Ill-defined dunkel bock tastes like cheap sharp cider. Tart green apple, sour lemon and oaken cherry provide mouth pucker as stylish fig-date conflux takes a backseat to oncoming green grape esters. Murky toasted nut influence and unwanted veggie snip further confound things.
Thin ‘traditional brown porter’ with nut brown leanings affixes roasted nuttiness to musty mocha malting. Dry peanut-shelled cola and walnut resonance goes astray as murky black chocolate, dark cocoa and light-roast coffee illusions fail to ignite. Tertiary soy sauce, burnt toast and black tea nuances are spotty.
Enjoyable 2013 pilsner-styled pale lager (a.k.a. Champagne Velvet) celebrates Upland’s 15th anniversary with homage to Indiana’s ‘most beloved beer’ from defunct Terre Haute Brewery. Clear-yellowed German pils brings corn-sugared cereal graining to crisp lemon-soured spritz, mild grassy hop bittering and buttery pale malt toastiness. Musky yeast pungency reminiscent of Heineken.
Perfectly balanced nickel-hued IPA brings bright yellow and orange fruiting to creamy cookie dough malts. Sunny yellow grapefruit bittering takes the lead as orange-bruised tangerine, peach, pineapple, cantaloupe, nectarine, red apple, brown pear, mango, papaya and melon tang prospers. Furthermore, resinous piney hop freshness contrasts honeyed spruce juicing and chewy caramel sugaring in fine fashion. An underrated fave!
Underwhelming cherrywood-smoked amber-hued moderation lacks body, depth and underlying sweet malt contrast of similarly styled German rauchbiers. Initial peat-seared cherrywood smokiness dries up quickly, leaving only mild campfire singe, distant barbecued meat char and evaporative cedar burn to complement delicate pilsner-Vienna malting.
Sensationally sessionable sunny-yellowed German-styled pils plies mellow floral-spiced IPA fruiting to mineral-grained biscuit malt base and grassy dry hop resin. Lemony orange tartness and piney grapefruit bitterness blend well with honeyed herbal nuances. Minor alcohol astringency at finish provides sharp bite.
Washed-out strawberry puree tartness turns sour contrasting light biscotti-like Graham Cracker sugaring. Delicate dry-hopped bittering and polite pilsner malting provide frail backdrop for distant lemon-limed strawberry, watermelon, cranberry and gooseberry illusions.
Bland medium-bodied pale lager, reminiscent of simple grain-musked Czech or German pilsner, suffers from skunked yeast bittering, corn-oiled astringency and stale bread malting. Dry lemon-peeled bittering fails to ignite lightly metallic finish.
Chaotic witbier from Netherlands proves to be richer, creamier and more flavorful than usual Belgian-styled wheat ales. Sweet-spiced banana, clove, coriander and vanilla illusions lie above sourdough yeast as ginger, ginseng and green tea herbage seeps in. Crisp Seltzer-like carbolic fizz perks up zesty citric-peeled bittering at sinewy fruit-spiced finish.
Arguably New Hampshire’s best brewer, Portsmouth-originated Smuttynose Brewing has been building a solid reputation since opening in 1994. Now stationed at nearby Hampton, there recent experimental Smuttlabs draughts have found favor with the entire northeast coast. In February, AMBULANCE BREW HOUSE hosted several Smuttlabs elixirs reviewed below:
On tap at Ambulance, dry stout brings light rye-pumpernickel breading to smoked black chocolate influence, light-roast coffee bittering and molasses-breaded sweetness. Tertiary espresso, walnut and black bread illusions deepen mocha penetration.
On tap at Ambulance, reserved 3.75%ABV Berliner weisse retains soft-toned strawberry effervescence. Salty coriander fizz prickles soured watermelon, peach and pineapple undertones. Mossy earthen leathering fortifies ultra-dry fruited nature. Up the strawberries, though.