Sassy strawberry-jammed version of brewers’ hop-crazy West Coast-styled pale ale maintains crisp clean-watered briskness. Dank pine bittering softly seeps into tropical-fruited midst (provided by unheralded Azacca and Ella hops). Tangy mango, peach, tangerine and navel orange illusions add color.
Bettering the majority of American-made marzen lagers, middling medium-bodied fall seasonal offers muddled molasses-buttered toffee sweetness to dry leafy hop bittering, mild tea-like dewiness, light sugar spicing and brown-breaded bottom. Nothing distinctive, but quite refreshing.
Distinct American-styled moderation brings sharp citric hop spicing to crystal-malted baked bread spine in a crisp, clean manner. Tangy grapefruit, orange, pineapple and tangerine fruiting softly lingers while prickly lemon-limed seltzer fizz tickles the tongue.
Pleasing rye-toasted pale malting picks up residual sugaring over moderate Citra-Chinnok hop dryness. Light wood tones fade alongside nutty caramel tinge.
Fine Asheville, North Carolina-based microbrewery initially allowed Mississippi’s Lazy Magnolia to brew and bottle its traditional ‘delicate bodied’ English Brown Ale. Mildly creamed toffee-caramel sweetness and wispy brown chocolate snip stay muted as surging walnut, cola nut, hazelnut, chestnut and butternut illusions gain prominence. Asheville’s Three Ring Brewery then took over bottling in 2016, bringing cocoa-dried cola nuttiness to chocolate hazelnut-breaded molasses sweetness and caramel-burnt coffee tones over earthen soiling.
Deliriously dynamic medium-bodied autumnal dessert drapes brown-sugared pumpkin spice with bourbon-soaked vanilla beans and sweet milk chocolate. Pumpkin-pied cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg seasoning as well as dark-roasted mocha malting (and delicate perfumed hop whiff) contrast recessive pumpkin-roasted butternut squash, gourd and zucchini snips. Arguably the best beer at Virginia Craft Beer Festival 2015.
Robust full body loads massive mocha malting atop charcoal nuttiness and charred hop bittering. Bittersweet rye-toasted black chocolate frontage, light-roasted coffee surge and dried cocoa cadence gain mildly wood-smoked walnut, cola and Brazil nut influence.
‘Luscious’ chocolate-roasted märzen lager aged over ‘gobs of cocoa nibs and vanilla beans’ imparts milk chocolate sweetness above Octoberfest-related dark roasted barley malting and leafy Noble hop astringency. Splendid dried cocoa finish may benefit from richer vanilla influence.
Mildly creamed nitro-injected oatmeal stout offers silken coffee-roasted milk chocolate soothe to oats-honeyed Cafe Vanilla Porter appeasement and mellowly caramelized Chestnut Porter nuttiness. Subsidiary vanilla, chestnut, espresso, caffè latte and macchiato illusions fade quickly.
Aggressive lager-aged autumnal offering (in a can) lacquers pumpkin pie spicing with lightly perfumed hops and tart white grape esters. Sugary pumpkin frontage sweetened by cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander seasoning. Serene caramel malting tingles soft honeyed wheat spine.
Delightfully rich, creamy, full-bodied dessert elixir brings intriguing coffee-infused Madagascar vanilla theme to dark-roasted mocha malt setting. Nutty cocoa bean affluence, ascending anise stickiness, syrupy chocolate sweetness and subtle burgundy-bourbon boozing coat the intense vanilla center. Variable fudged brownie, Yoo-Hoo, espresso, creme brulee and creme de cocoa illusions deepen sweet-toothed back end.
On tap at Ambulance, majestic Belgian-styled dark ale (with hefty 11.5% ABV) saddles ripe dried fruiting with brown-sugared maple molasses sweetness and sugary brown chocolate malting. Fig, raisin, plum and black cherry illusions come to the fore. Tertiary chocolate cake, pecan pie, toffee, vanilla, rum, bruised banana and blackberry undertones deepen complex strong ale.
