Luxurious fresh-brewed coffee entry superseded by tart raspberry pureeing for rich (9.4% ABV) Wake-N-Bake variation. Dark chocolate insistence and liquid cacao adjunct catch up to hop-charred coffee bittering midway, coalescing with bittersweet raspberry truffle scheme at fulsome Black Forest cake finish.
BARRAGE TRIBAL COW
BIG MUDDY VANILLA COFFEE STOUT
Overly gassed bottled version retained rigid Madagascar vanilla tartness and Blackstrap molasses-derived coffee bean bittering above musty earthen wood tones for uncommon Buffalo Trace bourbon-barreled milk stout. Oaken cherry, dried fig and green grape tannins increased sour edge. Bottle may be a tad oxidized since sprawling flesh-toned head stayed too frothy above burgundy-browned body.
902 ENJOY OO4 MILK PORTER
Frothily foamed creaminess of diluted milk porter gets spongy as lactic soft-tongued toffee fudging and mildly embittered dry chocolate nearly snuffed out by musty peat soiling. Impermanent black chocolate, cocoa, cola, fig mold and anise swipes need more resonance.
GARVIES POINT PORT SERVICE SMOKED PORTER
LONE EAGLE WINTER WONDERLAND
Ambitious Belgian strong ale aged on French oak (and referenced as a biere de garde) brings wintry spices to the fore as candi-sugared nutmeg, clove, cardamom, star anise and ginger seasoning embellishes ripened dried fruiting as well as glazed pecan notions. Sarsaparilla and Jagermeister illusions sneak thru latent alcohol burn. A welcome winter warmer.
PARADOX MY TI BARREL AGED IMPERIAL RED FRUIT ALE
Busy as its eight-word namesake, lightly barrel-aged medium body embraces Mai Tai cocktail spirit with a salt-licked Margarita kick. Lime-peeled orange tartness sinks into tangy ‘pineapple and cherry pureed’ seduction above creamily caramelized malt toasting. Latent red grape sweetness and delicate sherry, Courvoisier and mull-spiced wine illusions increase complexity.
GARVIES POINT BLUEBERRY MOSAIC SOUR WHEAT ALE
GREAT DIVIDE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SOUR ALE
Tart strawberry rhubarb pie likeness picks up abrupt sour lemon effervescence and mild oaken cherry acidity over dry barnyard acridity. Tertiary raspberry, peach, mango and guava nuances enlighten sour strawberry scrum.
YAZOO EMBRACE THE FUNK: TRIO
On tap at Ambulance, funky 100% brettanomyces-fermented red ale aged in red wine barrels once containing Tennessee Whiskey retains tart raspberry overtures and vinous red grape tannins. Puckering raspberry influence enlivens acetic ‘wild ale’ as lemony bitterness increases – eclipsing any trace of whiskey wooded sweetness.
DUGGES TROPIC PUNCH ALE
Excellent joint venture circa 2018 with nomadic brewer, Brian Strumke, of Baltimore’s Stillwater. Salt-licked lactobacillus acidity soaks tropical fruited ‘Swedish sour ale’. Tartly lemon-juiced peach, mango, passionfruit and yellow grapefruit adjuncts pick up lightly vinous cherry musk, musty green grape esters and floral-daubed strawberry rhubarb licks at hard-candied center.
BAGBY FAINT OF TART
On tap at Ambulance, extremely tart magenta-ambered moderation brings subtle cherry souring to the surface. Tertiary rosé, raspberry and cranberry illusions reinforce cherry rhubarb pie finish.
