Where does Florida begin? As long as the beer keeps flowing, who cares. Every Friday, we take a look at a beer brewed in the Sunshine State, giving analysis to the burgeoning craft beer movement of Florida.
This week, we're going to head up north to the mega-sprawl of Jacksonville, where the brewing culture is just as big as in South Florida to take a look at a beer from Intuition Ale Works.
Owner and brewer Ben Davis established his brewery in 2010, and is noted for being one of the few breweries in Florida that cans their beers. Now available in can form is their flagship IPA, I-10, named after the interstate highway of the same moniker a few blocks north of the brewery, where it merges with I-96 and becomes the eastern terminus of the transcontinental highway.
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I-10 West Coast IPA's can has a plethora of information for the craft beer connoisseur with a description of its ingredients in great detail: American 2-Row, Red Wheat Malt, Cara-Pils and Crystal malt dominate the grain bill, while the hops are declared as Columbus, Summit, Cascade, and Centennial. Yes indeed this is a west coast style India pale ale for sure. At 6.75% abv and 55 IBUs, it's pretty much on par with most current offerings of an American IPA.
The color is a brilliant copper orange, clear and nice to look at. The aroma is a mix of resinous hops and grapefruit, with a hint of dankness - so far we're on key for a west coaster. The flavor is dominated by those citrus hops, mostly grapefruit, but the malty body holds itself upfront before heading into that earthy flavor direction. Moderate mouthfeel and similar carbonation. This is a pretty straightforward IPA, and fits in well amongst its brethren. If you're a fan of those IPAs from Colorado or Washington state, this should fit into your repertoire quite nicely.
Though this Florida brew is canned and distributed around the state, its reach only commands the northern and central parts of the Sunshine State, so there's some legwork to be had. It's always worth it, though, to support a Florida brewery.
Drink good beer and drink local. #FloridaBeer
Doug Fairall is a craft beer blogger that focuses on Florida beers, and has been a homebrewer since 2010. For beer things in your Twitter feed, follow me @DougFairall and find the latest beer pics on Clean Plate's Instagram.
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