I didn't expect this to be my first Floridian beer but I guess it is. Andy Crouch in his soon to be published (review copy delivered yesterday) Great American Craft Beer calls it both "a flavor parade of spice" and a "spice bazaar" which gives me some pause. Can I handle it?
It opens with a pop as the 2009 dated cork flies and lets loose with an appled gently funky wave of aroma. Golden ale under white froth and foam. In the mouth... it is a spice parade. Lighter bodied and crisp with curried notes of, maybe, earthy cardamom, a little white pepper and heated raw ginger. The balancing malt is that wheat cream thing that Lew mocked me mercilessly over. Tangerine juicy mid-swallow but ends with a drying brett finish. More semi-sub-tropical Orval than Oro but a solid brew.
Great BAer respect but not quite love. I don't know why.