I had the privilege of drinking three outstanding beers when I stopped by the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room in Tampa this past Wednesday evening. Besides being crafted by Florida breweries, these beers shared another commonality in that each have an ABV of 9%. What drove me, literally and figuratively, to CCB that night was [...]
Several weeks ago I wrote a post about Oskar Blues G’Knight, an imperial red ale crafted to honor Colorado firefighter and brewer Gordon Knight. One of the breweries that he helped found, back in the 1990s, was Twisted Pine. At Growlers Welcome Back Throwdown last night, I saw that a porter from the Boulder brewery [...]
Anne and I took a ride on Saturday and decided to check out The Brew Garden in Clearwater. Across from Ruth Eckerd Hall, this brewpub features over 30 beers on tap, dozens more in bottles, and a nice bar menu offering everything from an antipasto plate to sandwiches. I ordered a Southern Tier Creme Brulee [...]
In classical literature, the Leviathan was described as either a sea monster or great whale, e.g. Moby Dick. And like Leviathan Imperial IPA, Boston brewery Harpoon has brewed another beer in their series that lives up to its namesake. Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter (Harpoon Brewery; Boston, MA; Baltic Porter; ABV: 9.5) is a full-bodied porter, [...]
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 [...]