While I focus much of my beer-drinking on San Antonio and the surrounding area, I get out of town from time to time and I am always curious what beers other locales have to offer. On a recent Carnival Cruise, we made a stop at Key West Florida and one of my goals while exploring the town was to check out at least one of the local breweries (the other two were to get conch fritters and key lime pie, and I accomplished those as well). I did some research before arriving on the island, and The Waterfront Brewery was a short walk from where the boat docked and had a nice menu, so it was the perfect location for a lunch stop after spending some time at Simonton Beach (which must be one of the smallest beaches ever, but we still had a great time and Lagerheads Beach Bar was pouring some cold beers as well).
The Waterfront Brewery did not have quite as nice of a view as Simonton Beach because it overlooks the Key West Bight Marina, but there was still plenty of fresh ocean air flowing in, and the beer and food along with the friendly service made for a wonderful afternoon experience on the island. They have an extensive menu that is abundant with seafood but which also includes burgers and other sandwiches along with tempting non-seafood entrees like Cuban BBQ Pork and Caribbean Skirt Steak. I found a couple of spicy items that looked interesting and I have written about them in more detail over at SpicyFoodReviews.com. I also tried their key lime pie, and they do good by that desert.
For the beer, they offer their Specialty Flight which costs only $8 and includes four generous pours of the following: Island Life Lager, Crazy Lady Honey Blonde Ale, Passionfruit Shandy, and Lazy Way IPA. I started there, and tasted a couple more beyond that, and following is my report:
Island Life Lager: This is very crisp and refreshing with a bit of sweetness. Unlike some lagers, it has a full taste the finishes well. This is the perfect beach beer and it was a great way to start my tasting while enjoying the ocean air.
Crazy Lady Honey Blonde Ale: This is a good smooth ale with just a touch of sweetness (though not as much as you might expect seeing as it has honey in the name). It also has some richness, but it is not too heavy. Those who may consider the Island Life too lite, may instead prefer to sip on this one while sitting on the beach.
Passionfruit Shandy: It takes only one sip of this one to discover that it is heavy on the passionfruit. It is not too sweet, though, so it does not taste like you are drinking a soda, and it has some good citrus to it. But you will have to like a fruity beer to enjoy this one. It was drinkable for me, but probably not one I would order again.
Lazy Way IPA: This is another beer that is fruit forward with Mango very evident in the taste. But it is not as fruity as the Shandy, so I found it more tolerable. It has some bitterness and hops that balances out the fruit, with citrus and pine flavors helping it to a nice finish. You will still have to like a fruity beer to enjoy this, but I could see getting this again.
TruMan Double IPA: After finishing the flight, I ventured to a stronger beer with this IPA, and it was definitely a good way to close out my tasting. It is not heavy on the hops, but their presence is definitely noted. It has a good level of bitterness with some grapefruit as well as some malt and maybe a bit of pine in the background as well. This is good and rich and comes in at 9.5% alcohol. It may not be a beach-sipping beer, but I sure enjoyed it in the ocean setting.
Kilted Cowboy Irish Red Ale: My wife ordered this brew and I gave it a taste as well. It has a nice malty flavor with some richness and sweetness. There are some hops in there, but they are more in the background. This one should certainly please anybody who enjoys a good red ale.
They had a few more of their brews to choose from as well as some guest beers (the key lime cider certainly sounded interesting), and if I was staying in town longer I would certainly make a return trip to Waterfront. I would like to pay another visit to the Keys at some point in the future, and this place will definitely be on my list when I do. In the meantime, I definitely have some good memories and highly recommend that you stop by for a beer and a bite if you are on the island.
Address: 201 William St, Key West, FL 33040
Website: www.thewaterfrontbrewery.com
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