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| Samuel Adams Rebel IPA West Coast Style IPA The Boston Beer Company Boston, MA; Cincinnati, OH; Breingsville, PA On 3/26/15, I delighted over this beer in my cabana on Crescent Beach, Siesta Key, FL. The sliver of blue in the background is the Gulf of Mexico. Ahhhh....! What I found on the label: 6.5% ALC./VOL. -Brewed for the revolution- Rebel IPA is brewed with 5 varieties of West Coast hops, Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook & Amarillo. It's everything we love about West Coast style IPAs. Big citrus & grapefruit flavors with subtle pine notes for a flavorful, refreshing brew. My input: There's no better place to have a beer than right where I am! |
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| Harpoon IPA New England Style IPA Harpoon Brewery Boston, MA & Windsor, VT I harpooned this IPA at Publix store in Sarasota, FL, a short drive across Stickney Point Bridge from Siesta Key. I sipped it a bit later in the afternoon on 3/26/15, again in my beloved cabana. The label speaks of this: Love beer. Love life. Est. 1986 In this beautifully balanced, definitive New England-style IPA, no ingredient dominates the harmony of yeast, malt, and hops. Drink. Laugh. Repeat. With a fresh, floral hop aroma and unique malt profile, Harpoon IPA is a beautifully balanced interpretation of this great style. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I DID! |
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| St. Pauli Girl Lager St. Pauli Brauerel Germany After a return jaunt to the condo, I brought this girl down to the cabana with me. What fun we had! Girls just want to have fun, you know. St. Pauli Girl was my companion on 3/26/15, my third new beer in one day. Yay! |
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| Portage Porter New Belgium Brewing Fort Collins, CO On 3/27/15, I wheeled my Portage Porter from the condo to my cabana (after taking this photo of the bottle with this lovely piece of artwork in the background). Examination of the label provided: 6% Alc By Vol Row, row, carry your boat. Spring means high water and deep Porter. Our new PORTAGE takes the buoyant aromas of roasted coffee, chocolate and almonds, and steers them toward a silky-smooth mouthfeel rolling one sip into another. My thoughts: Cuteness--Carrying a boat in a wheelbarrow |
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| Colette Farmhouse Ale (Rustic & Refined) Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO On a rainy afternoon, 3/27/15, I enjoyed Colette. She sits on a railing overlooking the backside of this building in condo complex. I found all this info on the label: 7.3% ALC. BY VOL. -Great Minds Drink Alike- Est. 1994 COLETTE is our homage to the saisons that Belgian farm workers have enjoyed for centuries. Brewed with barley, wheat and rice and fermented at high temperatures with a special blend of four different yeast strains, COLETTE is fruity and slightly tart, with a dry finish that makes it that rarest of treats--a beer as refreshing as it is complex. -Silver Medal at Great American Beer Festival, 2010- Suggested food pairings: Charcuterie plate, foie gras, Indian curry, Camembert cheese. |
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| Wild Blue Premium Blueberry Lager Blue Dawg Brewing St. Louis, MO Perfectly relaxed in my cabana, I sipped Wild Blue on 3/28/15 while marveling over the shades of blue above and beside me. Label lingo: 8% ALC./VOL. -Premium lager with natural flavors and color from juice- Blueberry sediment may be found in this product. |
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| SweetWater IPA SweetWater Brewing Co. Atlanta, GA 30324 A short jaunt down the stairs, past the pool and the deck, brought me and this IPA to my Gulfside setting on 3/28/15. The fine print on this colorful label: 6.3% ALC/VOL Don't Float the Mainstream! This mammoth IPA is dry hopped to the gills, delivering a kick-you-in-the-teeth hop chop. This beer is unfiltered, as with all SweetWater's brews, to leave all the natural flavors intact. -The Beer You've Been Training For!- -Bottle conditioned for your pleasure- |
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| Key West Southernmost Wheat Belgian-style Ale Florida Beer Company Cape Canaveral, FL I discovered this beer at the Crow's Nest in Venice, FL, on 3/28/15, and enjoyed it with dinner. Label stuff is short and sweet: -Beer of the Conch Republic- -Belgian-style ale brewed with spices & key lime- My thought: This is the first beer I've run across with key lime!! |
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| Titan IPA Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO After taking this photo, I trotted this beer down to my gulfside haven to sip on our last vacation day, 3/29/15. The label has lots to tell: 7.1% ALC. BY VOL. Assertive * India Pale Ale * Aromatic Est. 1994 Titan IPA is a big, aggressively hopped India Pale Ale brewed for hop disciples. It starts out with piney hop aromas and citrus hop flavors, and finishes with a nice rich, malty sweetness that is balanced with crisp hop bitterness. -Silver Medal Australian International Beer Awards, 2008- -Silver Medal European Beer Star, Nuremberg, 2007- -Bronze Medal Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival, 2006- Suggested food pairings: Grilled lamb burger, Thai green curry, roasted zucchini & pesto, Cabot sharp cheddar, carrot cake. My thought: Carrot cake and beer? |
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| Orabelle Belgian-Style Ale Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO On our last day of vacation, 3/29/15, I had four bottles of beer left in the refrigerator. I had no choice but to work my way through them all. Poor me! Or should I say, pour me? Upon close examination of the label, I found: 8.3% ALC. BY VOL -Ale with spices- -Great Minds Drink Alike- Beautiful * Golden ORABELLE is brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye. This Belgian-Style Tripel is a golden beauty. Its two yeast strains, orange peel and dash of coriander impart surprising complexity and richness to this delicate ale. Suggested food pairings: Flemish beef stew, cured prosciutto and artisan salami, roasted Brussels sprouts, Gorgonzola cheese, and pecan pie. My input: Who'd have thought of beer with pecan pie? |
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| Denver Pale Ale English-Style Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO I'm finishing up the beers I bought here on Siesta Key, today, 3/29/15. The words on the label: 5.5% ALC. BY VOL. Est. 1994 Great Minds Drink Alike Brilliant * English-Style * Balanced DPA is a world-renowned, classic pale ale with a malty middle and an equally hearty complement of hop aroma, flavor and bitterness. -Gold Medal World Beer Cup, 2000- -Gold Medal Great American Beer Festival, 1999- -Bronze Medal Great American Beer Festival, 2006- Suggested food pairings: Spicy shrimp tacos, beer battered fish & chips, Italian sausage, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, Humboldt Fog goat cheese, strawberry shortcake. My input: Beer and strawberry shortcake? I'm getting used to the idea! |
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| Trapeze Monk Belgian Style Wit Big Top Brewing Co. Sarasota, FL I bought a six-pack of these cans at Big Top Brewing Company. They don't bottle their beer so I had no choice but to buy cans. Fortunately, Jared discovered that the can had a removable label. Yay! This was my last beer on this vacation. Label info: -Best Served in a Goblet Glass- -Brewed with sweet orange peel & coriander- Come let our trapeze monks entertain your taste buds with our citrus infused, highly carbonated witbier. This Belgian style wit has a pale and cloudy body that will soar you into the crisp finish you've been waiting for. My thoughts: I'm so glad we made time to visit a local brewery. Big Top has a cute bar and the employees and brewmaster were great guys. The brewmaster even posed with me for a photograph. |
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| Anchor Saison Spring Ale Anchor Brewing San Francisco, CA Our first evening home after our vacation, 3/30/15, I enjoyed this ale. The words on the label: 7.2% ALC/VOL -Ale brewed with lemongrass, lemon peel & ginger- Saisons originated with the rustic farmhouse ales of Wallonia, a mostly French-speaking region of Belgium. Biere de saison was brewed during the saison froide (cold season) for consumption during the warmer months. Today saisons are made and enjoyed year-round. As brewers, we were drawn to this beer style's enigmatic history, the freedom it offers and the creativity it demands. Anchor Saison Spring Ale is a traditional Belgian-style saison with a California twist. The distinctiveness of roasted Belgian wheat malt is enhanced by the peppery, clove-like flavors of a locally cultured saison-style yeast. And, for this release, we chose three California ingredients--lemongrass, lemon peel, and ginger--whose synergy adds a tangy crispness and herbal spiciness to this sharply refreshing, uniquely Californian saison. My thoughts: Whoa...that's alot of information. |
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| Night Time Fear the Dark Ale Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma, CA & Chicago, IL I welcomed myself home on 3/30/15 with a second beer, Night Time ale. Label print reveals: LAGUNITAS (Say "Lah-goo-knee-tuss") 7.9% Alc. by Vol. O.G. 1.075 74 IBU -Limited Release- -...of hops, malt, hops, yeast, and water.- Life is uncertain. Don't sip. My input: I love that last line and the instructions on how to pronounce Lagunitas. |
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| Hello, My Name Is Joe Imperial Black Wheat Coffee Ale 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. Sheboygan, WI On 3/31/15, I slowly sipped this coffee ale. Label info: 8.0% ALC/VOL Seasonal My input: It was wonderful meeting Joe. |
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| Lake House Golden Lager Capital Brewery Middleton, WI I didn't have a beer yesterday, 4/1/15. I'm no fool. (Actually, my stomach was a bit upset).Today, 4/2/15, I opened this bottle of Lake House and sipped away. Label stats: 4.6% ALC/VOL Slightly malty and lightly hopped, this clean refreshing golden lager is the perfect beer to quench your thirst on a warm sunny day. |
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| Winter Cheers Wheat Ale Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown, PA On Friday, 4/3/15, I discovered this past due beer in my refrigerator. I figured late was better than never. Label words: 6.7% Alc./Vol. -A celebratory wheat ale- Winter weather may drive us indoors but cannot dampen our spirits, when hearth, home and hops meet jubilation. Hoisted high in its golden glory, Winter Cheers lives up to its name, fueling festive times and chasing winter's chill. Glowing and glimmering, frothy and shimmering, our celebratory winter wheat ale features luscious fruity and spicy notes, making it a perfect brew to brighten spirits even on the deepest of winter nights. Cheers! My thoughts: I'm drinking a winter beer on April 3rd. As I said before, better late than never! CHEERS! |
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