On tap at Biggie’s, brusque Christmastime red ale loads hop-forward ginger rooted orange peel bittering atop brown-sugared cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cardamom holiday seasoning, wintry Chinook hop-inspired evergreen stint and dewy pine nut snip.
HEAVY SEAS WINTER STORM IMPERIAL ESB
On tap at Growler & Gill, casually winterized Imperial Extra Special Bitter lacks definitive stylistic profile. In a wayward manner, nutty caramel malts, mossy fungi dewiness and moderate earthen hop bittering gain latent honey-spiced dark fruiting. Bittersweet fig, sugarplum and date pleasantries waver.
PORT CITY TIDINGS ALE
On tap at Growler & Gill, wildflower honey-spiced lemon licks pick up dried ginger herbage and perfumed cologne musk – defying usual Belgian Pale Ale styling. Towards the finish, misty perfume-oiled citrus spritz gains chai tea-spiked oregano and sage nuances.
GRASSROOTS / ANCHORAGE / HILL FARMSTEAD ARCTIC SAISON
On tap at Ambulance, Vermont’s Grassroots Brewing collaborated with local Hill Farmstead brethren and Alaskan brewmasters to concoct hybridized brettanomyces-laden farmhouse ale. Rustic herbal overtones and musky barnyard leathering divert lemony orange-peeled grapefruit, pineapple and peach tang. Cilantro-peppered basil and rosemary illusions convincingly deepen citrus tea finish.
OXBOW SAISON NOEL – 2015
On tap at Ambulance, indecisive brown-clouded, wheat-based, farmhouse-styled Christmas ale (circa 2015) provides tart plum-fig-raisin tones, sour citrus acidity and light grape juicing to leathery barnyard rusticity. Light black peppering and crisp tobacco leafing contrast wispy cinnamon-nutmeg seasoning at the back end.
THE BRUERY / JESTER KING BOUFFON SOUR WIT ALE
On tap at Plank Pizza, spicy sour wit ale recipe (in collaboration with Austin’s Jester King) combines ‘bitter orange peel and coriander’ in cultured yeast then gets aged in oak foeders. Mildly vinous green grape esters and eye-squinting orange-peeled lemon tartness receive herbal-wafted barnyard rusticity. Recessive Chardonnay, Granny Smith apple, rosé and oaken vanilla whims deepen its wild ale character.
THE BRUERY THE WANDERER DARK SOUR ALE AGED WITH BLACKBERRIES AND CHERRIES
On tap at Ambulance, complex oak-aged sour ale leads with tart blackberry mustiness and musky Bing cherry leathering. Vinous lemon-juiced green grape tannins and wispy green apple nip impact lactic mouth-puckering acidity of salted raspberry-cherry souring.
MIKKELLER RASPBERRY BLUSH
On tap at Ambulance, bright pinkish violet-hued Berliner Weiss maintains mildly acidic raspberry tartness above subtle coffee adjunct and dry red grape-skinned Blush wining as stylish bone-dried lactobacillus souring picks up salty respite. Vinous green grape esters and spritzy lemon lime twist regale sour-candied raspberry yogurt finish. In the can, lemon rind-embittered raspberry souring gains mild pomegranate, blueberry, cranberry and rhubarb seduction over its salty coriander base. In the bottle, raspberry-soured coriander salting zaps lemon rind-embittered coffee roast as mild pomegranate, cranberry and quince nuances wisp by.
TWO ROADS PLUM GOSE
On tap at Growler & Gill, tart Italian plum adjunct subsumed by mildly acidic lemon-limed Granny Smith apple sourness over briny sea-salted spritz for approachable gose.
NESHAMINY CREEK CROYDON CREAM ALE
On tap at Plank Pizza, fine “American lawnmower ale” retains stylishly dry moderate-bodied profile. Maize-flaked barley malts provide doughy white bread and popcorn sedation for floral-daubed grassy (Saaz) hop astringency and tingly lemon respite.
HUDSON BREWING COMPANY
HUDSON, NEW YORK
Inside a rustic cement-floored industrial warehouse, evolving ‘destination farmhouse brewery,’ HUDSON BREWING COMPANY, has helped revitalized this small Columbia county city.
Formerly a well-respected local nanobrewery stationed just across the railroad tracks from its new location, Hudson Brewing moved to its new Front Street digs May, 2017, and continues to craft six staples alongside exciting new recipes for their growing fan base.
Owner PJ Birmingham recently hired 27 year-old brewing guru, Aaron Maas, an acquaintance through several mutual friends.
With a twelve-seat crushed-metal bar at its core, this features twelve draught handles, a wood-boarded beer listing Behind the bar are the windowed brew tanks serving tonight’s fare this brisk December ’17 eve.
Though I miss out on the popular Irish Red Ale, there are eleven different draught beers consumed during my two-hour closing time stint.
Light-bodied staple, Shadie Sadie Cream Ale, caressed dry pale malts and popcorn-like maize rusticity with grassy hop astringency.
Mildly citrus-spiced Wayward Woman Kolsch let grassy hops contrast sweet breaded pale malting.
Dewy ESB brought moderate dried fruit spicing to leafy hop astringency and dainty brown tea illusions.
Tobacco-roasted Altbier benefited from wispy chocolate and rye malting.
Called a ‘Sierra Nevada with a burst of flavor,’ approachable Proprietors Pale Ale’s candy-spiced orange, peach, apple and tangerine tang picked up grassy hop resin.
‘Basic’ Widows Walk IPA stayed stylistically prim as gently-spiced grapefruit, pineapple and orange briskness gained subtle piney hop bittering and mild grassy notions.
Floral-perfumed yellow grapefruit spicing fronted dry rye-malted Rye To Me Rye IPA.
Brisk piney tropical fruiting inundated Beached Whale New England IPA, where grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering picks up lemony hop phenols to contrast sweet peach-mango tang and prickly floral spicing.
Honeyed nuttiness casually affected English Brown Ale, a moderate-to-medium body with drifting molasses, caramel and chocolate truffle dollops.
Dark chocolate malts crested atop Burnt Caramel Porter, letting caramelized molasses contrast its light wood char just beneath the mocha surface.
For dessert, Tainted Senorita Mexican Coffee Stout allowed its cold-brewed coffee tones spread across dark chocolate malts and dark roasted hops, gaining light vanilla, espresso and cacao nibs tones by the finish.
www.hudsonbrew.com
CROSSROADS BREWING COMPANY
ATHENS, NEW YORK
Just a few miles from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the west side of the Hudson River lies the historic town of Athens, New York, home to friendly cornerstone pub, CROSSROADS BREWING COMPANY.
Inside an old opera house and furnished with vintage décor, this reliable downtown spot opened in June 2011 and has become a nifty staple for its sleepy riverside village.
On a snowy afternoon, December ’17, during Athens annual Victorian Walk, a few horse-drawn buggies pass by while my wife and I go to grab seats at the simply gorgeous mahogany bar (with centralized blackboard beer menu, 12 tap handles, two TV’s, shelved books, growlers and scattered paraphernalia).
The right side windowed brew tanks and backroom kitchen service the bar as well as the wood tables along the front and sides. As a salute to olden New York macrobrews are wall-hung serving trays advertising iconic staples such as Pabst, Genesee, Ballantine, Rheingold, Schaefer and Hedrick.
Besides the nearly dozen proprietary beers on draught, there’s one cider, a few wines and several spirits available alongside silver vessel-contained Rum Punch.
Having previously quaffed Crossroads’ Mc Ginn’s Scottish Ale, Outrage IPA and Brady’s Bay Cream Ale, I settle into seven new discoveries.
Thrifty pale ale, Nine Lives, contrasted candied pineapple-peach-tangerine tanginess and sweet Maris Otter/Crystal malting against resinous hop dankness, picking up groaty oats at the waxy finish.
Centrist caramel-roasted Brick Row Red let spiced red fruiting gain earthen autumnal foliage, sweet amber graining and nutty notions above its biscuit base.
Easygoing moderation, Lane 4 Session IPA, brought brisk grapefruit and orange peel tanginess to honeyed pale malts and moderate Citra hop bittering.
Tangy orange, tangerine and lemon zest lifted Hemming & Hawing Double IPA, an Eldorado and Nelson Sauvin-hopped medium body with mild pale malt backdrop.
Kettle-soured Short Tart & Handsome (a collaboration with Albany Pump Station) retained a slightly vinous dry hop veneer as lemon-soured green grape tannins and strawberry rhubarb tartness enhanced its latent lactobacillus assault.
Dry espresso-roasted Black Rock Stout allowed Baker’s chocolate bittering to pickup minor wood-charred earthen soiling.
And broad-ranging winter warmer, Yukon Cornelius, let its apprehensive brown-sugared molasses sweetness, glazed pecan sugaring, light cinnamon-ginger-cardamom spicing and tea-leafed tobacco crisping gain a minty gingerbread snap atop its buckwheat-floured bottom.
www.crossroadsbrewingco.com