The first time my family and I visited Two Frogs Brewing in Tarpon Springs was not too long after they had opened. In fact, it was a good 7 or 8 years ago.
I should know this better, only since they just celebrated their anniversary recently. At that time it was a charming spot, built into an old store in the heart of downtown, clearly with some history that the owners did everything they could to preserve.
On my recent trip earlier in the summer, I was very happy to see all of that has been maintained and preserved just as it was when we first were there. It’s definitely a location that has a lot of history, while the brewers have always maintained a solid focus towards making beers that are fantastic and popular.
Some things, like Tarpon Springs itself, remain timeless, such as Dream Pop (Wheat Ale, 5.6% ABV).
As far as beers go, oranges and wheat ales have been a perfect combination, like beer nerds and beard oil. This beer goes one step further with some vanilla and switching the orange for tangerine, making a deeper creamsicle experience.
The beer has a solid orange color, nicely fruity with a proper tangerine citrus nose on the aroma.
The flavor is actually quite different than I had expected, mostly because of that tangerine. It’s much deeper than I had anticipated, almost as if a lot of the rind was used, which gives it a slightly bitter and slightly beefier citrus flavor than, say, straight juice.
Putting that on a wheat ale was quite interesting, because it gave a traditionally light bodied beer a much-needed kick in a deeper direction. It’s a touch on the bitter side, which makes this definitely a little more akin to the Florida West Coast beer drinking crowd who tend to love their bitterness.
It’s a fantastic beer, and at this point I have expected nothing less from Two Frogs than the absolute best.
I am hoping it will not take me as many years to get back there again, and hopefully I will be able to soon. And with any luck, they will not have touched their location at all.
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
[email protected]
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