Author: dave

Surfer, Marine Biologist and Technologist = The ingredients of writing the perfect Sci-Fi

SHOW PIGEON IPA

  • TYPE: IPA
  • BREWERY: Central 28 Beer Company
  • LOCATION: Debary, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: $8.99 per 6 pack
  • ABV: 6.77%
  • RATING: 5 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I opened the cage and the can flew out as smooth and gulpy as any IPA I have ever had.  There are no sharp edges to this beer, only smooth curves from start to finish.  I was so pleasantly surprised as I watched until it was a spot in the sky, the size of a period.  Then beyond all expectations it returned into my hands for another sip.  Once again a great… no.. not just great… a spectacular Florida craft beer.  It was empty before I knew it and I reached for another, but too late, it had taken off…. I think it was the 6.77% ABV and a bit of too quick gulping…..  I know it will come back to be. To highjack the poem of Edward Lear (Calico Pie).

Calico Pie,
The little beers fly
Down to the calico tree,
Their hops are blue,
And they sang ‘Tilly-loo!’
Till away they flew,
And they never came back to me!
They never came back!
They never came back!
They never came back to me!

Calico Jam,
The little beer swam
Over the syllabub sea,
He took off his hat
To the Sole and the Sprat,
And the Willeby-wat,
But he never came back to me!
He never came back!
He never came back!
He never came back to me!

Calico Ban,
The little beer ran,
To be ready in time for tea,
Flippity-flup,
They drank it all up,
And danced in the cup,
But they came back to me!
They came back!
They came back!
They came back to me!

THEIR STORY:  Made with Love and care

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UP RIVER American Pale Ale

  • TYPE: American Pale Ale
  • BREWERY: Central 28 Beer Company
  • LOCATION: DeBary, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: $8.99 six pack of cans.
  • ABV: 6.0%
  • RATING: 5 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

Yet another incredible Florida beer.  UP River American Pale Ale dreams of being an IPA, but I am glad it’s not.  If this were the only beer I was allowed to have, up river without a paddle, I would be happy as a frog.

THEIR STORY:  Up River is a classic, aggressively hopped American Pale Ale, if that’s the direction you’re headed.  With just enough malt for balance, the hop flavors and aromas careen from resinous pine to grapefruit zest, finishing with a clean pleasant bitterness.

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NU SKOOL IPA

  • TYPE: IPA
  • BREWERY: Southern Tier Brewing Co.
  • LOCATION: Lakewood, NY
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST:  $8.99 six pack of cans, etc.
  • ABV: 6.0%
  • RATING: 4+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

So I met this dude in a Total Wine in West Palm, FL.  The dude was knowledgeable and we started talking about different craft beers we have tried among the backdrop of more beers then I could try in my lifetime.  He was a keg of knowledge–way beyond my samplings–but we both realized neither of us had tried out this particular IPA from Southern Tier.  I have tried others from this brewery and have liked everything so far and reached for a six-pack.  I mean, Why the Hell not?

Since I was buying quite a few others I popped a can right then and there and was transformed into a time a few second ahead of where I was.  I knew exactly what I was going to say about this craft: It was not too bitter, had a lasting taste, smooth finish with a slight tropical current reeling through it.  This dude must have thought I was some kind of savant, although the look on his face was more like the look one gives to someone about to talk to a fire hydrant–and trust me, he wasn’t waiting around for the reply until I crabbed another off the shelf and popped another.   That’s when the fight began…..

THEIR STORY:  Why the hell not?

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Stove Pipe TEN FIDY

  • TYPE: Imperial Stout (Aged in Burbon Barrels)
  • BREWERY: Osaka Blues Brewery
  • LOCATION: Longmont, CO
  • COST: Can’t remember: bought two 32 oz Cans.
  • ABV: 12.9%
  • RATING: 4+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

Somewhere in here is a review.  I last remembered pouring a beer, what seemed to be the impossibility of blackness into a glass, so thick I could cut it with a pair of tin sheers and nothing less.  The taste was rich.. I mean really rich… coffee laced, bourbon traced.  One of the best stouts I have ever had.  It felt more like a transfusion and made me say crazy things, like:  “Crack the salt and behave!

THEIR STORY:  This dog’ll hurt

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India Pale Ale

  • TYPE: IPA
  • BREWERY: Wild Range Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Rochester, NY
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Bottle
  • COST: $6.99 / six-pack from ALDI
  • ABV: 6.9%
  • RATING: 3 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: David

I was picking up a few things from ALDI and checked what they had on the beer shelves.  On this particular day, they were sporting an IPA from Wild Range Brewing Company.  I did a quick Google search and the ratings were so-so,  varying from two to four and a half stars…. not much help.  But at $6.99 for a six pack, what could go wrong? I will admit, I judged a book by it’s cover… The label graphics had me from the get-go.  So when I got home, I popped them into my beer & wine fridge and went about my day… editing the next great American SciFi novel… the next thing I knew, the sun was setting and a full moon was rising over the silhouettes of the palmetto palms that stood like racks of black combs against the sky….. where was I?  Oh yeah…… so i grabbed a one of the Wild Range IPAs and settled onto the couch in the lanai and took my first swig, taking in the bitterness of bursting hops and rich taste that lasted all the way through to an empty bottle.  I knew I was going back to ALDI for more, but in the mean time, grabbed another coldy from the fridge.  As I chilled out in the lanai and the Earth turned,  the lunar rays transformed my surroundings into a moonscape of grayness where beyond my yard and out onto the golf course, the mound of the second green looked like a diorama of the Apollo 11 landing site with its stiff flag standing in place.  Fascinated, I hopped up but a little too quickly and catapulted forward onto the dew soaked lawn.  Hoping no one saw that, I got up and felt agile and light, my feet lifting off the ground, my hair seeming to float in delay as I glided back to Earth.   This was incredible!  I started in a slow trot, building up speed and leap upwards covering several meters.  Wow!  This is so bizarre!  This time I got up some real speed and headed toward the lake, pushing off the bank until airborne, at least until the moon ducked behind a cloud and I dropped like a stone into the water below.  I was in shock, standing in waist deep water at the edge of my pool and realized I must have sleep-walked into it.  My wife hearing the commotion, got up from her show, probably Judge Judy, and ran into the lanai to see me standing in the shallow end of the pool, fully dressed, with a bottle in hand.  No words were spoken at she gave her best McKayla Maroney and returned to the  couch …..  That 6.9% ABV will catch up to you…. yikes!

THEIR STORY:

Don’t you DARE MISS IT! Mr Wolfe and his semi-trained carnivores will be at the fire pit.  At midnight.  (And then there are a lot of different versions, in multiple languages, defining hops that I am not going to attempt here.)

Once Wild, Always Wild

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Key West Sunset Ale

  • TYPE: Amber Ale (American)
  • BREWERY: Florida Beer Company
  • LOCATION: Cape Canaveral, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Bottle
  • COST: UKNOWN – Came in a sample 12-pack for $10.99
  • ABV: 4.8%
  • RATING: 4 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I wasn’t looking for a tee-shirt when I entered a bar with no walls and no chairs.  I guess they don’t want people to stay around, drinking all day, but the collection of lopsided folk in this place looked like they have been standing all day and drinking, keeping me in fine company.

A pretty gal, older, behind the bar with twin grey braids and a dusty voice asked me what I wanted when I approached the bar made from driftwood.  Funny… all I saw behind her was an assortment of the same thing and only one thing.  Key West Sunset Ale.

Not sure how to answer her question, I put on a lost French accent.

“What eye want and what ziu serve are not za same sing, so I will ave what ziu serve,” I said raising one brow and slowly ranked her from head to waist trying to make out the writing on her tee-shirt: Beer Of The Conch Republic, then returned my stare into the sliver of her green eyes.  She was skeptical of me now but still exquisite as she reached into the cooler below and pulled a bottle from a wrist deep bath of ice then popped the cap with the church key dangling around her neck before sliding the bottle my way.  No words were needed after that; the beer did all the talking, surprising me with its rich clean amber taste and lure of caramel with a bold hop finish–what  I imagine a bee feels like after tasting honey for the first time.  And speaking of honey, she could tell that I was liking the beer or liking her or liking both and maybe I was to all of that and maybe the beer was doing all the talking.

We’ll see when the joint closes and I place my Vespa keys on the bar…..  Worst case scenario, I’m leaving with a case and a tee shirt.  Yeah…. I’m a fan.

THEIR STORY:  Beer Of The Conch Republic

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ESB

  • TYPE: Amber Ale (California Style)
  • BREWERY: Green Man Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Asheville, NC
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: UKNOWN – had it at a friend’s house or $8.99 six pack of cans, etc.
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • RATING: 4 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

So I’m at a concert and the band is ripping, then suddenly like the sound of tires locking up in the blue smoke of melting rubber on the tarmac, the music has vaporized in the middle of a single note… It’s dead silent.  The lead grabs the mic off his stand and walks to the front of the stage and says, “Who just opened a beer?  Not just any beer, but an ESB?”  I’m near the stage with no tall people in front of me, with my ESB in hand.  The front man jumps off the stage and parts the non-tall people and reaches out with his hand.  I’m frozen in place so he snaps his fingers and I hand him the ESB.  In one smooth and fluid move he drains the ESB and I can see it in his eyes that he experienced the same sensation that I did– it’s smooth bold malty flavor from start to finish.  He wipes his mouth with the back of his wrist and hands me back an empty can. We are both holding onto it for just a little longer than I’m comfortable, then he turns and leaps back up on stage and everything starts up exactly where it left off as if that moment never occurred and only existed in my head, and I’m wondering…. maybe it only did?  Nothing seems any different; no one is paying me any attention as I look around holding an empty can.  Did I drink it all? I look back on stage and the front man it holding a note seemingly forever then catches my eye and gives me a nod.

THEIR STORY:  Do what you can.  Can what you do.  Legendary Ales.

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Weisse, Weisse, Baby

  • TYPE: Wheat
  • BREWERY: Orange Blossom Brewing Company
  • LOCATION: Lakeland, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: Hard to say, I bought a 8 pack sampler for $10.99
  • ABV: 5.25%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

Squeezed right from my juicer, the citrus is the first sense you take in and the wheat base glides along, smoothly.  My wife liked this one a lot, but for me, I needed something with a little more bite.  I think this would be great, super-chilled, in a pint glass with an orange wedge.  It grew on me over time and when I finished, I thought… why not another?

THEIR STORY:  Like buns straight out of the oven, this bad boy is as fresh as it gets Unlike its clear cousin “Kristal” or that unfiltered yeasty boy “Hefe,” we drop our yeast like it’s hot, then take the beer for a spin in a suped-up centrifuge.  Giving it a gold-plated glow and slight hazy haze.  Brewed with traditional Bavarian yeast from Weihenstephan, one sip of this heady homeboy will have you sayin’, “Word to you brewer.”

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Sandbar Sunday

  • TYPE: American Wheat Ale (Enjoy with a Key Lime Wedge)
  • BREWERY: Islamorada Beer Company
  • LOCATION: Islamorada, FL
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: UKNOWN – had it at a friend’s house or $8.99 six pack of cans, etc.
  • ABV: 4.75%
  • RATING: 3+ Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I found a case of this swept out to sea, but word has it they are back in business after Hurricane Irma, so follow their story on Facebook or Twitter.  It’s a great story by a great company, whose people are family and of love for their island, their state, their country, their world, this side of the planet Jupiter–I can’t vouch beyond that.

I had to look twice at the label after taking my first swig because I am not a huge fan of wheat-based beers, but this brew has a bold, smooth and expensive taste from start to finish and  pairs beautifully with freshly caught fish and fresh greens.   I could easily drink a case of this in one sitting.  I’m a fan.

Once again, a great Florida brew.

THEIR STORY:  Have you ever heard of an island in the Keys called Islamorada?  It’s referred to as tte sport fishing capital of the world with a long standing reputation of being a drinking town with a fishing problem.  Most people who visit call it paradise, but at Islamorada Beer Co. we simply call it home.  Here the outdoors are your playground.  And if you’ve ever been to Islamorada you probably know about our Legendary sandbar.  If you have yet to experience a day wading in the water with a cold beer in your hand, we invite you to join us for the time of your life.  Share your sandbar story #MYSANDBAR.

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Meyer Lemon

  • TYPE: Lager (Meyer Lemon)
  • BREWERY: Anchor Brewing
  • LOCATION: San Francisco, CA
  • CONTAINER: 12 oz Can
  • COST: Hard to say, I bought an eight-pack sampler case for $10.99
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • RATING: 4 Swigs
  • REVIEWED BY: Dave

I suggest you get a motion sensor because you will have a hard time keeping your gardeners away from this lager, with hints of Lemon– but not just any lemon– a Meyer Lemon, which is so smooth and quietly sweet.  Meyer lemons grow large, with thin skins that will turn a soft golden yellow when ripe, fooling some into thinking it’s an orange.  This beer is perfect for outside parties, not too heavy on the ABV (4.5%) and serves out a cool smooth taste getting you to want another before the first one is done.  But your favorite part is when you shift your attention to arriving guests with pained expressions on their faces as they head toward the beer cooler expecting to reach in for a why-bother-yet-another-light-beer, but then their world turns upside-down when they pull out from under the chill of ice water, a colorful can, and their expression goes from one of nausea to pure delight as they flip it open and take a swig, then reach in for another while their other elbow is still well above their head draining the first one, not coming up for air but manage to emoji a look that others instantly recognize as, “take a selfie with me… this tastes awesome!”

THEIR STORY:

From America’s first craft brewery.

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