The fun thing about La Tropical is when they release a beer, sometimes you get a strong dose of history behind it.
Such is the case with Tropicrystal. And it’s funny, because when you take a look at La Tropical, it’s a brewery that in many ways was launched by a beer and not a beer that was launched by a brewery.
Its signature namesake beer is basically a Vienna lager. I had not known about the existence of other historic La Tropical beers, especially Tropicrystal until very recently when La Tropical relaunched the beer.
The original iteration was in 1928 at the old La Tropical Brewery in Havana. It quickly became one of their top selling beers until the brewery was closed by the Cuban revolution.
The most interesting aspect of the release here in the United States was not trying to find the recipe. It was getting the authorization to use IP from the original can, especially the la authentica that you see on both the original can from the twenties and the new cans created for Tropicrystal (German Pilsner, 5.2% ABV).
I hate to say this for a Cuban beer, but this beer is incessantly Florida. It’s one of a growing number of lighter beers that are being released in the taller, thinner, hard seltzer-like cans, and I agree with their decision to release this beer in those cans as well.
First of all, it’s a little bit closer to how the beer was originally released than your standard issue 12 oz. cans, a perfect delineation since this beer feels a little different than their standard Vienna lager.
It is incredibly light, so much so that it feels like the beer is going to escape the moment you crack the top. Crystal clear and light golden color courtesy of the brand new whirlpool has in their arsenal. That gives enough of a base for some of those fruity notes to come from, without actually overpowering anything.
It is incredibly refreshing, incredibly buoyant, and will go down easy in the hot Florida sun. It is an absolutely fantastic addition to the La Tropical lineup and I am so happy to see the team there be able to revive this from the ashes of history.
My only question is, what other brands did the original La Tropical Brewery create that we can eventually bring back to Miami?
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com
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