Sippin on the West Side..

If you can believe it, I've only been to one craft beer establishment in the past few weeks. What a slacker I am! It would've been two, but the Mack House only had one pour of Stone Enjoy By 7.4.14 left, so I didn't risk it...

The trip I did make, was to Brass Tap in Pembroke Pines. While my girlfriends and I savored a few brews, we caught up on kids, men, work, and other things we can't disclose. My experiences at Brass Tap have ranged from great, to bad, but this one demonstrated an improvement in their service. I hope the trend continues! I had a Funky Buddha Hop Gun, and my friends enjoyed a Fat Tire and a Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

When I'm not at spots with craft beer across South Florida, I visit my beer fridge. A few recent visits have included the following:

The Bruery Rugbrød, California


The Bruery anything, is a beautiful thing

This is a Julebyrg style Dark Rye Ale. Julebyrg is a Scandinavian Christmas beer, and Rugbrød means rye bread in Danish. This was roasty, earthy, and a bit not my style. It was amazing Bruery quality, I mean they are, the Louis Vuitton of beer. However, I wouldn't buy this one again, but appreciate the craftsmanship in this brew, as all of their beers I have tried. Crisp carbonation and pure tasting ingredients. 



Cigar City Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale, Tampa
I love espresso. I love beer. I'm going to try any espresso/coffee/beer concoction. This one weighs in at 5.5% ABV, and was a little watery / thin. The label states it's an ale with vanilla, cacao and coffee beans. I didn't get any vanilla, and it felt a little too delicate. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Maduro Brown Ale, but I'd like the boldness and thickness of Maduro, along with the flavor of espresso this one has. 

Miami Brewing Shark Bait, Miami

Summer in a can. Wheat ale with mango juice. I'm not a big fruity beer girl, but I did enjoy this. It was the perfect formula of wheat, beer and mango. Refreshing and light, but not weak on flavor. I could totally see drinking this at the beach, pool or boat. 

Love

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, Delaware

I've talked about this one before. It's one of my top ten beers. It's a high ABV brown ale (12%), aged in the largest wooden brewing vessel since prohibition. It's made from Palo Santo wood, meaning "Holy tree", and the beer is brewed in the Paraguayan wood. I paired this with mac and cheese, which I could literally eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Random favorite food fact!

 

Shiner White Wing Belgian White, Texas


This little gem was only $3.29 at Publix! The cashier even double checked and was like, "Whaaaatt! I need to go get one of these". She should, because it's sharp, with slight hints of coriander and a little bit of orange peel. I enjoyed this; maybe more so because it was a $3.29 bomber bottle! I would buy it again as an easy drinking, after work type of beer. 

Until next time, cheers!