Subtle lemon-rotted dried fig entry gains mild raw-honeyed bittering, light herbal-spiced Noble hop musk and fresh-cut grassiness over sourdough-breaded pale malting for soft-toned kolsch. Fizzy lemon spicing pressed against biscuity baked breading. in the distance, corn-stalked wheat straw acridity sidles apple, pear and white grape wisps.
On tap at Ambulance, subtle passionfruit souring pervades salty lime-puckered green grape tannins and wayward pineapple-coconut tropicalia, staying moderately vinous and refreshingly clean.
Precisely replicating a dried apricot, delectable fruited blonde stays resilient. Sweet, tart and sour apricot plot picks up reluctant fig spicing over honeyed wheat base for summery fermented fruit ale.
Dewy mineral-grained Vienna malts saturate sour honey musk. Herbal residue leaves grassy fennel trace upon earthy floral undertones and citrus-spiced tease. A slightly sourer Austrian-styled amber lager.
Blue collar fare. Corn-dried lemon spritz fades to oblivion as mild aluminum taste beckons.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, floral-daubed citrus profile of an IPA overrides grassy Noble-hopped German pilsner malting. Lemon zest brightens grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering as well as sweet peach-pineapple-mango undertones.
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
In a red brick professional building in the center of Amherst, HIGH HORSE began slinging suds for the UMass crowd back in January ’12. A closed-in benched porch welcomes patrons to the pub’s three-staged interior.
To the right side, a spacious tile-floored main area with twenty-stooled J-shaped wood bar features quaint windowed seating, a TV for sports addicts and brew tanks towards the front.
Edison lights and café tables don the cement-floored midsection and the broken-up left space offers creatively designed intimacy. Interesting modern paintings cover many walls.
On my Sunday brunch stopover, March ’19, had the omelet and French Toast alongside the only remaining house brew currently leftover from the soon-to-be disposed brew tanks.
Utilizing wild saison yeast for its mellow Chardonnay-barreled sour ale template, Le Bang Bang brought salty lemon-limed acidity to vinous green grape tannins and tart crabapple piquancy.
High Horse will have its new brewing equipment readied by springtime. There will be at least four offerings to start.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, dry soft-toned stout layers creamy vanilla-beaned black chocolate syrup atop more prominent tart raspberry adjunct. Dewy midst gains mocha-bound black cherry, blackberry and boysenberry notions.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, milk-sugared coffee entry picks up fudgy black chocolate creaming and sweet vanilla nuances. Nutty chocolate-coffee finish is just a tad thin.
Bold full-bodied porter overloads wheat-honeyed Graham Cracker sugaring with nutty maple molasses-glazed dried fruiting and bittersweet dried cocoa spicing. Sweet hazelnut, dry cola and bitter walnut illusions flutter beyond its Graham Cracker pleasantries.
Another understated barrel-aged gem from Scotland’s I & G. Jamaican rum sweetens richly caramelized mocha fruiting, maple molasses-glazed nuttiness and dewy earthen remnant. Brown-sugared fig, plum, date and raisin illusions graze vanilla-creamed brown chocolate stead and ample pecan-chestnut-cola conflux for rummy Scottish-based, Irish-styled red ale.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, murkily amber-browned quad brings dewy sweetness to brown-sugared raisin, dried prune and plum tones as well as oncoming brown chocolate spicing. Try in lieu of molasses fruitcake.
