On tap at Ambulance, rangy Italian-styled pilsner relies on dry buckwheat and musky spelt-like malting to enhance mildly spiced lemon-rotted tangerine tartness above biscuit-y spine. Light citric hop (‘luppolo’) astringency gains resinous grassy earthiness. Unspecific Italian heritage.
BEAR REPUBLIC DOUBLE AUGHT PILSNER
BLUE MOON CAPPUCCINO OATMEAL STOUT
Pleasing decaf coffee roast tops dried cocoa subsidy and sugared oats base. Sharp hop char contrasts cappuccino-laden caramel, vanilla and milked espresso sweetness below the thin surface. Phenol acridity lowers overall impact.
DU CLAW QUICK START MY HEART STRAWBERRY MILK STOUT
Though its bittersweet strawberry adjunct gets buried beneath the syrupy black chocolate milking, creamy caramel-burnt dark cocoa subsidy and tertiary coffee roast, rich sweet stout never fails to arouse tastebuds as a fine dessert treat. Milk Dud-like midst picks up modest vanilla, molasses and nutty nougat nuances to champion its mighty mocha mass above mild hop-charred bittering.
BROTHERTON IMPERIAL OATMEAL PORTER
“Heavy-handed oats” bill picks up light wood char to deepen black-malted dark chocolate richness. In the midst, dark-roast coffee upends black cherry puree tartness and musky earthen residue. On tap at Taphouse Grille – Wayne, dry dark chocolate frontage gained mild nut sear over sedate maple oats base.
TERRAPIN SMOKE ON THE PORTER
Dry Baltic porter issues beechwood-smoked black chocolate malting and French oak licks to ashen nutty bittering. Oncoming vanilla-creamed dark fruiting ransacks chicory-seared cedar char and light Band-Aid astringency. Drifting cocoa nibs influence adds to nutty chocolate nature.
GLENMERE FARMHOUSE ALE
Superfine saison contrasts lemon-soured orange rot tartness and raw-grained herbal notions with lightly creamed candi-sugared pale malts. Rustic horse-blanketed wheat straw, hay and alfalfa dryness digs deep into latent Chardonnay wining.
GLENMERE PENNINGS BROWN ALE
First-rate brown ale regales dark-roast chocolate malting with capacious hazelnut-walnut tones and tucked-in black cherry snips, picking up tangy grapefruit-orange illusions at the nutty mocha finish.
CHATHAM BOURBON BARREL BROWN ALE
ALLAGASH JOSEPHINE
On tap at One Mile House, sour brettanomyces yeast affects sweet cognac warmth of 10.4% ABV dark strong ale. Vinous white and red wine sourness blends into leathery oaken cherry bittering above mild rye wheat malting. Sharp hop spicing picks up tertiary black currant, anise and illusions. Subtle cognac sugaring tries to shine thru sour appeal.
BREAKSIDE FITZCARRALDO
On tap at One Mile House, interesting 2016 bourbon barrel aged strong ale blends candi-sugared Belgian dark ale with smokey amber ale picks up vinous oaken red wine overtones to balance against caramel-burnt milk chocolate sweetness. In the backdrop, rum-spiced whir contrasts dry Scotch whim. Complex.
ALMANAC DYNAMO DONUT NOIR
On tap at One Mile House, engrossingly peculiar Imperial Stout aged in Woddford Reserve bourbon barrels (10.2% ABV) drapes syrupy maple molasses atop chocolate-glazed doughnut sugaring, cherrywood-smoked dark chocolate malting and chewy cookie dough yeast. Polite coffee roast sinks into pastry-like midst as Black Forest cake, toasted coconut, marshmallow, crème brulee, vanilla and black cherry puree illusions seep into the noirish maple-sapped bourbon blend.