On tap at Taphouse 15, richly lactic beige-fluffed Smoothie tops rum-soaked banana sweetness and vanilla ice cream sugaring with thick whipped creaming. Lusciously thick cocktail derivation recalls a rummy Bananas Fosters with marshmallow ambrosia salad and orange marmalade whims packing its floury pancake battered base. Perfect pastry-like dessert.
Rich ‘n creamy banana sundae Smoothie receives rummy sugar dose. Lactic rum-infused banana puree sweetness coats chewy marshmallow center reinforced by sharp (but not overly acidic) orange concentrate pulping. Yummy banana continuance then gains freeze-dried strawberry tartness, tangy pineapple caking, lemon meringue piquancy and vanilla ice cream reminder.
Impressive raspberry swirl ice cream knockoff with Dole pineapple fixation and murky Pepto Bismol pink body. Thickly creamed Smoothie-like marshmallow creaming stays chewy for lactic milk-sugared strawberry pureeing and tangy pineapple juicing receiving contrastive lemon-limed orange concentrate mouth pucker. Peachy banana sweetness, strawberry vanilla ice creaming and apricot cobbler caking join the yogurt-milked raspberry pineapple punch.
Slushily lactic pinkish orange-clouded fruited Smoothie invites briny strawberry tartness, tangy mango juicing and watermelon rind earthiness to the fore as frothy vanilla/ marshmallow pastry creaming thickens its resolve. Below the tart Jolly Rancher-candied strawberry, mango and watermelon conflux lies pink grapefruit, lime zest, lemon sherbet, peach marmalade and concentrated orange juice illusions. Recommended.
Juicy lactose Smoothie combines tart raspberry seeding with salted mango pulp and mild banana creaming, gaining limey orange concentrate acidity as well as wispy pomegranate-cranberry pucker. A super duper Starburst-candied Watermelon Jolly Rancher alternative.
CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND
Just a few blocks from Cambridge Creek in Chesepeake Bay’s quaint Eastern Shore barrier, RAR BREWING (a.k.a. Reale Ale Revival) began its journey as a ‘big time small town’ pub in summer 2013. Alongside several local independent downtown shops, RAR’s casual sportsbar atmosphere, light pub fare and well-balanced brews will please mainstream commoners and advanced thirsts.
Dual black RAR awnings greet customers to this former Cambridge pool hall. A convenient overhead-doored serving station benefits outdoor summertime seating. The left side bar features 12 taps of continuously rotating original fare as well as a TV, blackboard beer menu and beer infuser (for mixed one-off concoctions). Inits first seven years, RAR has crafted nearly 100 different beers.
The separate right side dining area provides varnished red oak tables and booths, white and black tiled floor plus cool mod pop artwork.
My wife and I got seats in the makeshift roadside patio (due to Wuhan Virus) on one-hour stopover, July ’20.
Revealing evenly flavored tropical fruiting, Citra-hopped West Coast IPA, Nanticoke Nectar, retained an engagingly juicy grapefruit-orange bittering and sweet mango-nectarine tang above mild pine resin. Meanwhile, similarly styled Grapefruit Nectar brought mildly embittered yellow grapefruit splendor to tangerine-spiced tanginess over dry pale malts.
Lemondrop-candied banana and clove tartness surfaced for Groove City Hefe, exposing light floral-nipped herbal snips at the understated yellow-fruited finish.
Tropical Sabro hops allow easygoing grapefruit, orange, tangerine, mango, pineapple and coconut enticement to spread across floral-spiced cedar planking for Amatuer Sketch, a Double IPA.
Coffee-dried nuttiness and bittersweet dark chocolate consumed dark ale flagship, Bucktown Brown, gaining brown-sugared glazed walnut illusions at the caramelized mocha finish.
During awesome two-hour splurge on Friday afternoon, January ’24, sat at one of the wood-tabled metal seats near the front overhead door to down eight more sundry suds.
Though tepid pilsner-malted Lite stayed phenolic as musky grained hop astringency and dried maize husk merged, it’ll suit simpler blue collar thirsts.
Way more reliable was spritzy lemon-fizzed Country Ride Pale Ale, a lighter IPA-like moderation with light herbal musk and mild pine resin seeping into laidback grapefruit-orange misting.
Dry bronze-cleared Citra/Cascade-hopped Imperial Nectar IPA, an unconventional West Coast-inspired medium body (boasting bold 9% ABV), punctuated its expectant grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering with divergent green peppered herbage, muskily perfumed spicing and raw-honeyed pale malting.
At a heightened 10.3% ABV, off-dry Pumped Up Kicks Triple IPA coalesced Mosaic, Vic Secret and Ekuanot hops for lemony grapefruit bittering and desiccated orange musk seeping resinous pine above light oated wheat creaming.
Another boozy IPA (New England-styled at 10.6 ABV), Uni Blu stayed smooth as lemony grapefruit and orange tanginess surfaced above sugary pale malts, picking up icy vodka nip.
Smooth beige-hazed IPA variant, Smooth Peaches let its candied yellow peach adjunct receive lemony grapefruit bittering as well as tertiary red apple, pear and apricot illusions.
Aged in Bulleit bourbon barrels with vanilla cream, Old Decoy slung sweet bourbon warmth at caramel whiskey, dry burgundy, black cherry and dark cocoa.
Decadent lactose pastry stout, 10 Layers With Coconut, regaled toasted coconut sweetness for its macadamia-nutted dark chocolate caking and vanilla coffee respite.
On tap at Growler & Gill, richly rewarding pastry stout spreads fudgy peanut-buttered milk chocolate creaming all over lightly curdled lactic sourness. Tongue-coating mocha richness gains medium-roast coffee tone as well as toasted coconut-marshmallow remnant and anise-licked black cherry/ raspberry rasp.
On tap at 98 Cannon – Chestertown, Md., juicy fruited floral-perfumed IPA retains zesty grapefruit tang as well as peachy pineapple, mango and nectarine sweetness teased by mild white peppered pining over caramel malt spine.
On tap at West O, interesting tropical-fruited medium body loads habanero heat inside subtle IPA tropicalia. Juicy nectarine, honeydew and melon sweetness invites lively orange, peach and pineapple tang to the party as habanero peppering stings the back of the tongue. Nearly perfect contrasting heat with sweet.
On tap at West O, fine trad hefe brings stylish banana-clove-coriander-bubblegum sweetness and mild vanilla creaming to sourdough-breaded honeyed wheat spine. Ancillary lemon-rotted plantain tartness and herbal respite deepen flavor profile a tad.
