m not entirely sure how the leaves affected this, but there’s a nice earthy and almost woody feel to this one, with caramel, and lots of breadiness, and something almost vanilla-like.

This is creamy, pretty rich for the lower ABV, and super drinkable.

This feels distinctly up West Kill’s alley, with that sort of warm and woodsy feel to it.