On tap at Ambulance, Old World wining meets New School brewing for juicy Chardonnay-aged farmhouse ale. Belgian candi-sugaring picks up sweet red cherry, cantaloupe and melon tones beyond buttery Chardonnay splendor. Subtle white grape esters mildly embitter dry hop restraint.
FAT HEAD’S SHAKEDOWN IMPERIAL STOUT
Loading bitter hop-charred pine resin atop stylish dark-roasted mocha malting allows hybridized (8.5% ABV) full body to gain wider hop-headed audience. Black chocolate, dark cocoa and roasted coffee tones gain sugared barley-oats roast to contrast raw molasses bittering. Mild lemony grapefruit tang stays hidden below intense mocha melee.
FAT HEAD’S BONE HEAD IMPERIAL RED ALE
Never as popular with the masses as softer pale ales and hardly ever receiving the accolades of richer IPA’s, this well-rounded red ale will nonetheless please wide-ranging palates. Sweet orange-peeled grapefruit, tangerine, mango, pineapple, peach and tang picks up zesty lemon twist. Spicy dry-hopped citric sharpness and mildly pungent resinous pine bittering contrast sugary hazelnut-glazed caramel toasting.
FAT HEAD’S JACK STRAW PILSNER
Gritty straw-hued Czech-styled pils has got some bite to it. Pungent raw-grained astringency and grassy hopped bittering picks up sharp yellow-fruited spicing above crystal-malted sweetness. Subtle floral-perfumed grapefruit, lemon and peach notions linger softly.
FAT HEAD’S BUMBLE BERRY HONEY BLUEBERRY ALE
Expressive sweet ‘n sour blueberry theme picks up raw-honeyed tartness over light wheat cracker spine. Blueberry pie, blueberry jam and blueberry puree lacquer carbolic lemon seltzer twist but saccharinic acridity almost dooms its juicy fruited finish. On tap, tart blueberry lacquering subsumes honeyed Graham Cracker spine of increasingly popular fruit ale.
HOPPIN’ FROG KING GOSE HOME IMPERIAL GOSE ALE
Serene dry-bodied gose deepens acidic sour-fruited expectancy with sea-watered salting and bittersweet wildflower honey. Leathery straw, hay and barnyard astringency crowds subsidiary lemon-candied sourness and tertiary green apple, raspberry and strawberry tartness. But Imperial designation seems to be a misnomer.
HOPPIN’ FROG LIQUOR BARREL AGED OUTTA KILTER SCOTCH-STYLE RED ALE
Amazing depth and clarity define liquored up version of scintillating Scotch-styled red ale. Sweet peated Scotch malting settles alongside brown chocolate-spiced dried fruiting as well as warm rum-soaked sherry, bourbon and burgundy wining. Chocolate-covered cherry, buttered pecan, raspberry puree, sugared fig and raisin illusions deepen kaleidoscopic flavor profile.
CELLAR DWELLER FRANC & BARLEY (BARLEYWINE AGED IN CABERNET FRANC BARRELS)
Despite being stylishly light, multifarious pleasantries sweep and glide across subtle Cabernet Franc-barreled zinfandel wining surprisingly integrating barley-roasted nut brown ale tendencies, molasses-sugared brown chocolate sweetness and dried fruited niceties. Dewy maca-rooted cola, hazelnut, chestnut and buttered pecan variance as well as toffee-candied raisin, plum and fig illusions upend passive Cabernet influence. Caramelized chocolate malting holds steady and the busy flavor profile ultimately holds up well.
RIVERTOWN HOP BOMBER RYE PALE ALE
Dubiously advertised as a hop bomb, rye-influenced pale ale brings terse mineral graining to lemony orange, pineapple and grapefruit zest. Resinous piney hop astringency contrasts juicy fruited sweetness. Moderated tea-leafed rye toasting picks up crystal-malted sugaring at sharp citrus finish. A crossover for lighter thirsts may be too timid for hardened hopheads.
(RIVERTOWN) JENNEKE BELGIAN-STYLE BLONDE ALE
Soft-toned Belgian-styled light body needs clearer stylistic definition. Mild yellow-fruited spicing sweetens above pallid barley-wheat malting and sourdough yeast, but distant candi-sugared quince influence and latent herbal nip flutter by aimlessly.
RIVERTOWN VILLE DE RIVERE GEUZE
Easygoing oaken wine-barreled lambic (vintage 2013) brings stylish ultra-dry citrus souring to olfactory farmhouse dessication. Musty barnyard acridity dries out sharp cider souring, pickled balsamic vinegaring, vinous green grape wining and syrupy woodruff notion. In the midst, tart lemon pucker picks up polite lemongrass and peppercorn accents.
RIVERTOWN DIVERGENT BERLINER STYLE SOUR ALE
Crisply clean wort-soured Berliner Weiss places lactic lemon-limed acidity atop musty barnyard acridity and salt-watered minerality. Mellow white wine vinegaring, wispy green apple tartness and zesty orange rind bittering dry up.