On tap at Ambulance, dry Citra-hopped yellow grapefruit and mandarin orange splurge plus salted green grape, gooseberry and passionfruit souring alongside less intense pineapple and mango tang combine for creamily textured golden yellow hazed medium body (with unassuming 10.5% ABV). Waxy citrus continuance gains clean vodka-like briskness and mild tealeaf herbage for a juicy tropical fruited finish.
WASHINGTON DC
In a modern Industrial red brick building at DC’s Ivy City neighborhood, OTHER HALF BREWING opened September 2020, six years after its original Brooklyn, New York business commenced. A 22,000 square foot brewing facility and taproom (formerly a tomato can factory), Other Half’s multifaceted facility includes an outdoor deck, covered pavilion and roof deck.
Inside, the immaculate pub features an elongated tile-sided 12-plus draught bar servicing the cement floored benches and barrel top tables. A rooftop deck (with full bar) allows for more seating.
The first-floored overhead doors lead to the outside deck where my wife and I (with dog, Roscoe) down eight enjoyable tapped offerings (including three lagers, three Imperial IPA’s, an oated cream IPA and a barrel-aged stout) on a rainy Friday evening, May ’22.
Easygoing helles lager, Box Car, plied mild herbal hop astringency to light lemon spicing over white-breaded pilsner malts.
Spritzy lemon musk and herbal hop astringency paced Ivy City Lager, a dry Eastern European-styled moderation with biscuity toasted grain bottom.
Musty perfumed ricing saddled Japanese-styled rice lager, Poetry Snaps, a pilsner-malted light body with herbal Saaz hops scouring floral spiced lemon licks.
Zesty floral-spiced grapefruit and pineapple brining led golden-hazed Imperial IPA, Blue Crab, picking up Chradonnay-buttered guava, mango and passionfruit snips.
Salty lemon-limed grapefruit bittering, mellow orange peel sweetness and mild pineapple-guava souring guided fellow Imperial IPA, Quonset Hut, to its pine lacquered grassy hop stead.
Meanwhile, New Zealand-styled double dry-hopped Imperial IPA, Riwaka + Motueka, brought limey yogurt-soured guava, gooseberry and pineapple fruiting to soft herbal pungency contrasting mild vanilla creaming of unassumingly 8% ABV medium body.
Lactose-aided Imperial Oat Cream India Pale Ale, Tremendous Cream (a ‘bigger’ 10% ABV version of Dollar And A Dream) tucked away its zestful lemon-limed grapefruit and orange tanginess plus tertiary pineapple, guava and mango onrush for mild grassy hop musk, light herbal snips and dank earthen grains.
Peanut butter-candied chocolate caramel nougat creaminess deepened the bourbon vanilla sweetness of barrel-aged Deep Orbit Cygnus, a decadent Imperial Stout with mild espresso, cappuccino and caffe mocha illusions topping a honeyed Graham Cracker base.