Dessert Station - Rum Barrel Aged Pineapple Swirl
Corporate Ladder Brewing Company

When those tropical, sweet and creamy tropical cocktails permeate the beer scene, the whole notion of sour ale flies out the window.

Brewed in the gluten-free style, Corporate Ladder's Rum Barrel Aged Pineapple Swirl version of Dessert Station hits the glass with a lemony eggnog appearance. Floating a creamy spritz of sun-kissed foam, the ale emits a confectioner's aroma of candied tropical fruit, heavy cream and spiced rum. Much like a yankee candle, the scent translates to a cloyingly sweet early taste of whipped cream, candied fruit, vanilla cake batter and cookie dough.

As its heavy coat of sweetness slathers the tongue, the middle palate opens up to the juicy pineapple and complementary rum spices for a decidedly tropical taste that's wrapped in heavy sweet cream, vanilla, ice cream and lemon pudding. As a tangy fruit character tries to offer some slim notion of balance, the finish falls lightly lemony tart.

Full bodied for sour ale, this smoothie, seltzer-like drink is a sipper of a concoction. Delicious in its taste but not that of classic beer, the session closes on the heavy sweet side of sweet and tart with an long extension of dessert sugars.