Brew Review – Ponce Inlet Light by Ormond Brewing @Ormond_Brewing

The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, better known as the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, is the tallest lighthouse in Florida. It is located in Ponce Inlet, FL, just south of Daytona Beach.

The lighthouse was first lit on Nov. 1st, 1887, when it was orginially known as the less inviting Mosquito Inlet Lighthouse. In August, 1933, the lighthouse was converted to electricity and stayed in service until the construction of a new lighthouse at the nearby Coast Guard station. The lighthouse is currently owned and maintained by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, who also operates an exensive museum complex in the old buildings still on the lighthouse grounds.

Brew Review – Creatures In The Dark by Proof Brewing @proofbrewingco

You ever have a beer so dark, heavy, and chewy you’re convinced it came not from a brewery in a normal Florida town (Tallahassee, in this case), but from the depths of blackest Hades itself? That maybe the tap isn’t connected to a keg but has opened a wormhole into some sort of terrible land, like Black Mesa?

That’s how I felt when I opened my crowler of  Creatures In The Dark (Stout, 8% ABV, 45 IBU) from Proof Brewing. Fear. Abject fear.

Brew Review – Gateway Gold by Ft. Myers Brewing @fmbrew

With the number of beers I get for the blog, it’s completely unreasonable for me to buy a six-pack for every review. I just can’t drink that much, nor do I have any great desire to do so. 

So I’ll usually buy singles. Ordinarily, this poses no problem. Sometimes I have a problem when the single rings up at the price for the fill 6-pack. This is easily resolved. But when I got my sole can of Gateway Gold (Blonde Ale, 4.1% ABV) from Ft. Myers Brewing, it rang up at $55. Apparently, the can’s SKU had also been given to a desk, hence the price. 

Brew Review – Key to Summer by Copperpoint Brewing @copperpointbrew

It wasn’t until I started writing this blog that I had heard a lot of the Kolsch. Originating from Cologne, Germany, this beer is very similar to a Pilsner, but lessening the hop profile while keeping the sweetness of the traditional Pilsner grain bill. 

Naturally, I love them. Fantastic beers, nice, light, and sweet. And now everyone is making them, so they tend to be all over the place all of a sudden. But no one’s treating them, from what I’ve seen. 

Brew Review – Firestorm by Big Storm Brewing @bigstormbrewing

I’m torn. 

On one hand, I don’t particularly care for most IPAs. I Just don’t want bitter for the sake of bitter. I just find it to be overly silly. 

On the other hand, I’ve developed a bit of a taste for Cascadian Dark Ales, otherwise known as the black IPA. There’s something about the richness of a heavy roasted malt that helps to filter and smooth out  some of the aggressive bitterness.

Brewery Visit – 3 Keys Brewing @3keysbrewing

Because of an innocent joke that snowballed just a bit too much, my wife and I have a thing for keys. Long before you saw them everywhere, we kinda had them as our little thing between us. They featured in our wedding, there are keys all over our home, and my wife even has a key inked on her. It’s gorgeous artwork on a beautiful woman. 

Recently we, naturally accompanied by our beautiful daughter, vacationed on the Gulf Coast. We will go to a few breweries, but those breweries are always better when they operate more like brewpubs, and everyone can also get lunch/dinner while mom and dad enjoy a few. Once we saw that Bradenton had one such locale named 3 Keys, it was a foregone conclusion we had to go. 

Brew Review – West Floridian by Infinite Ale Works @infinitealework

Ocala is located about an hour north of Orlando if you’re taking the turnpike. I’m familiar with the city when it comes to three things: horse farms, Silver Springs, and the Ocala National Forest. It used to be the site of a rather large Timucua settlement, and the name of the city comes from their phrase meaning ‘Big Hammock.’

One longtime resident of the city, Tom McDonald, has now broght craft beer to Ocala with the opening of Infinite Ale Works on South Magnolia. Along with partners Jim Ritchhart and Richard McGinley, the brewery turns out a wide array of styles based on their take of traditional Belgian recipes.  

Brew Review – Stegosaurus Pants by Due South Brewing @duesouthbrewing

​Preface – Due South’s brand marketing manager Doug Fairall and I spent a weirdly long time discussing potential puns with which to write about when discussing today’s beer. Pretty much every pun was absolutely horrible and dinosaur related; get this beer before it’s extinct, things like that. 

But there were so many other puns to use. So many other ones. And as much as I don’t particularly enjoy using puns when I write, I had a really good one that popped in my brain as I drove  away. Doug, I hope you enjoy. 

Stegosaurus Pants is dropping today!