Soured passionfruit theme pillages tart lemon-limed briny salting and light lactic acidity of easygoing mouth puckering refreshment. Wispy pineapple, mango, white grape and crab apple tones nearly lost among salty lemon-juiced passionfruit bittering at finish.
Delightful tangerine-inspired India Pale Ale stays refreshingly crisp and clean. Zesty tangerine juicing soaks up lemony orange, grapefruit, mango, peach and pineapple tang above gentle resinous hop bittering. Candied citric malting and light floral aspect further sweeten sessionable tropical delight.
OCEAN BEACH, MARYLAND
A few miles off the Ocean City strip on Ocean Gateway lies the 7,000 square-foot WEST O BOTTLE SHOP & BAR, a fabulous craft beer, fine wine and spirits outlet with creatively designed interior wood trellises, central bar with several draught taps and left side lounge.
Selling the finest local bottled and canned beers while offering a few select draughts at the bar, West O has become a staple for local consumers and curious travelers.
On my June ’16 stopover, there were five previously untried Maryland brews on tap (reviewed in full at Beer Index). Burley Oak High Whhheat Hibiscus brought floral hibiscus and lavender adjuncts to buttery Chardonnay tones and subtle citric notions while Union Country Boy Citric Wit dried out its lemony banana-clove-coriander sweetness with sharp hop astringency. Heavy Seas/ Troegs Hoppelbock, a doppelbock collaboration, doused sweet tropical fruiting with floral-spiced hops and caramel malts.
Onward, Rubber Soul High Wheel IPA had a soft-toned approachability dangling floral pineapple-peach-orange-mango fruiting above its soft wheat spine. RAR Habanero Nectar layered peppery habanero heat inside subtle IPA tropicalia.
www.west-o.net
On tap at West O, winning dry-hopped doppelbock lager collaboration between Maryland’s Heavy Seas and Pennsylvania’s Troegs brings floral-spiced mango, cherry and red grape tang to bittersweet grapefruit-pineapple-orange serenade. Moderate resinous hop bittering contrasts caramelized Vienna malting.
On tap at West O, serene light-bodied wheat ale brings floral hibiscus and lavender tones to the fore as buttery Chardonnay wining, delicate citric spicing and white wheat malting provide nifty sweet ‘n sour backdrop.
On tap at West O, approachable soft-toned India Pale Ale stays sessionably subtle as floral-spiced pineapple, mango, peach and orange tang retains its gentle flow above moderate Centennial hop bittering, soft wheat spine and earthen mineral bottom.
On tap at West O, interesting tropical-fruited medium body loads habanero heat inside subtle IPA tropicalia. Juicy nectarine, honeydew and melon sweetness invites lively orange, peach and pineapple tang to the party as habanero peppering stings the back of the tongue. Nearly perfect contrasting heat with sweet.
On tap at West O, fine trad hefe brings stylish banana-clove-coriander-bubblegum sweetness and mild vanilla creaming to sourdough-breaded honeyed wheat spine. Ancillary lemon-rotted plantain tartness and herbal respite deepen flavor profile a tad.
On tap at West O, hefe-like witbier crowds coriander-spiced lemon and orange peel tartness with polite banana-clove sweetness. Sharp hop spicing dries out above tempered oats-flaked pale wheat base.
Thin, clear-bottled, pale-yellowed, 64-calorie light lager contrasts maize-dried astringency and mild lemon rot against sweet-corned cereal graining without getting despicably acrid or cloy. Seltzer-watered aridity neutralizes any tertiary flavoring.
KINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA
Taking up a whole street corner in Kinston’s rustic downtown, MOTHER EARTH BREWING has taken the Inner Banks section of North Carolina by storm and helped revitalize the small community since starting production during 2009. Run by owners Trent Mooring and Stephen Hill and brewmaster Josh Brewer, Mother Earth’s expanded into a large operation with its own bottling line, beer garden, windowed brew tanks, boutique store and exquisite modern deco-styled taproom (with U-shaped 16-seat bar, side tables, couched lounge and snazzy blue and white hanging lights).
During my mid-morning stopover June ’16, I picked up five bottled and one canned brew running the gamut from ever-popular Weeping Willow Wit to stylishly wondrous Endless River Kolsch to sessionable Park Day Bohemian Pilsner to Sisters Of The Moon IPA to Dark Cloud Dunkel Lager and Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter (all reviewed in Beer Index). But the best way to discover Mother Earth is thru its sterling taproom, where limited edition, one-offs and seasonal specials prove just as worthy as the bottled-canned staples.
The environmentally responsible brewery also makes use of recycled material, organic compounds and spent grain. Anyone traveling thru the heartland of Carolina needs to discover this fine gem.
www.motherearthbrewing.com
Subsuming cocoa-dried Bakers chocolate entry picks up creamed coffee supplement and sour nuttiness above latent earthen brown tea bittering. Dank dark-roast chocolate malting confirms bittersweet mocha finish.
