Ultra-dry kettle-soured reddish-glowed gose parlays tart oaken cherry pucker into vinous lemon-limed green grape acidity and polite coriander-spiced Himalayan pink salting. Distant cherry rhubarb pie, cherry coughdrop and hard-candied cherry undertones flutter.
MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS
Occupying a red brick professional building (with black stucco top) in suburban downtown Marlborough, LOST SHOE BREWING & ROASTING COMPANY came to fruition springtime 2019. Besides slingin’ delectable homemade suds, Lost Shoe is also a well-known local coffee roastery.
Lost Shoe’s wood-emblazoned emblem sits atop the front door where the cement-floored patio with four glass-rocked firepits is situated. Taking the place of a 4,600 square foot nightclub, this olden wood furnished taproom features a railroad tie-fronted aluminum top serving station, 17-plus tap handles and multiple glass-encased brew tanks. The noirish black ceiling contains crowned Edison lights and exposed pipes. And a black-leathered lounge area adds casual upscale splendor.
On my June ’21 pre-dinner visit, my wife and I try grab an outdoor table to enjoy three wonderful hybridized varietals plus one nitro stout, one German and two Belgian ales. In the two years Lost Shoes has been operating, it has crafted at least forty nifty one-offs.
It seemed every Marlborough-Framingham brewpub visited had a kickass li’l kolsch. Lost Shoe’s second anniversary Kolsch retained crisply crystalline clarity as its orange-oiled lemon zesting picked up herbal hop astringency, mineral grained earthiness and cracked wheat neutrality.
Next up, dryer-than-usual witbier, Whit’s Way, let sour lemon rot pervade its orange-peeled coriander expectancy and mild chamomile-lemongrass snips.
Light molasses creaming draped brown-sugared dried fruiting for sassy dubbel, Size 6, leaving plum-prune-raisin scrum and cocoa-pecan-butternut daubs upon the dewy earthy bottom.
Bright orange-peeled grapefruit tanginess and juicy pineapple zest stayed atop the piney herbal resin of Crossroads of New England: Nugget & Motueka.
For a sweet cocktail derivative, orange-glowed cream ale, Lakeside Avenue Orange Creamsicle, combined cara cara orange zesting with milk-sugared Madagascar vanilla bean richness. Its pulpy orange concentrate juiciness outweighs the sugared vanilla aspect, slowly integrating nearly cloy perfume-candied pineapple, peach, tangerine, cherry and watermelon swipes.
Creamily milk-sugared cold-brewed coffee tones settled softly atop nitrogenated New Pair Of Brews: Vamp -Coffee, a Madagascar vanilla-beaned mocha stout with coconut-hazelnut hints that stays airy and light on the tongue.
Milk-sugared coffee creaming picked up toasted coconut and Madagascar vanilla sweetness for New Pair Of Brews: Vamp -Dark Roast, another ethereal nitro-injected coffee stout.
On tap at Ambulance, resounding bourbon barrel-aged Assassin Stout variant drapes honey-glazed coconut sweetness with peanut buttered chocolate fudging above rich cookie dough bottom. Mild bourbon whiskey alcohol burn persists as chocolate pudding reminder completes coconut mocha macchiato-like nightcap.
On tap at Taphouse 15, decadent 6th anniversary pastry stout subtly dabs Buffalo Trace whiskey across lactose-aided Madagascar vanilla creaming, cinnamon-spiced maple syruping and honeyed Graham Cracker spine for French Toast breakfast cereal-inspired knockoff. Dough-fried churro, spiced bourbon and mint chocolate illusions add recessive pleasantries.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, creamy Ethiopian Yirgacheffe cold brew coffee entry gains seared walnut bittering and mild berry tartness. Mellow vanilla-tinged cocoa sweetness underscores milked coffee nuttiness.
On tap at Hoover’s Tavern, creamy peanut butter-smeared dark chocolate richness gains walnut-seared cola nip and mild gingerbread coffee riffs, finishing like a heavily peanut-oiled Reese’s Pieces confection.
On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, lactose milk sugaring seeps into buttercream-frosted vanilla sweetness and maple-molasses cinnamon toasting guarding loosely defined brown ale. But phenol citric-tinged astringency slightly hampers maple-syrupy French Toast finish.
“Beguiling” barrel-aged dubbel steeped in red wine and bourbon stays mellow as caramelized dried fruiting soaks up chewy brown chocolate sweetness. Brown-sugared bruised cherry, red grape, green raisin and fig tones caress whiskey-bent bourbon serenity for mild complexity.
Fizzy pale green cleared Berliner Weisse relegates tart blue raspberry souring for lime-salted kiwi, pineapple and mango tropicalia, but it gets way too cloy despite moderate citrus acidity. Sweet-Tart Pez candied pucker glides into salt-rimmed Margarita reminder. A slick 7-11 kiddie cocktail knockoff.
On tap at Seven Lakes Station, tart blood orange-pureed blackberry adjunct reinforces fruited candy souring of pinkish blush sour ale. Salted grapefruit, kiwi and mango tropicalia plays possum.
On tap at Ambulance, tannic ruddy amber Flemish-styled red ale (aged in red wine barrels) drapes balsamic vinegar atop oaken cherry tartness and leathery barnyard funk. Sharp cherry-cranberry-crabapple souring submerges musky grape skin tannins and dry limey bittering.
On tap at Taphouse 15, tart pastry-styled Imperial Sour Ale dupes strawberry rhubarb pie with frosty milk-sugared marshmallow sweetness. Tart strawberry midst locates mild lemon-candied orange oiling and bubbly champagne misting.
