I really hate the sound of my own voice.
Other people say it’s good; I don’t believe them. It was the one thing that I knew I would have to suffer through when Mike from Orlando-based At The Bar Podcast invited me to swing by one of the breweries they went to on their big two-day South Florida beer tour.
I set them up at Bangin’ Banjo Brewing, and on a rainy Father’s Day I went, accompanied by my beautiful wife and daughter, to see the guys and Bangin’ Banjo’s Adam Feingold. The cool thing is we weren’t the only parents with babies in the brewery when we got there, and we traded some really cool toy tips with them.
It’s interesting to see the At The Bar team come in with a massive flat screen, audio deck, Macbook, and huge microphones, and set the entire thing up almost immediately. They have a good system going, and I think that shows in their podcasts.
Except for me. I’m a better writer than talker.
The audio is below. I don’t talk much, which might be a good thing. And he left the gator joke in…
Much of what we sampled I’ve already tried and reported on previously. They did have a good number of additional beers I haven’t tried before, and we talked about all of them, so I’m going to call it in a little bit and tell you to listen to the podcast for our comments (These beers start at the 47 minute mark):
Underwater Gazebo Robust Porter (Porter, 6.1% ABV) – The favorite of both my wife and myself. Deep and roasted, it has a bold flavor but not overly bitter. Nicely complex and flavorful.
Washboard American Wheat Ale (Hefeweizen, 5.4% ABV) – Classic hefeweizen, and moderate fruity, clovey flavors.
Charisma Potion Belgian Style Dubbel Ale (Dubbel, 7.5% ABV) – Yet another reference to the Bangin’ Banjo team’s penchant for gaming. Nice, light bubble gum flavor and hits nicely with the ABV.
(Quick aside that’s not on the podcast: The three big fermentation tanks in the back were named after the biggest demons in Diablo, a game they would love doing team runs on before the brewery opened. Gamers, I tell you.)
Studious Judious Red IPA (IPA, 7.7% ABV) – Once again, I love how the caramel malt helped to cut down on overly aggressive hops.
This is, of course, when Adam disappeared to the back cooler for a bottle of Chocolate Banana Milkshake (Imperial Milk Stout, 8.4% ABV).
If only they had this on tap. It was so good, and I really wish I could have gotten a few more bottles to use with some vanilla ice cream. It will sneak up on you…
In all, it was interesting to see the one of my favorite podcasts from the inside. Special thanks to Mike, Jeff, and At The Bar Podcast for inviting me to join them, and Adam from Bangin’ Banjo for hosting us and bringing the beer.
I am going back to writing now.
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com
floridacraftbeerday.com
