Winter Park Beer

While Orlando Brewing makes many fine ales and lagers, they also make this vitamin-infused blasphemy. Generally, when people say things like, "Fruit doesn't belong in beer," I think of the many brewers that pull it off well. But, vitamins? Vitamin flavor doesn't belong in beer! Heck, it doesn't even belong in vitamins, it's just that the vitamin companies haven't found a way to make vitamins palatable. And neither have the brewers of this beer.

3 outta 3 oh no's

victory old horizontal

This brandy wine is an attractive brown/red in the glass with steady carbonation. The aroma is potent but structured very tightly and not overly boozie or gnarly like many barley wines. Flavor does not quite follow the aroma. Up front I get a slight bitterness followed by classic heavy and sweet raisin, malt, and a somewhat dry booze finish enveloped in caramel. I do not get much of the sweet juicy fruit from the aroma in the taste. I do appreciate, however, that the flavor profile is relatively tight and even dry for a barley wine. Good beer.
2 outta 3 hell yeahs

keystone ice

The pour is like pretty much any other adjunct lager, clear light golden color with a white head that ends up being nothing more than a thin layer. This beer smells like cooked vegetables. I’m thinking string beans and asparagus. Some nice corn notes along with a mild graininess. A decent alcohol presence as well. This beer tastes harsh. Abrasively alcoholic without much else (flavor-wise) to cover it up. Some hints of corn and perhaps some grain sweetness. The body is light and the carbonation is very high.

2 outta 3 oh no's

old english 800

This beer has become it’s own institution. High school dropouts and bums alike enjoy this malt, daily I am sure. It has a strange smell, almost like a strong piss soda. Flavor is filled with hints of goat urine and day old, in the sun cheese. This beer is useful when pouring one for the ’homies’ and that’s about all it’s good for. Don’t waste your 89 cents on this. Just ask a friend to punch you in the stomach after eating fresh dog crap and you’ll get the same effect and your breath will smell better.

3 outta 3 oh no's

daves honey brown lager

This is an all malt brown lager with a hint of honey used to enhance the flavor and give it more smoothness. As my buddy said, "the more you drink it, the more you taste the honey". He was absolutely right, after 5 bottles all I could taste was sweet honey. Despite things like "Naturally Aged", "No Preservatives", and "Pure" written on the label (which makes this lager sound like a goofy herbal health drink) it tastes great. It's sweet, goes down easy, no after-taste. Drink it up!

2 outta 3 hell yeahs

stone ruination ipa

I guess I am easily influenced by marketing because with a name like Ruination I really expected more. I was almost afraid to taste it. So when I opened the bottle and smelled a sweet citrusy smell along with the piney hoppy aroma I was a little relieved. It was really a great beer, but I guess I thought there would be a more pungent or more hoppy taste. A really good balance of citrus & hops, I didn't think one overpowered the other.

founders double trouble

I seriously love Founders. They nailed the taste of this beer perfectly in the label: yin yang, up down, high low. It's a beautiful blend of malt and hops, both at the top of their game, yet neither one beating your tastebuds up to declare themselves the winner, the balance is superb. If I'd been introduced to beer like this in high school I think i may change my major to become a brewer.

2.5 outta 3 hell yeahs

new castle brown ale

Newcastle Brown is very weak in the nose, but one should pick up a sincere malty-goodness as well as a slight bit of caramel and nut. An interesting addition not typical to brown ales but more characteristic of pale ales or porters is the slight metallic dryness. Newcastle's Brown Ale finishes with a very nutty aftertaste. It retains those slight metallic qualities that were present on the nose, as well as some moderate bitterness in the middle of the taste that is offset quite nicely by the sweet caramel finish.While this brew is not as deep or rich as Guinness or Fat Tire, it really strikes as a simple, pure ale that isn't bogged down by an attempt to be over-zealous in flavor or body.

1 outta 3 hell yeahs

Unibroue La Fin de Monde

lets not get too hung up on the name (if thats possible). This canadian beer is triple fermented which gives it a unique and subtle flavor. the interesting part of this beer for me was not the taste, but the champagne-like effervenence (however you spell it). this lightly carbonated beer is further flavored with bold spices, and noble hops and packs a alc% of 9 .

2 outta 3 hell yeahs

southhampton abbot 12

abbot 12 is a strong dark ale that has hints of of raisins, caramel and figs. these are not the typical tastes and smells one expects when opening a beer. Then again not many beers are abbot 12. This deceptively smooth beer has a dark rum texture that helps make it very smooth. With an alc % of 10.5, i strongly encourage beginners to watch out, this packs quite a punch.

2 outta 3 hell yeahs

Weyerbacher winter ale

its that time of year (horray), time to bring out the winter beers. Many craft and micro breweries sell heavy, dark, and strong beers during this season in an attempt to keep us all a bit warmer during the cold months ahead. Weyerbacher winter ale is a great example. It is brewed with chocolate malts that are heavy yet suprisingly low on alc. %. At 5.6% it is a beer u can drink while shoveling snow and still be able to stand afterwards. A little bit on the sweet side for my tastes but very refreshing.

1.5 outta 3 hell yeahs