South Florida Beer trail 2.0
Went to the
Barrel of Monks 'you only turn one once' party with a VIP pass and was privy to some extremely flavorful and dynamic brews
It was a hot day for this time of year, so starting off with Hunahpu's Imperial Stout by
Cigar City Brewing (11%) was a little harsh in the heat, but it was very tasty. I then had the BoMB 1801 Mocha Koffie Saison...wow was that delicious and quite the pallet cleanser after Hunahpu. But I threw caution to the wind and got a 1/2 pour of the Hunapu and it went down so much better the second time around...that keg kicked and many were sad. The White Wizard from BoMB was a great beer for the heat, but what was even better is I went outside and they had a Passion Fruit White Wizard and that was extremely drinkable and a great contrast to the regular. The PF gave it a tart flavor that wasn't overly sweet and the carb was a little different (in a good way)
It really was a shame it was so hot out as I just couldn't have the Triples and the Quad's as BoMB had about 10 or so variations on tap. Luckily they had quite a selection of other stuff.
One of my favorites of the day had to be the
Odd Breed Wild Ales Dry Hopped Wild Farmhouse Ale. Was soo good I went back for another...and got the last one of the day. This really has to be my favorite find. Crisp and sour with a great body and color. They were pouring it right out of a mini wooden keg. Was a little sad I missed their American Flanders and Plums (dark wild ale with plums), but it was excellent to chat with the brewmasters. They currently couldn't even charge for their beer due to regulations, so they are just at a lot of Craft Beer fests and they can only make money selling merch, so I picked up a sweet workshirt with their logo
But they are working on getting a tap room open in the next year...keep an eye on these guys
Next I went on to the BoMB Nuance Noir, it is a special release ?black saison?
this was one of my favorites, with the light crisp Sasion feel, but a malty/toasty finish. Could have drank many of these on a hot day
Had a S'tart Mango another BoMB brew that was a really drinkable Lambic. this was a solid beer, but really got overshadowed with some of the others
Same with the BoMB DB Quad (aged in Rum Barrels), really a delicious beer, but lost in mix of so many good options.
Had a chat with some of the BoBM guys and they were just beaming on how great everything had been going
They used to only have 3 20BBL fermenters going and doing exclusively Beligian styles was making it really hard to keep up with demand as some of them stay in the tank for 2 months. He said that Cigar City can pump out the Jai Alai in under 10 days in comparison.
In the last few months they added 80 BBL capacity, so they are really pumping out the beers as fast as the Floridians can drink them.
The coup de gr�ce of the day, taped at the end for the VIP was the J. Wakefield Brewing DFPF
This Dragon Fruit Passion Fruit Berliner really was worth the hype IMO (this beer had Yada's name all over it)
with it's dark pink foam and fuchsia color this was clearly something different than I'd ever had before
it was fruity, but not over the top, sweet and tart
the body was crisp and refreshing with a perfect carb for me and just a little funk that made this beer work perfectly. Was really glad I got this one and wish I lived closer to JWB.
I also got to hang out with the brewers from Wynwood brewery and meet Pop's who gave the name to Pop's Porter (which I had a loved earlier in the week) They had a Imperial Pop's Porter that was really good, but it was a little thick for the heat. I can't say I liked it as much as the regular Pop's, but a soild beer nontheless
Finished off the day with another fine SouthFL brewery
MIA they had the Oud Couple on tap. A Flanders Oud Bruin. It was tart with a little sour, not too heavy (compared to all the others). Was fine beer to leave on.
Another brewery that was only 1 years old
The Floridian craft scene is really top notch
I really had no idea how broad and wide it was
Very happy that my parents are down there as that means at least 1 to 2 times a year I'll get to dive deep in these scrumptious malted beverages
