Brew Review – Verano by Prison Pals

It’s funny, on the last episode of the Florida Beer Podcast that I did with Prison Pals owner Juan Pipkin, one of the things that he mentioned was their upcoming redesign of a lot of their core standard beers.

I’m not talking about the 16 oz. tall boys of either hazy IPAs or smoothie sours, more the 12 oz. packs of more standard styles.

One thing I found particularly interesting that they are doing is moving towards a little cleaner and more Florida-centric label styles. This is perfectly represented on the six pack of Verano (Lager, 4.5% ABV).

As much as I detest South Beach being the perennial stand-in for all things Florida, and the flamingo apparently being the state bird, I really love the artwork for the beer.

It does have that Miami Beach-sort of Art Nouveau style to it. It’s very clean, very smooth and slick, and a great label.

And to be quite honest, the beer was a big surprise to me as well. It’s a pink lager, the pink coming from hibiscus flowers that obviously lent a flavor to the beer along with the color.

For the most part I am nervous about all things hibiscus, since they tend to bring a very tart and sour flavor that at the time I cracked open the can I just wasn’t interested in having. But with Verano, it’s very light, it’s very clean, and it’s just a touch of that tartness.

It’s got a light body, crisp light ready flavors and very low Noble happiness to be seen. It finishes very muted and soft and brings enough of the refreshing flavors of hibiscus to the beer without becoming an overpowered Berliner Weisse.

In all, it’s a refreshingly perfect Florida beer. And Prison Pals is now really coming to the fore with their Florida-centric beers. It’ll be exciting to see what else comes their way.

Drink Florida Craft,

Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com

Florida Beer Blog is a part of Florida Beer Media. Find us at FloridaBeerMedia.com.

Listen to the Florida Beer Podcast – Powered by Florida Beer Blog on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more!

Get 10% off a new Stone Brewing mini fridge from NewAir with code FLORIDABEER10!

If you’re looking for awesome beer glass or cigar gifts, make sure to head to GroovyGuyGifts.com!