On tap at Ambulance, saison-styled biere de garde (with rather lull 7.3% ABV) sends honey-sweetened sour lemon tartness above mild woody Chinook hop bittering, polite Vienna-pilsner malting and fizzy carbolic phenols. Orange-rotted candied pineapple subsidy sidles wispy earthen barnyard acridity and herbal nonchalance.
On tap at Ambulance, winning collaboration between two Brooklyn brewers brings zesty tropical fruiting and honeyed malting to astringent citric dry-hopped bittering. Bruised orange, grapefruit and lemon illusions sweetened by caramel corn sugaring.
Nebulous Louisiana farmhouse ale (brewed at Lazy Magnolia) lacks specificity and character. Sweet ‘n sour navel orange, grapefruit, tangerine, date and fig notions fade into raw-honeyed molasses breading. Leafy tea-like bottom provides musty earthiness.
On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, luxurious limited edition 2012 farmhouse ale (brewed with French yeast ale) surges forth with tart red cherry, sour red grape and sweet red peach overtones securing buttery white oak aging. Musty papier-mached clay hops contrast maple-honeyed wheat bed. Tertiary cantaloupe, mango, blackberry, raspberry and lemon meringue undertones deepen floral-tinged stone fruiting. On tap at Taphouse Grill, honeyed Scotch whiskey nuance appeared.
Unconvincing Farmhouse-styled ale closer to a wavering saison with its muted orange-oiled lemondrop frontage, phenol hop tingle and raw-honeyed fungi spell. Light white-breaded graining fails to properly insulate tertiary apricot, pear and apple smear.
On tap at Barcade, rounded amber-hazed French-styled farmhouse ale (a.k.a. biere de garde) not far removed from dry saison styling. Spicy citric splendor caresses sweet honey-grained backdrop. Candi-sugared Belgian yeast influence enhances white grape, green grape, green apple, oaken cherry and white peach nuances as well as peppery clove-coriander restraint above parched earthen bottom. Its abstruse moniker, Fluxus, defined as ‘continuous change,’ precisely describes this busily flavored moderate body.
Approachable dry-bodied saffron-hazed Biere De Garde brings soft-watered champagne-like carbonation to vinous grape souring, creamy Chardonnay buttering, and mossy mineral-grained grassy-hopped stead above polite herbaceous chamomile whim. Mild lemon tartness zips by. A subtler, blonder stylistic change of pace.
In the bottle, moderate-bodied French-styled biere de garde lacks originality, complexity, and character. In need of deeper rye malt penetration and rounder sour-fruited enhancement, this wavering golden-hazed farmhouse ale cannot properly follow-up likable bruised orange souring. Lemon pith, green apple, and apricot illusions lose luster as juniper berry bitterness gains prominence. Precarious dry-spiced tingle barely registers. On tap, light white-peppered hops prickle salty lemon-limed orange-grapefruit rind bittering and herbal nuances of veritable session beer.
On tap, French-styled copper-toned medium-bodied Bier De Garde spreads honey-roasted malts across sugar-spiced fruited plain and funky cellared yeast pungency. White-peppered grassy-hopped bittering reinforces acidic champagne-like white grape and green apple tartness illuminated by nectarine-peach-tangerine-mango tang. Sour-fruited midst receives sweet cinnamon-coriander spicing and tertiary sherry-burgundy wining that tames gin-soaked ethanol luster.
Pour slowly fluffy-headed rust-hued corked brew to ease overwhelming billowy foam. Sweet honey-malted butterscotch-candied creaminess transverses lively spiced hops for mellow flow. Tiny yeast sediment at bottom warms light-hearted barleywine effervescence. As difficult to define as it is to find proper name on graffiti-packed label.
