An intern with a tenacious head cold is not the most reliable taste-tester to send into the flavor waves of Tampa Bay Beer Week, so I enlisted my beer geek boyfriend, who I've mentioned before, as second mate aboard the S.S. Hopslam (that's what I'm calling it).
Just before sunset Friday, we set our sights on uncharted territory, for us anyway, to Seminole Heights' Mermaid Tavern, where more than a dozen local breweries like Angry Chair, Green Bench, Big Storm, Cycle and Pair O' Dice shared their stashes with thirsty buccaneers at the bar's Local Love event.
After recently being introduced to brews by the Bradenton-based Motorworks (I dubbed its Lavender Kolsch the "best beer in the history of ever" at Willard's Tap House some weeks ago), I was excited to see what the brewery offered up.
I'm a huge cantaloupe fan, and since I already have a soft spot for Motorworks' kolsch, I was quickly sold on its Melon Kolsch. To my dulled senses, the flavor was good but no competition to its older lavender sibling. My beau thought both were of equal caliber, and that the melon was powerfully sweet.
His first selection, Cigar City's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Brown Ale, had no trouble conquering my stuffy sinuses and lighting up my taste buds. With the perfect impression of homemade sweets from Grandma, notes of cinnamon, brown sugar and buttery malt made the brew totally melt-worthy.
Noting the boyfriend's tendency toward dessert beers, my next pour was a no-brainer: Angry Chair's German Chocolate Cupcake Stout. It's as rich and creamy as it sounds, but better, and with each sip, I commemorated Germany for everything good in life — beer, chocolate. For this brew, though, seriously, thanks be to Tampa and the wizards at Angry Chair.
My chief mate opted for the Roasted Jalapeño Blueberry Porter from Two Henrys, a choice that my Cajun palate usually prefers. Hot tamale! If one beer was named the evening's winner, this would be it. Congratulations to the CL Intern's No. 1 Beer Week Brew, truly an honorable title. The beer's heat didn't overshadow its fruity hints and vice versa, and the incredibly interesting zing was electric, and unforgettable.
Plenty of other brews were consumed during this beer enthusiast couple's night out, including Swamp Head's 10-10-10, a bourbon-barrel-aged IPA, 7venth Sun's FYA American pale ale and Big Storm's barrel-aged Oats in Hose Oatmeal Stout (which was on nitro as well as infused into the bar's featured dessert, a maple candied bacon blondie).
Until we set sail again, me fellow drinkers.
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2015.