On tap at Taphouse Grille, rampageous amber ale is way busier and bolder than lighter, less fussy competition, spreading multifarious flavors atop its baked biscuit base. Despite low alcohol volume, pungent dry-hopped bittering, musky orange-grapefruit tartness, nutty caramel spicing and musty vegetal souring rage forth in a flurry. Heartier thirsts will appreciate its tenacity.  

On tap at NJ Beer Expo ’13, soft-toned Valencia orange peel tartness and subtle grassy-hopped lemon spicing stay above sugary wheat malt bed of golden-hazed springtime moderation. Desolate vegetal astringency backends soda-like citric spritzer.

On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, somewhat unassuming hybridized amber ale attaches wet Citra-hopped fruiting to musky lemon murk, leafy earthen graining and dried floral nuances. Slim mango-pineapple remnant and minor herbal tinge round out 2012 limited edition medium body.

Revelatory hybridized full body brings expressive espresso coffee theme to the forefront. Persistent bitter coffee bean rampage pleasantly relegates sweet caramel roast and toasted hop levy. Charcoal afterburner reinforces plentiful java rush. Tertiary cappuccino, vanilla bean, caramel latte and chocolate hazelnut biscotti illusions slide by. An ambitious amber ale easily mistaken for a stout. Betters all Peak Organic offerings (though I haven’t tried one since ’09).

Simple Maine-based canned ale goes right down the middle stylistically. Nose-tingling deep-grained hop spices complement easygoing caramel-toasted barleymalts. Delicately brisk orange-grapefruit bittering belies slightly tinny mainstreamer.

Indistinct, but not unwelcome, stylistic changeup, rich for its class, but completely desolate up-front. Bittersweet apple-skinned naval orange, pink grapefruit, peach, and cherry tartness evaporates above chewy caramel buttering. Minor vegetal-wafted fungi sourness befits tertiary celery, rhubarb and spinach musk. Frugal flavoring stays at back of the throat.

Brewed by Olde Saratoga Brewery for excellent Hartford brewpub, signature crystal-malted grassy-hopped medium body drapes toasted baguette, croissant, pumpernickel, and caramelized rye illusions over floral honey-spiced orange-tangerine sourness and negligible nutty nuance. Advertised licorice nuances nowhere to be found. Better on tap.

Perfunctory moderate-bodied gold-hazed ‘Ourtoberfest’ (registered as nebulous amber ale) lacks expectant autumnal gourd seasoning and suffers slightly from metallic soapiness. Mild honey-glazed pale malting weakened by soured orange-spiced lick, astringent lemon-drop slip, and arid apple-skinned apricot blip to washed-out dry-hopped citric finish. Slick toffee-caramel influence too weak to matter.