Hurricane Reef Pale Ale - Florida Beer Company

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

An all around nice brew from Florida. The appearance is a copper colored body with a decent off-white head. the aroma has a nice malty grain sense with the light addition of fruity hops. the flavor is very nice with the malt flavor and fruity hops predominating. The feel is medium but lacks crispness. Overall it has good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2004 16:17:20 | More by AtLagerHeads

kbub6f

New York

3.93/5  rDev +23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Head is small, off-white and fizzy. Beer is a clear, dark amber. Sweet, ripe, hoppy, toffee, tangy citrus nose sports some milk gone bad. Front is hoppy with a hint of chocolate. Tangy, dark caramel. A piney, bitter, hoppy, fresh finish. Great Cascade burps. This is pretty good. Quite hoppy and malty.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2004 17:36:14 | More by kbub6f

UnionMade

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The beer pours a delicious looking copper color, topped with a generous amount of off white foam, just barely reaching out of the tumbler. The head settles slowly into an uneven, patchy coating, a solid sheet of lace clinging to the glass as the brew's consumed. The stuff laces better than most IPAs or wheat beers I've had. Excellent clarity.
The aroma is very solid, with a moderate, sweetish toasty malt. A bit of graininess, similar to seven grain bread, or maybe even rye. The sweetness is balanced by a woody and citric hopping, just enough, creating an interesting, almost sweet and sour feel. A touch of pine, with some doughy, nutty yeast in the background. Rather clean, with just a bit of lemon and floral esters.
The flavor starts with a surprisingly grainy, husky malt. Mild toasty and biscuity sweetness meanders into the middle, which features little in the way of fruitiness, aside from a vague floral note. The hops march in unchallenged, a lemon/orange citric feel muddied by a dominant herbal woodiness. Northern brewer? The yeast contributes a soft nuttiness in the end, blending with the steadily abrasive grain husk finish. A lingering grain flavor, along with some woody hops, making me feel like I've been chewing on a fallen log. Rather rough hewn all the way through, the toasty sweetness not doing much to soften things up. Some dryness in the finish. Medium bodied, with a surprisingly chewy, grainy feel. Moderate, nondescript carbonation.
Not the easiest drinking beer, but it's gritty, unpersonable feel does have some charm. I bet this would be fantastic in beer batter, or as an accompaniment to tuna or halibut. On it's own, I think I'd go with something else. Worth a try at least once, especially if you're in the sunshine state.
Thanks to Mikeys01 for the bottle!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2004 03:20:28 | More by UnionMade

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

jtfest

Oregon

3.1/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Odd snowflake-like sediment in this brew, though it's not bottle conditioned. Oh, well. It poured a copper/amber with a thin yellow-white head. The aroma was grassy and bitter. The mouthfeel was a little watery, as was the taste -- which began with a honey-like sweetness and then disappeared with a mild hop goodbye. Pretty drinkable, but equally unimpressive.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2004 03:15:16 | More by jtfest

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

Imbiber

New York

4.05/5  rDev +27%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Copper-amber coloured, medium carbonation and smallish pale tan/off-white head. Big aroma, earthy, malty of sorts - can't quite place it...

Flavour is well-balanced, malt to the fore is offset by a moderate hoppiness. Some citrus appears later on to form a pleasant aftertaste. A very slight grainy feel on the tongue is there too, but nevertheless a pleasant, well-drinkable beer. Much better than the Key West beer from the same brewery.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2004 20:55:40 | More by Imbiber

dpend

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +28.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep copper with a substantial and tan head that holds well. Aroma was mostly of cascade hops.Nice use of malt as well.Taste is balanced throughout and finishes with nice, dry hops.Very drinkable and a great session beer.My favorite of the line.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2003 17:37:04 | More by dpend

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is more of an Amber Ale than Pale Ale. Pours a clean amber with an off-white head and not much lace. The aroma is malty, lightly hoppy, with an odd damp basement smell. The biscuity malt body is a bit more slick and oily than most Pale Ales (thus the difference). Citrus and a mild spicy bitterness round this Amber ale out.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2003 16:37:40 | More by BeerResearcher

DarrellK

Florida

4.63/5  rDev +45.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Take has not suffered since Ybor bought them out. The other reviews get into the details but this brew stands up to some of the best British Ales. A great blend of aroma, mouth and taste. Not too bitter, has a buttery notem so it is an excellent session brew. Don't like any of the Ybor product but this one is very good.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2002 15:28:58 | More by DarrellK

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

StevieW

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +35.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rich copper color, head was tan, fluffy, and full of slow rising hop bubbles. Smell was slightly biscuit and full of cascade hop aromas. Nice even, smooth, cascade assault on your tongue. Creamy, rich feel, smooth finish. Subtle malt backbone. All the right the traits of a classic American Pale Ale. Tastes like they copied the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale formula, and did a nice job. This is a beer Ybor City can hang their hat on. A pleasant surprise. I would buy this again, and hunker down for a category 1-2 storm. Anything more, I evacuate, and take my beer with me.
3 cheers for a really good Florida brewed beer !

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2002 17:51:21 | More by StevieW

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