On tap at Brew City Grill, creamy coconut-toasted porter proves to be mocha-bound taste sensation. Dark chocolate nougat, coffee bean, cocoa powder and espresso tones reinforce toasted coconut frontage. Roasted hop bittering, light walnut char and cola nuttiness contrast almond biscotti-laden coconut theme. In can, black chocolate-malted dark cocoa insistence and hop-oiled coffee bittering nearly outdo coconut cluster.
On tap at Ambulance, sweet golden-cleared barleywine (aged in white wine and rum barrels) loads spiced rum sugaring onto botanical-wafted tropical fruiting. Sweet orange, pineapple, mango, peach and nectarine illusions pick up light ethanol astringency from well-hidden 11% ABV.
On tap at Brew City Grill, dry saison lets light cranberry adjunct fade into oblivion as fizzy salt-watered lemon zest, tart lime acidity and tannic green grape esters go sour above musty minerality, dissolving any true cranberry influence.
On tap at Ambulance, unspecific biere de garde tries to merge phenol alcohol astringency with musty dewiness, fig-sugared dried fruiting and spiced toffee nicety, but seems ill-defined and characterless.
Vaguely defined winter warmer brings blustery medicinal alcohol heat to restrictive black cherry, sugarplum and raspberry illusions as well as murky brown-sugared molasses sugaring, distant nutmeg-cinnamon tingle and caramelized oats base. Ample alcohol astringency consumes and coarsens the unspecific dried fruit-spiced finish.
On tap at Ambulance, approachable oak-aged Flanders Red Ale brings oaken cherry tartness to vinegary green grape tannins, sharp cider bite and sweet red apple goodness. Leathery bacterial lactose acidity and mild barnyard acridity coat casual oats-dried base.
Easygoing IPA bolstered by lingering Chinook/Amarillo hop pining and less aggressive lemony grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering. Sugary peach-pineapple-quince-cantaloupe-mango-tangerine dalliances and recessive floral nuances provide mild backdrop.
    
Wondrous Chicagoland flagship boasts briskly bright floral fruited rampage, gathering tangy grapefruit, pineapple, nectarine, peach and mango juiciness atop well-oiled piney hop bittering. Its tart orange-candied center gains strength as sugar-spiced crystal malting and lemon-peeled herbal notions resonate at crisply clean citrus finish. On tap at Biggie’s, sweet orange-peeled mango, pineapple and peach tropicalia contrasts lemon-embittered grapefruit rind juicing and grassy pine resin over mildly creamed crystal-malted biscuit base.
On tap at Ambulance, smoothly easygoing dry-hopped light body (collaboration with Barcelona’s Garage Brewing) allows lactic brettanomyces yeast to affect soured Nelson Sauvin gooseberry tartness and limey lemon pith pucker. Brisk carbolic spritz heightens lemondrop mouthfeel.
On tap at Ambulance, mild yellow-cleared smoked wheat ale falters when delicate beechwood-smoked peated wheat malts fade. In the midst, easygoing gose-like salted lemon lime wisp and scorched earthen dryness softly surface for German-Polish sour wheat gratzer styling. In bottle: sour lemon rind influence overcomes oaken peated wheat smokiness, light spelt graining and Band-aid astringency as carbolic mandarin orange spritz provides bubbly effervescence.
Made from an ancient brown ale recipe, light 3.5% ABV oud bruin lets cloying caramel malting offer Coca Cola and sarsaparilla-like sweetness to dewy cellar dankness. Chalky chocolate influence gets sour.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
Re-creating a cozily bohemian Prohibition Era speakeasy, affluent Upper West Side pub, BROADWAY DIVE, is tucked into a busy commercial street just up the hill from midtown Manhattan. Its mauve-marooned exterior and rustic wood interior give this narrow beer-centric tavern a friendly neighborhood feel.
Packed to the hilt with incongruent graffiti and paraphernalia, mounted animals (deer, bear, trout, bass), multiple TV’s, koi fish aquarium and 20-plus tap handles (specializing in respected Belgian ales, local elixirs and national craft beer), its tremendous refrigerated bottle-can selection consumes much of the left wall opposite the 20-seat wooden bar area. And a few marble-topped community tables serve people across the bar.
Part of the “Dive Bar” triumvirate that includes the original Amsterdam Avenue site and Columbus Avenue’s Dive 75, these seminal landmarks are a must for all New York City-bound beer enthusiasts.
My wife and I grab seats at the bar just a few days prior to Christmas, 2015, to consume one high profile sampler tray (Sloop Sauer Peach Berliner Weisse; Barrier’s Uncle Lee’s Christmas Ale; Barrier Lights Out Stout; Evil Twin Christmas Eve In A NYC Hotel Imperial Stout) plus a pint of Thirsty Dog Bourbon-aged Wulver and Ayinger Weiss. We consume chili, hummus and a knish while downing world class brews.
For those requiring privacy, two small loft areas overlooking the bar offer adequate intimacy.