Anne & I were in St. Pete the other day, and stopped by The Independent after an excellent sushi dinner. We shot the breeze with bartender and beer aficionado Neal, and had a couple of rounds. This is a really great pub, with a large selection of Belgians and other European beers. All in all, [...]
What if you brewed The World’s Strongest Beer and made it not only palatable, but downright delicious? A beer that has a 41% alcohol content, yet compares favorably with highly regarded IPAs with several times less potency? Those crazy Claymores at BrewDog have managed to do just that with their latest offering! I shared a [...]
It was a very festive St. Paddy’s Day yesterday. I started out at Shakespeare’s, said hi to the gang, and had a couple of pints with my corned beef & cabbage. From there, I headed down to the very busy Gulf Gate area to meet my friends Steve and Bill. We started and finished at [...]
I’m glad to see that World of Beer has added Klosterbrauerei Ettal Curator (Klosterbrauerei Ettal; Ettal, Germany; Dopplebock; ABV: 9.0) back on draft. Curator is a rich tasting, very well balanced dopplebock. There’s an interesting array of flavors in this beer, and each compliments the other. I could taste the sweet caramel malt up front, [...]
Anne and I went to World of Beer last week, and were pleasantly surprised when Tony noted that they had Southern Tier beers on tap. I started with a pint of their superb Southern Tier Unearthly (Southern Tier Brewing Company; Lakewood, NY; Imperial India Pale Ale; ABV: 11.0), which I’ve praised continuously on this blog. [...]
The late Hunter S. Thompson was one of the most eclectic political writers of our time. Whether you agreed with him or not, he was nothing less than interesting. Thompson was also an accomplished sports writer as well, adding the same humor and insight to his weekly Hey Rube column for ESPN. In honor of [...]
Marzens tend to be traditional Fall beers, but I had the chance to try a different take on this beer style at Crum’s Bar and Grill recently. Cigar City Marzen Spring Lager (Cigar City Brewing; Tampa, FL; Marzen; ABV: 5.5) is also known as Cigar City Oktoberfest Marzen when it’s released during the autumn months. [...]
You can add Crum’s Bar and Grill to a growing list of exceptional brewpubs in the Tampa Bay area. Located in downtown St. Petersburg, and owned by Chris Crum and Lanette Miller, Crum’s Bar and Grill offers craft beer, food, and live music in a hip casual setting. Speaking of which, there’s 52 selections of [...]
The last time I was at the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room in Tampa, I learned something new. Did you know that bats pollinate blue agave plants, which provide the ingredient found in tequila? So it’s fitting that I tried a double cream ale, named for the bat, that’s aged in tequila barrels. Cigar City [...]