Independent craft breweries in Florida are being threatened by retail and distributor groups, which could result in the end of beers like the ones you’re about to read about.

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Drink Tampa Bay is an ongoing series chronicling locally made beer and wine.

This week we got mildly tipsy on the Halfstep Rye Pale Ale and The Silver Alert White Session beers brewed by Angry Chair Brewing in Seminole Heights, along with the Rapp Hefeweizen from Rapp Brewing Company in Pinellas Park.

Halfstep Rye Pale Ale – 5.9%

Rusty: It’s definitely amber in color. (Sniffs) It smells pretty light, actually.

Nicole: (Smelling) It’s fruity.

Roy: (Honks it) Not too strong.

Rusty: (Drinks) It actually is pretty intense. It’s not upsetting, I’m not upset – I didn’t hate it. It explodes in your mouth.

Nicole: It’s got a nice aroma, but it’s bitter at the end.

Rusty: I like the way it finishes. It’s got a lingering, tiny bit of bitterness to it. When you first take a sip, it’s an explosion of intensity. It’s pretty flavorful though.

Roy: It kind of starts off slow, and once you swallow, you get a little bit of the rye. Stronger than a normal pale ale. It’s good!

Nicole: I like the way it smell… tastes in your nose. If you breath as your drinking, it’s got a nice fruit.

Rusty: A little something going on there.

Nicole: It’s complicated.

Rusty: It’s good. It’s pretty drinkable.

Silver Alert White Session IPA – 5.4%

Roy: Silver Alert… it’s when old people go crazy… there’s like twelve of them every day in Florida. “I wanna get the fuck out of Florida. Why’d you send me here?”

Rusty: It’s like Logan’s Run.

Nicole: (Sniffs) It smells lighter than the other one. A bit fruity. (Drinks) Oh it’s tart!

Roy: (Sips) That does have a bit of floral…

Rusty: (Drinks) It tastes… I don’t know if it’s floral, almost a citrus juicy type… it almost tastes like a juice, especially after you take a sip. It does have a bitterness to it, but it’s not super intense.

Nicole: It’s okay. It’s light. It’s tolerable.

Rusty: (Smacking lips) It tastes like a chunk of wood that’s been soaking in orange juice.

Roy: I held it in my mouth there… it’s very floral. (Reading from Angry Chair menu) “A white IPA with a nice dry wheat note.”

Rusty: That’s what it is. That’s the wood. It’s a wheat, it’s not wood.

Roy: Is that sandalwood??

Nicole: So there’s no fruit in there at all.

Rusty: It tastes like it’s got a bit of a fruitiness to it. It’s super light-weight for an IPA.

Roy: [The pale ale] is more bitter.

Rusty: I like it. I think it’s good.

The Rapp Hefeweizen – 6.6%

Rusty: This is not from Angry Chair, this is Rapp Brewing. Hefeweizen. (Sniffs) …I don’t know what it is… it’s like a… citrus caramel?

Roy: (Smells) Remember those marshmallow peanuts?

Nicole: Circus peanuts?

Rusty: Oh my god that’s what it is. (Sniffs) I think that’s pretty close. If that’s not what they brewed it from, they at least used it in there.

Nicole: Throw a couple in there… as a garnish.

Roy: (Sips) It’s very sweet. Sweeter than other hefeweizens.

Nicole: (Drinks) I think bitter. It’s heavier than the other one. It has a candy…

Rusty: It does have a candy flavor. It’s light, in the same way a cider is. But it’s got a little more going on. You get a bit of the wheat in the after-taste, but for the most part it’s just sweet and light.

Roy: It is heavy.

Nicole: I don’t know if I like the candy flavor. It feels wrong in a beer. It’s like someone dropped candy in it, and it melted.

Rusty: I think it’s pretty good. You wouldn’t want to drink too much of it… you might not want to drink the entire thing in one sitting, a 16 ounce glass…

Roy: Go down to the 12. It’s good, it’s a little too sweet for me.

Rusty: I like sweet, I’m partial to sweet stuff.

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Roy: Choose one.

Nicole: I like the pale ale.

Rusty: I think they’re all good. I like all of them.

Nicole: I could drink them all, and not be sad. I like the pale ale best, though. It’s got that nice, fruity aroma.

Roy: I think I’d go with the IPA. You hear rye pale ale, you hear IPA, you think heavy. But it’s usually just heavy in flavor. This [the hefeweizen], to me, is very heavy. It’s not as complex in the flavor, it’s just straight…

Rusty: Straight circus peanut. I think I would lean towards the IPA as well… but (furiously drinks sips from all of them)… I don’t know which I would choose. I’m torn between the rye and the IPA. The rye, you’re tasting rye and that’s what’s going on there. The IPA is unique. It would depend on my mood. Generally, I’d be more in the mood for the IPA, but the rye is more of an experience. And I like the hefeweizen too… it is a bit peculiar, but it’s not bad. I do like sweet stuff, so that’s probably more of a personal thing.

The Halfstep Rye Pale Ale and Silver Alert White Session IPA are available from Angry Chair Brewing. The Rapp Hefeweizen is from Rapp Brewing Company.

Listen to the full discussion here:

 

Angry Chair Brewing is located at 6401 N Florida Ave in Seminole Heights.
Open Tuesday through Thursday 4pm-Close, Friday and Saturday 4pm-12am, and Sunday 12pm-9pm. Closed Mondays.

Rapp Brewing Company is located at 10930 Endeavour Way Suite C in Pinellas Park.
Open Monday through Thursday 3pm-10pm, Friday 3pm to 12am, Saturday 2pm-12am, and Sunday 3pm-8pm.