On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, mildly vanilla-creamed banana and clove scurry gains cologne-perfumed lemon twist to combat subtle white-peppered herbage and brisk vodka crisping. Sugary citric banana spicing latently caressed by wispily honeyed guava, passionfruit and pineapple tropicalia. Just a tad ‘wayward’ stylistically, but expressively so.
On tap at Ambulance, wildflower-honeyed sunflower seed salting gains limey lemon rot desiccation to contrast mild chestnut sweetness of interestingly peculiar sour saison hybrid.
On tap at Growler & Gill, summery gose-styled sour ale brings salty coriander licks to wispy mango-pureed peach tartness as limey lactic acidity overrides milk sugared sweetness. Underlying passionfruit, guava and papaya tropicalia too distant for declining mango influence.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead – Haledon, summery citrus splendor shines brightly as tart lemon-candied blood orange adjunct gains lively pink grapefruit influence and subtle Sauvignon Blanc souring above light pale malting.
Better on tap where its phenolic astringency’s kept to minimum. Otherwise, sweet caramel-toasted oats and sourdough malts nearly drain murky red apple, peach and tangerine illusions and latent almond sweetness.
On tap at Growler & Gill, crisply clean moderation allows peppery herbal spicing to perk up mild lemon tingle and dry maize respite over crusty buttered bread spine in slightly engaging manner.
On tap at Morris Tap & Grill, fine hybridized witbier reveals black-peppered rosebud flowering for sweet coriander-spiced orange peel zesting and mildly creamed white wheat malting. Floral citrus spicing gains herbal resonance over time.
On tap at Ambulance, well-designed green tea-infused lager with zesty lemon verbena tartness gains lightly spiced lavender, fern, sage and clove influence. An offbeat herbal lemon tea alternative.
On tap at Morris Tap & Grill, expansive dry-hopped pilsner brings summery Australian hops forward, leaving grape-soured pear, honeydew and cantaloupe fruiting upon its dark floral fennel herbage and mildly acrid hay-seeded barnyard leathering.
On tap at Ambulance, musky maize-dried lemon oiling perfectly re-creates crisp old styled premium pilsner styling. Straw-dried grain malts gain plain cracker breading as perkily citric carbolic briskness cuts down mildest sulfuric smidge of well-designed light-bodied pils.
Mild aluminum-cleared, cumulous pearly-headed, German-styled pilsner brings desiccated lemon tartness and herbal perfumed hop musk to acrid barnyard graining. Dry barleycorn bottom lightly anchors easygoing gypsy brew.
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Inside a white brick warehouse in Ithaca’s West End District just a half mile down the street from Lucky Hare, LIQUID STATE BREWING COMPANY came to fruition October 2017. Taking the space of an old laundry facility, Liquid State’s entrepreneurial brewsters, Ben Brotman and James Tielens (former Cornell Lab biologists) craft comforting New England-styled IPA’s and Euro-styled pilsner-lagers as well as sundry stylistic one-offs at their windowed backroom brewing station.
A family friendly pub with Skee-ball plus video and board games, Liquid State’s ten bench tables recall a high school cafeteria. Its pristine 15-seat wood lacquer-topped bar features 20 draught handles and many growlers.
After swimming at Buttermilk State Park, my wife and I (with Roscoe the dog) head to the covered cement-floored back patio to consume five of the fifteen available draughts this hot July afternoon, 2019.
First up, effervescent straw-paled moderation, Yard Lion Hefeweizen coalesced lemony clover-honeyed banana tartness with mild coriander-clove spicing and herbal lemongrass snips.
Sedate Daypack Saison cushioned its lightly soured lemony grapefruit-orange bittering with black-peppered coriander spicing and salted mango tartness above sugary pale malts.
Caramelized plum sweetness anchored rich La Trapeze Dubbel, a creamily mocha-malted medium body with dewy peat earthiness contrasting latent candied fig-date sugaring.
Juicy fruited Liquid Crush New England IPA, a milky beige yellow-hazed beauty, brought lightly vinous grape acidity and lactic gooseberry yogurt souring to tangy grapefruit, orange, tangerine and cantaloupe serenity.
As for the one dark ale (besides the untried light-bodied Stache Black Lager), robust Stray Dog Porter placed toffee-sugared brown chocolate sweetness alongside hop-charred coffee roast, leaving subsidiary cola, walnut and hazelnut illusions plus dried prune swoon on the nutty mocha molasses tail end.
