On tap at Amsterdam Ale House, reliable lightly yellow-hazed moderation conjures New England-styled IPA with its bright yellow grapefruit tang and lemony orange zest, despite easing up on the lactic souring and being void of any wood tones. Sunny citrus spicing and wispy mango-pineapple-papaya tropicalia spread across mild grassy hop astringency above sugary pale malts.
On tap at Ambulance, curiously distinct brownish-marooned farmhouse ale utilizes relegated tart cranberry adjunct and spicy date-sugared dried fruiting to contrast bitterly amplified chocolatey rye black malting. Latent black grape esters usurp desiccated fig, plum and prune snips while dewy earthiness ensues. An effectively expansive, if offbeat, dark saison.
Peculiarly hybridized farmhouse ale semi-successfully blends caramelized delicata squash with cinnamon stick-sweetened melanoidin malting to contrast light white peppercorn heat and acrid barnyard funk. At the midst, citrus-sugared banana daiquiri respite deepened by fuzzy alcohol esters. Honey-roasted acorn squash finish seeped in cinnamon.
On tap at Ambulance, limey sea-salted coriander expectancy of easygoing pinkish magenta gose given sour raspberry exposure. Sour-candied raspberry tartness enjoined by delicate melon rind, prickly pear, mango and kiwi tropicalia.
Enthusiastic tart-candied Sour Patch Kids knockoff offers lightly acidic lemon-limed bittering to raspberry puree adjunct, ancillary blueberry-blackberry rasp, distant pink grapefruit juicing and mildly lacquered plasticity. Fizzy soda pop crackle adds snap to convincing raspberry-pureed, pink-cleared sour ale.
On cask at Andy’s Corner Bar, light stylish cellar funk, sedate raw-honeyed orange pith bittering and wispy fennel herbage sit atop wheat cracker bed of soft-toned, creamy-headed, warm-watered German-styled lager. Bottled non-cask version shown below.
On tap at Ambulance, murky sour-meshed pale malting, white-wined Hallertau Blanc hop tannins and faint Ethiopian coffee adjunct never fully integrate. Spritzy lemon licks and rustic floral herbage add further confusion.
Easygoing summertime helles bock combines zesty lemon, juicy orange, tart pineapple, salted guava and spiced peach tropicalia over dry pale malt breading, retaining proper Euro hop astringency (and peppery herbal wisp).
On tap at Growler & Gill, ‘easy riding’ aluminum-cleared helles lager brings tart lemon-dropped green grape esters and mild orange oiling to grassy herbal hop restraint above musky wet-grained sourdough breading.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
Just north of downtown Sarasota in a light Industrial setting, ambitiously bohemian brewpub, JDUB’S BREWING COMPANY, opened in 2014 (closed in 2021 but brewing offsite). Inside a pale green aluminum warehouse with two overhead doors guarding large brew tanks and a hauntingly Transylvanian-arched wood entrance leading to the patio-fronted pub, JDub’s innovative recipes range from a creamsicled Berliner Weisse to a wintry barrel-aged stout.
Jdub’s basically a cartoonish hippie-esque wonderland perfect for any casually fun event or High Times party. The relatively small graffiti-filled cement-floored interior features interesting front-walled painted pix of its flagship beers, four stormtrooper-related beer posters, five community tables and a right side serving station with 1 TV and a refrigerator (plus other paraphernalic ephemera).
But what really makes this Sunshine State brewpub so special is its three separate backspace patios. A backdoored Jdub’s insignia leads to a covered back deck with two community tables, hanging Edison lights and red tiled pavers. Then, there’s an open air furnished yard with plastic furnishings and a trellis-enclosed side deck. It’s truly a handy party-spirited expanse.
Nerdy owner shows his love for modern popular culture, comedic films and rock music by pasting the bathroom wall with Goonies, Big Lebowski, Wayne’s World and Prince art.
Brewer Vince Falcone, lover of pilsners and West Coast IPA’s, tries to push the limits just a little with his consistent, rangy brews.
On my inspirational April ’19 afternoon journey, my wife, Karen, and I gather at the bar to consume some sassy suds.
First up were the four flagship brews.
The most straightforward year-rounder, Poolside Kolsch, brought dry lemon-dropped orange rot and tannic green grape tartness to bready pale malts, leaving gentle mandarin orange, bergamot orange, tangelo and marmalade illusions in the sweetly soured citric recess.
Perfumed passionfruit and mango stayed subtle for light-bodied fruit ale, Passion Wheat, caressing its pale-malted cracked wheat spine before phenol hop tannins arrive.
Sharp grapefruit bittering and tangy orange peel juicing brightened Up Top! IPA, a brisk medium body picking up floral-daubed lemon zesting and lingered herbal hop resin.
Fudgy milk chocolate-sugared Bell Cow, a soothingly creamed dessert-bound porter, promoted Yoo-Hoo, Hershey’s chocolate, mud pie and chocolate cake sweetness over slightly charred hop bitterness.
After these permanent offerings I settled into the whole gamut of stylishly challenging elixirs.
Tart rose raspberry and lemony hibiscus adjuncts delicately affected hybridized Berliner Weisse, Mellow Pucker, leaving lightly acidic lime salting and sour lemongrass oiling on its vinous back end.
Another innovative Berliner Weisse, Cream-Sick Ale, sprinkled lemon-limed coriander saltiness upon zesty orange-peeled vanilla sweetness, embracing its Creamsicle likeness without dismissing the stylish acidic sourness.
Dry-hopped wheat ale, Psychedelic Sunday, grafted grassy-hopped lemony grapefruit bittering to its mildly sugar-spiced white wheat backbone.
Tranquil white-peppered floral spicing serenaded orange-bruised lemon zesting and ripe banana-peach subsidy above honeyed Graham Cracker sweetness for Buffalo Smile Saison.
Easygoing dry moderation, Dirty Bong H2O Double IPA, let rustic wet grain dankness seep into yellow grapefruit and navel orange tartness as well as wispy herbal spicing.
Sweet-tart Blueberry IPA loaded syrupy blueberries atop light citrus pining and sugared wheat malting for a frolicsome fruitful delight.
Lovely tropical fruited New England-styled IPA, Pastel Daydream Milkshake, regaled milk-soured lemon yogurt acidity with barley-floured gooseberry, melon rind, kiwi and mango tartness while retaining a creamy vanilla center.
Soothingly soft-toned Bourbon Barrel-aged Damb Good Wee Heavy (with unassuming 13% ABV) fortified its dry bourbon foundation with oaken vanilla tannins and roasted chocolate malting, leaving rum-spiced burgundy and port tones to linger below the surface alongside tobacco leaf crisping.
Milk chocolate goodness draped bourbon vanilla sweetness and wintry nutmeg-anise spicing for decadent Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, an oaken rum-fermented full body deepened by molasses, cocoa, dark cherry, hazelnut and cola subsidies.
jdubsbrewing.com
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
Taking up an entire gray warehouse a few miles off Sarasota’s bustling Route 75, CALUSA BREWING opened up in 2016. Utilizing a large left space for a silver tank-dominated 15 barrel system and several oak barrels (for sour ales and wood-aged elixirs), head brewer Jason Thompson crafts a veritable cornucopia of amazingly consistent and totally iconic traditional styles.
Entering the separate right side drive-in doored taproom in late April ’19, my wife and I take a seat at one of the seven tables serviced by the 12-seat U-shaped bar. Many oak barrles line the back wall while a beautiful mural with an octopus attacking a shipwrecked pirate takes up the aquamarine front wall. There’s even a billiard table.
During our one-hour pre-dinner sojourn, the NHL playoffs are shown on the back-walled TV as I imbibe four fine IPA’s and two contrasting stouts.
Briskly hopped yellow grapefruit juicing led zestful moderate-medium body, Minus Zero IPA, letting barley-floured sourdough malting scour limey pineapple, mango, guava and melon rind tropicalia.
Perfectly centrist in appeal, stylishly straightforward V.I.B.E. Eagle IPA, connected tangy citric-pined Mosaic hop aromatics to bittersweet mango-peach-nectarine-influenced El Dorado hop niceties and lemony gooseberry-soured Moteuka hop tartness.
Zesty grapefruit and orange peel tanginess thrusted forth for cleanly refreshing Mosaic-Galaxy-hopped Naked Villainy Triple IPA, a surprisingly strong (10.5 ABV) medium body with barley-floured haze and light sugared spicing.
Its rival triple IPA, Mind Burst, employed new hop varieties (Sabro/ Denali 105) to sharpen its Citra grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering, leaving wet-grained herbal dankness at the back end.
Tarry black chocolate bittering and light wood tones gathered for King’s Creature English Export Stout, a dry espresso-finishing dark ale.
For dessert, outstanding Caribbean-styled Mountain & Sea Imperial Sweet Stout wrapped its richly creamed dark chocolate malting around toasted coconut, vanilla, hazelnut, sugared coffee and Graham Cracker alacrity. A perfect Floridian nightcap!
These are only a few of the 70-plus beers Calusa has created since its initial setup merely three years hence.
SIESTA KEY, FLORIDA
Making incredible pizza and wings to go alongside some of the finest local Florida craft beers, Siesta Key’s 3.14 PI CRAFT BEER opened for biz in 2014. Just down the road from the beautiful Gulf of Mexico in the bustling Sarasota area, this prized pizza pub is a fun-tastic diminutive tiki bar with plenty of wall-lined liquors for fancy cocktails and specialty drinks.
At the center entrance, a wooden covered front porch with community tables adds to the quaint beachside ambience. Upon entering, two four-stooled tables make up the nifty middle room. To the right, there are three separate tap stations with twenty-plus draught lines (and electronic beer list) at the laminated U-shaped bar. A back door at the constricted low-ceiling barroom leads to the kitchen and the left side periwinkle blue-walled billiard room adds more seating.
During my pleasant April ’19 dinnertime stopover, my ole college friends and I tried five fine draughts while eating pizza and calamari. Listed in the Beer Index are reviews for Funky Buddah Pineapple Beach Blonde Ale and Two Henrys Jalapeno Blueberry Porter plus three Fort Myers brews: Fairway Finder Session IPA, Sand Loafer Pale Wheat Ale and Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter.
http://www.siestapi.com
