Hurricane Reef Pale Ale - Florida Beer Company

Gmann

New York

3.18/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Pours a toasted straw to light copper color with a small yet dense head that settles into a light ring.

The aroma is of a bready malt, light toast and honey. Mild floral hop aroma, just enough to be noticable. This APA is more malty sweet than hoppy. Just average.

There is a pleasant malt body. Slighty toasted, with some rustic metal notes. A general fruitiness provides some additional sweetness. The hops are mainly for bittering and don't provide much flavor beyond some grassy notes.

Moderate body with fizzy carbonation. Good balance between sweet and bitter. Quite crisp in the finish. Very easy to drink.

A good APA should have somewhat of a hoppy flavor to it and this beer really doesn't have that. The malt body and flavor is enjoyable but doesn't make up for the lack of hop flavor. Can't go wrong drinking this at a BBQ, though.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 19:21:19 | More by Gmann

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours a pale yellow color with over two fingers of white fluffy head that dissipates somewhat quickly but leaves pretty decent lacing.

Smell - Quite a weak nose. Malt, wheat, slight hops, etc. Not much here.

Taste - Slight malts, hops, a hint of bitterness, somewhat like a lager in taste, etc. Has an off taste to it. Not quite sure what it is.

Mouthfeel - Relatively light bodied, crisp, decent carbonation.

Drinkability - Relatively so, but would not seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2010 02:04:18 | More by SpdKilz

Jwale73

Rhode Island

3.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

My 3rd beer of the month club offering from the folks at FSRI. 12oz. bottle served in my ST tulip. Poured a translucent orange-gold with a one-inch, white head the quickly dissipated into a thin, tight band around the edges. Nose was pale malt and light fruit. Taste was biscuity, toasty, buttery with some hops bittering in the mix. Mouthfeel was light-bodied and gassy - way too much carbonation. Mediocre - carbonation levels in this brew totally kills the drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2009 18:00:47 | More by Jwale73

david18

New York

3.28/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Orlando has a number of microbreweries but not all of them are good. I had one in a hotel, made especially for the hotel that was absolutely horrible. This pale ale was quite good. Nothing too special and certainly not has hoppy as it should be but definitely better than any yellow fizzy alternative that so many of these unelightened bars seem to have.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2009 22:43:46 | More by david18

superdedooperboy

Georgia

3.3/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. brown bottle into a pint glass, this beer pours a clear golden amber with a slight half-finger of white froth, disappearing rather quickly and leaving virtually no lacing aside from a few specks.

Nose is rather downplayed, with a soft resinous hop presence and some buttery, bready diacetyl character.

Flavor is much like the aroma, with a smooth, rounded diacetyl nature combining with a mildly bitter, resiny middle, and going down with a watery finish that leaves a lingering piney aftertaste. Body is very light and thin, with a light touch of carbonation.

Easy-drinking, yet not nearly the most desirable session beer. A bit understated for an American-style Pale Ale, and perhaps with just a bit more hop presence and a fuller mouthfeel, this could be a great quaffer. As it is, it's just not nearly there.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2009 04:49:41 | More by superdedooperboy

Citadel82

New Jersey

3.33/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

In the Macro-centered world that is the Disney Empire finding this brew was a refreshing change of pace. A nice burnished copper color with an off-white head. Aroma was very faint floral hops and som toasted malt. Taste was piney/citrusy but mild. Not anywhere near what one expects htese days from an american pale ale. Definitely drinkable however and an encouraging sign to find this at the Disney Resorts.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2006 12:58:06 | More by Citadel82

JayQue

Virginia

3.4/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A pretty average American Pale Ale. Pours a copper color with a small white head and no lacing.

Very little aroma

Mild taste of a little floral hops up front followed by bready malt. Taste is more robust than the smell. The malt wins out in the balance department.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin but not bad. Drinkable enough but not something I would seek out.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2009 23:33:12 | More by JayQue

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a plain glass.

Pours mildly cloudy copper with little white foam. Minimal lacing. Mild hop notes in the nose, some wheatiness. Lightly fruity taste backed with a firm but balanced hop. Light citrus. Good carbonation. Tasty brew, well made.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2010 00:50:55 | More by KTCamm

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - clear light gold with some light white head.

S - sharp grass, with a hint of lemony citrus.

T - Odd chemical flavour, a hint of molasses and a sharp, grassy hop. Some chalkiness, lemon and a grainy background. On the sweet side.

M - Light, sharply fizzy.

D - Fairly drinkable hot weather brew. OK flavours although a touch too sweet.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 01:43:14 | More by allergictomacros

hunteraw

China

3.48/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Apearance: Orange amber color with a smallish white head that exhibits nice lacing. Carbonation seems to fade quickly.

Smell: Fairly mild aroma, maybe it needs to warm up... Even after warming, there's just not much there.

Taste: Crisp fruit flavors, very clean. Somewhat soapy. Hops are understated for an APA. Finishes dry.

Mouthfeel: Crisp is definitely the word. Body is on the lighter side.

Drinkability: Not great, but at least it's local. Might be a good beer to cook with.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2006 19:27:11 | More by hunteraw

barefootbrewer

Mississippi

3.5/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured a slightly hazy golden color with a ½ inch head – persistent. The aroma is citrus and malty. The taste is bitter from hops with the malt noticeable. There is a slight citrus taste as well. The mouthfeel is medium bodied. Overall, this is an interesting ale that has noticeable flavors that are not overpowering – making it easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2007 17:54:00 | More by barefootbrewer

Wasatch

Utah

3.5/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Jredner for this brew.

Pours a dark golden orange color, nice carbonation, nice small creamy tannish head, some sticky lacing follows. The nose is malty, hoppy, and some caramel. The taste is more on the malt side, with some hops, sweet, and some caramel. Medium body. Drinkable, nice little Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2007 00:00:23 | More by Wasatch

mooseisloose

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Somehow ended up with a bottle of this from a BOTMC delivery. Have drunk gallons of this in the keys, imagine that I have never reviewed it until now. Bueno, lets give it a whirl. Popping the top I get a sweet hoppiness with an apparent big malt base. Pours into my recently rediscovered sam's perfect pint as a cloudy bright yellow with a clingy foamy off white macro-bubble head. Taste is floral off the bat then a malt base is smoothly bitter, all transitioning to a sweet and sour finish with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Not your pale ales experts brew but the taste brings me back to the keys, and that ups the overall, considerably.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 23:20:15 | More by mooseisloose

ThreePistols

Florida

3.58/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clean clear amber color with a bubbly off white head. Floral hop nose. Definitely Cascade hops. Malt sweetness and Cascade hops are plesantly balanced. Hops not overpowering. Hops bitterness mellows out nicely. Citrus aftertaste with a slighty dry finish. A nice American Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2002 07:58:15 | More by ThreePistols

Andy

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Radiant, off-orange color and all about cascade hops. Good hop bitterness upfront and also the ever elusive hop flavor throughout. The recipe for this seems to have changed (improved) in recent years.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2002 00:07:48 | More by Andy

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Clear amber with an orange hue, it poured with a thin head that quickly settled into a collar. Spotty lacing. Mild malt aroma with earthy and floral hops. Bitterness is restrained, letting mild sweetness and orange hop character come to the foreground. A bit earthy as well. Finishes with a bit of lingering bitterness and hop flavour. Medium/light body and carbonation. A solid pale ale. Thanks Wintermute!

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2006 00:42:29 | More by DrJay

abcsofbeer

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle with a drink by date of 10/28/08. The appearance is a near perfect amber color that is topped by a two finger off-white head. There is pretty decent lacing and excellent retention.

The aroma is very flowery, mixed with honey and buttered bread. The overall smell pulls in a very sweet bouquet. The taste is a good blend of sweet caramel malts and a decent hop flavor. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and a good amount of tartness. This is a good ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2008 00:58:11 | More by abcsofbeer

daliandragon

North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is tthe last of the Hurricane Reef trio I brought back from my Dad's 60th B-day party in the Fla. keys two weekends ago. The other two were fairly crap so I'm hoping this one can turn the tide.

Pours an attractive deep reddish copper that loses its head all too quickly. Nose has a surprising dominance of malt with heavy fruit flavors, maybe figs or plums, and hops just barely in the backround.

The taste also sees a strange malt predominance, which means for me that this isn't truly a pale ale. The mouthfeel has the proper depth and crispness but the lack of hops is a little unsettling. Still, not a bad beer at all. The fruit is tasty and round enough to avoid the fate of the cruddy raspberry wheat by the same brewery. Slight alcohol tones follow the fig flavors. Some surpising complexity here, and very nice to drink, but I maintain that a pale ale it isn't. It is, however, worth a shot if you see it, I'll look for it again for sure.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2007 04:24:55 | More by daliandragon

Drew966

Florida

3.7/5  rDev +16%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Hurricane Reef Pale Ale pours a copper color with a thin white head from a brown twelve ounce bottle. The aroma is primarily malt, with caramel being noticeable. Tastes better than I expected, nice balance of hops and malt for a pale ale. Definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2006 00:41:45 | More by Drew966

babaracas

Florida

3.73/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear medium orange with spotty lacing. Smell: bready malt, citrusy hops. Taste: caramel malt + earthy/spicy and citrus hops. Mouthfeel: medium bodied, a little hard water in the finish. Pretty much spot on for the style. Might be the best thing from FL beer co.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2008 04:34:07 | More by babaracas

LuckySevens82

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. bottle.

This is a fine example of a pale ale from the tampa based brewer. This is along the same lines as the Dunedin PA (which I thought was very good), and has much of the characteristic charms of most other PAs. The problem with this beer is that there is absolutely nothing special about it. I could easily find the same flavors in a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or an Anchor Liberty Ale (both of which are much better). High hops, notable malt sweetness, some alcohol. This is a good example of the style. I cannot fault the FL brewing company for that.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2004 03:40:09 | More by LuckySevens82

kmo1030

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

nice deep amber color with a tan head that stick around for a while. grainy malt aroma, with floral smells as well. slight smell of raw malt extract. cirtusy and and sweet floral taste much like the smell. none of the raw malt character in the taste thankfully hops kick in at the the end to round things out, i'd like to see a little more though. the coating mouthfeel is maybe a little too thick, but pretty strong carbonation makes up for it mostly. unremarkable, but not bad by any means.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2004 21:15:26 | More by kmo1030

neenerzig

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a 6 pack of this a few days ago during my still ongoing vacation here in Osprey/Sarasota Florida. Wanted to try something I would not be able to find back home and thought this one looked good. Poured a 12 oz bottle's worth into a standard pint glass. This beer pours a clear and medium golden/copper color. White fizzy head about 1/3 inch when first poured. Settles quickly to a medium sized ring lining the inside of my glass. Little lacing. Aromas of fairly sweet caramel. biscuity malt and hops. Bready, biscuity, caramel malt flavor upfront followed by bittering hops. Nice balance, but the hops do tend to dominate a bit. Not complex in any sense, but tasty nonetheless. This is a bit more hoppy than most pale ales I have had are. Would have thought this was an IPA if I didn't know better. Has a crisp, thin to medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Easy to drink in a good way. this is nice and refreshing on a hot August night here in Florida. Good enough, but nothing special.

Eric

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2009 02:14:31 | More by neenerzig

kingcrowing

Vermont

3.8/5  rDev +19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured in an Allagash snifter. Thanks to theghost3 for this!

Pours a nice pale golden color with a small fluffy head, just what you'd expect from an APA. On the nose is a bit of hoppiness and malt. It smells somewhat like a lager but with some tasty undertones.

Taste is surprisingly good after smelling it! It's nice and malty with a bit of toastiness on the finish. Overall quite a solid APA from Florida!

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2009 01:08:37 | More by kingcrowing

cnally

Indiana

3.8/5  rDev +19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A golden color with some amberish tints in there. A nice fluffy white head has some serious lacing.

Aromas are crisp, malty and yeasty. Just a bite of hops at the end.

The flavor is even and balanced, with a burst of caramel, apricot, grain and good hint of alcohol, finishes malty and a bit bitter from the hops.

Uneven and fizzy feel. Thick but the carbonation throws it off.

Decent, if unspectacular. The flavor is well above average, but the intangibles make this a one-and-done.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2009 01:58:57 | More by cnally