On tap at Ambulance, “aggressively hopped English-styled blonde barleywine” retains affluent candi-sugared tropical fruiting above lilting caramel malting and wispy 12% alcohol burn. Sweet Sangria wining affects IPA-like orange-grapefruit-pineapple-lemon fruiting as well as sly cantaloupe, honeydew, melon, nectarine and tangerine undertones of fine 2015 vintage.
On tap at Ambulance, rare oak-aged sour ale (2015) allows vinous green grape tannins, ephemeral lemon rind acidity and wispy oaken cherry tartness to gather above reedy straw leathering. Pithy lemon-spiced orange rind bittering and tangy pineapple-peach-mango subtlety create sour-candied pucker at finish.
On tap at Ambulance, sunshiny tropical-fruited 2015 “winter seasonal” (a.k.a. WinterYulesmith) resonates with bright lemon-peeled grapefruit succulence and tangy pineapple-orange-mango conflux. Alongside juicily tropical citrus vibe, sharply resinous piney hop bittering and dry floral nuances rise above buttery biscuit malts.
On tap at Ambulance, explosive Imperial IPA “detonates” as perfume-hopped grapefruit peel bittering, phenolic alcohol pungency and musky pine resin camouflage pale crystal malt sugaring. Dry grain husk provides strong backbone for floral-spiced citrus capacity and tropical peach-mango conflux. On tap at Growler & Gill, crackling Citra-Mosaic-Sorachi hop fruiting persisted into wax-candied honey sweetness to contrast dank juniper pined bittering.
Well-defined middle-of-the-road medium body brings sharp piney hop bittering to juicy tropical fruiting and creamy crystal malting. Zesty yellow grapefruit-peeled orange rind bite and subdued peach-mango-pineapple tang spread across mineral-grained crisping and floral-spiced recession. Spritzy carbolic fizz adds snap, crackle and pop to frisky fruited fervor.
On tap at Ambulance, sharp sour-candied sucker contrasts lemony grapefruit rind bittering against soft-toned tropical fruiting. Balmy mango, pineapple, passionfruit, mandarin orange and tangerine tartness recedes below yellow grapefruit continuance. Wafting cologne perfuming and gentle herbal recess nip at puckered citrus souring.
Renowned German hefeweizen lets the yellow-fruited sunshine in. Lemony banana tartness spreads across mildly white-peppered clove and coriander spicing as well as creamy yeast, subtle hops and wheat-honeyed malts. Serene blood orange, navel orange, honeydew and melon tang picks up vanilla sweetness while fizzy carbolic spritz adds bubbly nuance to stylish banana-creamed clove spicing.
On tap at Ambulance, passive dry-hopped saison (a collaboration with Three’s Brewery) retains dainty yellow grapefruit tang, brisk lemon zest crispness and subtle curacao-mandarin orange tartness. Mild brettanomyces bacteria deepens sour citric acidity over sugary wax-candied crystal malt base.
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.
“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.
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.
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!