Warming beers from Bewilder Brewing and Templin Family Brewing 

• Mike Riedel

Bewilder - I Love Juicy: Pours a vibrant golden-copper body with an off-white cap. The head lasts a good 8-plus minutes, and boasts a nice frothy consistency and a bright complexion. Bright floral hop aromatics join fresh pale malts, suggesting a balanced, quenching brew with plenty of hop flavor. It has a subtle tropical bend, leaning towards tangerine citrus and a blip of bitter fruit peel, plus orange pith, muted mango and even a hint of papaya.

Ripe tangerine fruit and subsidiary tropical fruits (mango, papaya, orange, passionfruit) join with classic floral hop flavor to form a hop-emphatic pale ale, but the pale malt backbone prevents the bitter fruit peel/rind from hitting the palate too hard. The result is soft, medium-bodied, refreshing, smooth and wet, as well as being well-carbonated. This one isn't hot, boozy, astringent, harsh, rough or scratchy; it has a cool, mellow presence on the palate, utilizing slight juiciness to accentuate the fruity hops. The quenching mouthfeel coupled with the approachable hop flavor makes this beer highly drinkable, the kind of fare that would pair well with spicy food.

Verdict: Balanced and enjoyable for an 8.0 percent Juicy double IPA, and absolutely worth picking up a four pack, even if it didn't come from one of New England's "white whale" breweries. I can't see any discerning drinker genuinely disliking it; there's room for improvement, but there are no overt faults, and it's pretty true to the style even if more abstract elements like depth of flavor and hop pungency could be improved. I'm glad Bewilder is making brilliant beers like these, and will happily order more.

TF - JESSE DELMAR-ish: The pour results in a super-thick and oily, absolute pitch-black appearance. The viscous body was capped by a thin, creamy, saddle-brown head that quickly fell to a tiny ringlet; a patchy band of lacing stuck along the top portion of the glass. The aroma was incredible: Coconut came through big time, loads of fresh vanilla beans and an intense brown sugar presence as well. It's fairly sweet, but not excessively so. Moderate coffee notes emerge—creamed coffee or coffee ice cream, perhaps. It's fairly milky, and somewhat boozy/bourbony, but given the 12.0 percent ABV, the alcohol was quite restrained. You get a touch of dark fruit character and oxidation, and as the beer warmed, the coconut intensified.

The flavor profile was nearly as spectacular, super-malty and robust. A big roasted and chocolate malt presence jumps out on the front end, along with loads of brown sugar and vanilla. It's fairly sweet and somewhat milky, with a touch of semisweet chocolate and coffee in the center. Bourbon appeared on the back end, making it moderately boozy. The beer finished with roasted malt notes and more lingering bourbon/boozy heat. The outstanding mouthfeel was super rich and viscous, complexly full-bodied for the style. The liquid contained an ultra-fine, frothy, tongue blanketing effervescence. After a few sips, the beer deposited a sticky film on my lips.

Verdict: TF has been releasing some amazing stouts lately, but JESSE DELMAR-ish might just be their least interesting one to date. The caramel sweetness, coconut and bourbon notes were front and center, and the coffee, cognac and vanilla did add some amazing complexity. I would love an opportunity to try this again at some point.

You'll find both of these in 16-ounce cans, and your best bets for purchasing them is at their respective breweries. Some of the area's better beer bars are offering them as well. As always, cheers!