Black Girls Brew Reviews: Tampa Bay Brewing Company
One fine autumn day, I decided to try a local brewery here in Tampa. Looking at my handy Tampa Bay brewing directory, I realized that Tampa Bay Brewing Company was close at hand. Below you'll find a very personal account of my experience and enjoyment level of the beers sampled, and some delicious food.
I ordered all of the avialble beers. Sadly, there were no cask conditioned ales to be had during my visit.
Red Eye Amber Ale - soft mouth feel, which I enjoyed, hoppy finish, smooth at the end. I could enjoy a burger with this.
Old Elephant Foot IPA - super hoppy, bitter finish, slight citrus aroma. True to style. Great lacing.
Iron Rat Imperial Stout - started out smooth, hint of fuesel alcohols at the finish. Good color. Not bad.
Jack The Quaffer Porter- very much like a weird fruit punch flavor. Color is medium dark Brown. I was confused. Oh! I know what it tastes like. ORANGE JELLO!
Moosekiller Barleywine Style Ale – Ummmm……maybe like an opossum killer? It was lightly flavored (as it should be) and didn't come across as greater than 6 %, even tho it's advertised at 10. For a barley wine, not too shabby. Lace like grandmas curtains.
True Blonde Ale - a strong hint of maple? Is this possible? It was smooth and would be a great sipping beer. Perhaps even with breakfast of pancakes?
One Night Stand Pale Ale - classic pale ale. Appropriate to style. Light golden color. Also great lacing.
Wild Warthog Hefeweizen - by far my favorite of their brews. Most like style, no funky interpretations or weird notes. I'd call this perfect.
Seasonal - Black IPA - yep. Dig it. I dig it. And the lacing? Heck yeah!
Seasonal - Pumpkin - no. nO. No. No. NO. It tastes like pumpkin additive and smells like....nope! While I know this isn't possible, it seriously tastes like they add a few drops of alcohol based pumpkin flavoring to the glass before serving. Harsh and overwhelming. Quite possibly the worst pumpkin ale I've ever tasted.
Let's talk about the perfection that is the baked pretzels? Golden brown, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Served with a house mustard or fondue? To. Die. For.
I also ordered a salad because, beer. And I requested the Greek with salmon on the side. The salmon was perfectly cooked and the salad was expertly seasoned/dressed.
As I looked around at other patron’s tables, I noticed very few beers. Could it be that Tampa Bay brewing is better at food than beer? My experience says MAYbe.
Overall, Tampa bay brewing has a great ambience with a tradiitional pub feel. It's in Ybor city, which is great for gatherings. With onsite brewing, hard to beat for those of us who like that sort of thing. The food is awesome. Go if you're here. You'll enjoy it!
