On tap at Ambulance, sharp 2nd anniversary pale ale intensifies initial dry-wooded Simcoe and Amarillo hop bittering with yellow grapefruit rind bite. Below the surface, pungent pine-needled forestry freshens floral orange-mango-pineapple conflux, mineral-grained lemongrass herbage and straw-like astringency.
SMUTTYNOSE SMUTTLABS: FRANKENLAGER
“Freakishly tasty” India Pale Lager combines the bitter fruited hop bite of an IPA with the pale malt smoothness of a light lager. Sunny grapefruit-peeled lemon tang and bitter orange peel surge pick up light herbal-hopped pining and wispy floral perfuming to contrast mild sugar-spiced malt creaming.
PEEKSKILL HANGRY BOCK AMBER LAGER
On tap at Ambulance, underwhelming bock brewed in “monastery tradition of beer sustenance” simply lacks specificity and depth of flavor. Docile spiced fig snip falls off off as phenol hop astringency pushes back bland pale malt dryness and dank earthiness. No dark-fruited bock semblance exists.
(FLYING DOG) OTTERBEIN’S FIG & FENNEL STOUT
Vacillating between a sweet oatmeal stout, a soy-soured Baltic porter and a dried-fruited Christmas bock, spice-speckled dry body allows oatmeal raisin cookie sugaring to infiltrate black chocolate-malted raw molasses bittering and sedate wood-burnt hop pungency. Fig and fennel adjuncts spice up mocha malting while miniscule walnut, cinnamon and vanilla undertones get whisked away.
(FLYING DOG) OTTERBEIN’S CRANBERRY IPA
Sunny citrus zest nearly overwhelms delicate cranberry adjunct, gaining lightly puckered sourness over brittle piney hop astringency and herbal-grained salty bottom. Wispy orange peel sway and mild apple crisping reinforce lemony cranberry piquancy.
(FLYING DOG) OTTERBEIN’S BELGIAN STYLE PALE ALE
Tropical fruited yeast fungus gains white-peppered Saaz hop astringency for feisty moderate-medium body. Tart lemondrop-candied sugar coating shields modest grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, serene mango-papaya-guava niche, acidulated malt souring and musky herbal spicing.
(FLYING DOG) OTTERBEIN’S CITRUS SAISON
Amiable sweet ‘n sour pepper-spiced citrus zest informs herbaceous white and green-peppered Belgian yeast fungi of easygoing moderation. Aromatic yellow grapefruit zing and subtle tangerine tang contrast lemon rot dryness. Mild lemongrass tingle entices polite citric-spiced finish.
FLYING DOG PRESENTS…OTTERBIEN’S HOLIDAY COLLECTION
NOVEMBER 2015
It goes against my old school belief to drink beer with cookies or sweet candy instead of meat, vegetables and fish. After all, who usually pounds amber-grained bitters with sugary treats when it’s so obvious to chow salty potato chips, pretzels or nuts instead? Perhaps I’m oxymoronic, but happily so after spending an afternoon quaffing four different ales with four different cookies.
For the second straight autumnal season, Maryland’s domineering Flying Dog Brewery has teamed up with Baltimore’s iconic cookie maker, Otterbein’s, for a nifty snack and beer pairing. Each mixed match had its own splendor, some more than others.
Beginning with the lightest-bodied pairing, Flying Dog’s Citrus Saison indelibly matched Otterbein’s sugar cookies. The Belgian-styled fruit ale’s advertised lemony grapefruit “pop” fizz soothed into the easygoing pepper-spiced herbs, rotted lemon desiccation and acidulated malt souring. Eating part of the the sugar cookie prior to sipping suds provided the desired “pop” for this worthily compatible coupling.
For Flying Dog’s Cranberry IPA, Otterbein’s lemon sugar cookies sweetened the musky lemon-dried cranberry adjunct, wispy orange peel bittering, herbal-grained salting and brittle piney hop astringency. It may be a stretch contrasting a sourly tart fruit ale with doughy sucrose, but it’s a worthy treat. However, matching the white-peppered tropical fruiting and Saaz-hopped herbage of Belgian-Style Pale Ale to Otterbein’s orange cookie proved more challenging, if less successful.
Perhaps the best pairing matched the dark mocha-malted cookie dough richness and spicy dried fruiting of Flying Dog’s Fig & Fennel Stout to Otterbein’s fabulous oatmeal raisin cookie. Beneath the surface, raw molasses-like sinew and wood-burnt hop pungency lightly embittered the fennel-spiced fig adjunct.
My feeling is there’s an unexplored market for this bitter-sweet beer/cookie pairing. Will the sweet-toothed dessert sect start appreciating brews instead of milk with their cookies? Will beerpubs pick up the trend and succeed? Anyway, Christmastime’s the right time to get decadent. So go for it!
CLOWN SHOES FLIGHT OF THE ANGRY BEAST
On tap at Ambulance, fiercely complex Imperial Stout-dominated hybrid (limited edition 2015) blends brewers’ bourbon-aged Undead Party Crasher’s chocolate-chipped cookie dough yeast with Scotch-barreled Blaecorn Unidragon’s vanilla-creamed mocha malting and Pierre Ferrand Billionaire’s cognac-aged barleywine for a completely over-the-top full-bodied monster. Rich caramel-burnt black chocolate creaming picks up luscious rum-spiced vanilla bourbon, sugared molasses, black cherry and burgundy sweetness to contrast less prominent black-tarred hop char (and whimsical black coffee bittering). Tertiary peat whiskey snip and latent fig-raisin quip slip inside mighty mocha marvel.
BOULEVARD SMOKESTACK SERIES IMPERIAL STOUT 2015 – AZTEC CHOCOLATE
Uniquely robust and luxuriously detailed Aztec chocolate richness coats curried cinnamon spicing above roasted pasilla negro chili peppering. Syrupy molasses sapping soaks whiskey-tinged bourbon and burgundy subtlety while cedar-burnt hop char deepens peppery heat. Tertiary peppermint, vanilla, coffee, cacao nibs, carob and anise illusions drift into the colossal dark chocolate center.
BELL’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY ALE – IMPERIAL STOUT
Fierce limited edition 30th anniversary Imperial Stout (boasting 11% ABV) settles like thickly creamed mocha-molasses syruping on the tongue, contrasting tarry hop-charred bittering and latent wood-burnt charcoal singe. Its sweet side ultimately dominates as caramel-burnt creme brulee, black chocolate, dark Italian roast coffee, whipped cream espresso, dark cocoa, bourbon vanilla and cinnamon illusions merge alongside dried-fruited fig, raisin, plum and blackberry flirtations to harness fudgy chocolate-covered black cherry finish.
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE FROST MONSTER IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN OAK BARRELS
Oak-barreled wood char seeps into dry burgundy luster, smoothly edging out the original Frost Monster’s dominant mocha aspect. Soured day-old coffee slipstream jams vinous black grape esters embittering smoky soy-milked cocoa malting. Crisp tobacco roast mildly affects tertiary fig, black cherry and prune snips.
