I’ve got a “day off” in Miami, so I decided to head down to South Beach and get in a little run and a little sun (despite the fact that I had my laptop there with me to get in a little work). After a morning on the beach, and getting a nice sunburn, I looked to see if there might be a good brewpub or microbrewery nearby. That’s how I stumbled across The Abbey Brewing Co.
As I took tasting notes on my phone, I was approached by the Brewmaster/President, Raymond Rigazio. I had a great conversation with him about their beers and brewing. He told me that he develops the recipes and then brews them at the Indian River Brewing Company in Melbourne, Florida. Ray was an extremely nice guy and let me sample several of the beers on tap. He was a bit hesitant for me to review this one, since he said it was the last keg, and was about 120 days old. He tried one along with me and said that the hop aroma had faded quite a bit, but most of the flavors in the beer were as they should be.
Location: On tap at The Abbey Brewing Company in Miami Beach, FL
Numbers: 6.7% ABV, 55 IBUs
Appearance & Aroma: It was fairly clear and was a dark copper/amber color. There was a big, creamy head on it which left some great lacing on the glass. The aroma was mostly caramel malty with a hint of grapefruit like hop aroma.
Taste & Feel: The creamy head gave the medium bodied beer a smooth mouthfeel. There was a bit of a honey and caramel sweetness in the middle, followed by a solid grapefruit-like hop bitterness in the finish. The hop flavor lasted a bit into the aftertaste before the sweet maltiness started to come back through.
Food Pairing: For some reason, I tend to pair IPAs with big burgers, and this one is no different. I think the caramel maltiness goes well with the bread and burger flavor, and the thickness of the meal helps to cut through the hoppiness.
Overall Impression: The brewmaster let me know the age of the beer, and warned me that the hop aromas had faded quite a bit. The caramel maltiness came through pretty solidly in both the nose and the taste. For an IPA, this was very well balanced, even leaning slightly toward the sweet malt flavors. I think I would have preferred a slightly more diverse hop flavor in the finish, with a bit of pine hop flavors, rather than the big grapefruit hop flavors. Overall, it was a decent beer, but I would have liked to try this when it was fresh.
My Rating: 
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