449. Peg’s Pizza Cantina Brew Pub – Blind Date Amber Ale

Posted By kkozlen on Aug 3, 2012 | 0 comments

It’s the last evening of my vacation in Florida, and I took my family to Peg’s for dinner.  As I mentioned in my review of their G.O.O.D. Dancing Cody IPA, this place came highly recommended from several sources.  I was impressed with that beer, as well as the food, and wanted a chance to try one more of their beers.  Behind the Dancing Cody IPA, this appeared to be another of their signature beers on tap.

Location: On tap and served in a regular pint glass at Peg’s Pizza Cantina Brew Pub in Gulfport, Florida.

Numbers: 5.5% ABV

Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark brown in color with some reddish hues, with a finger-thick, foamy, cream-colored head.  The head retention was pretty good, leaving a fair amount of lacing on the glass.  The aroma was hoppy, with a mix of earthy and citrusy hops, and a hint of nuttiness.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and the mouthfeel was slightly crisp.  The flavors were lightly sweet caramel maltiness with a bit of lightly toasted nuttiness.  In the middle, the earthy hop bitterness kicked in, mixing with the nuttiness, leaving some citrusy hop flavors in the background.  The finish was a bit dry with a mix of solid earthy hop bitterness, light biscuit, and toasted nutty flavors. A lightly caramel nuttiness lasted briefly in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: I had this beer while finishing my shrimp burrito and rice and beans, as well as my kids cheese pizza.  The beer went just fine with the cheese pizza, but was very good with the rice and beans.  The biscuity nuttiness in this beer mixed nicely with the flavor of the rice and beans, and the dry, earthy bitterness in the finish left me ready for more.

Overall Impression: I was very impressed with the first beer I had here, the Dancing Cody IPA.  The hop flavors in this beer were somewhat similar, but the malt flavors were obviously very different.  I picked up on quite a bit of toastiness and nuttiness from this beer, along with a very solid hop bitterness and flavor.  While not quite in the same league – in my opinion – as the Dancing Cody, it was still a pretty good beer.

My Rating: