Orange Blossom Pilsner has been a standard in Central Florida for as long as I can remember. It was also one of the early beers I reviewed for the blog. But, for as long as I can remember, OBP was it. It was the only beer they made. And while the company and the beer was based in Orlando, the beer itself was contract brewed in South Carolina.
All of that is changing, however. First, they have a new name (and a really pretty new logo); namely, Orange Blossom Brewing Co.
Orange Blossom Brewing Co. logo.
The brewery has been expanding Most of their new beers are being produced in Central Florida. Many of their beers are about to be produced at The Brewhub, a new production facility in Lakeland (right on I-4). They’ll be brewing along with other companies such as Cigar City and California-based BJ’s Restaurants.
Beer boxes at Palm Beach Summer Beer Fest.
Orange Blossom Brewing sign at Palm Beach Summer Beer Fest.
They are also doing a fair amount of getting the word out, inviting Florida drinkers to try their rapidly expanding lineup. This is where, once again, the Palm Beach Summer Beer Fest comes in for me, as my wife and I managed to make a beeline (get it?) for their tent when we saw them.
As I’ve said before, I’ve tried Orange Blossom Pilsner before. It’s an excellent beer, but it was time to try the others. One beer of theirs I hadn’t tried before was their Toasted Coconut Porter. I have noticed that coconut porters are a relatively minor, but consistent, trend in the brewing community. The coconut blends very nicely with the dark, rich porter flavors, so it works well. OBBC’s Toasted Coconut Porter is a great example; it’s dark, rich flavors are complemented well from the light sweetness of the coconut.
Then there’s OBP². I’ve been seeing this beer around, but I had no idea what it even was, much less how to say it. Luckily, Aaron from OBBC was there to tell me 1) It’s their Orange Blossom Pilsner, only brewed with half the water to create a stronger flavor and brew, and 2) it’s pronounced OBP Squared. And holy crap, y’all. This was good. Easily the best beer my wife and I had during the event. Well, the best beer my wife had. I had one sip, and then it got beernapped. Never to be tasted again.
OBBC Tent at Palm Beach Summer Beer Fest.
Orange Blossom Pilsner is available at a rapidly growing number of places around Florida, both on draft and in bottles. As for Toasted Coconut Porter and OBP², distribution is starting to ramp up. Good thing, too. I need more bottles of each.
With production and distribution increasing, and a tap room coming soon (I do believe), it will be nice to see Orange Blossom Brewing Co. becoming a standard face in the Florida craft beer scene.
Especially if my OBP² keeps getting beerknapped from me.
Drink Florida Craft,
Chris
floridabeerblog@yahoo.com
Florida Beer Blog 