I am excited to get Kaleidoscope Brewing on the podcast because it’s an interesting amalgamation of previous forces joining to create something new.
The location is in Naples, in the facility formerly known as the home of both the early and current iterations of Riptide Brewing. The owner and brewmaster is Bill Vaughn, himself a long time brewer of renown whose resume includes Ft. Myers Brewing and Bone Hook Brewing.
But now he’s working for himself, and working with a beautiful system that is ready to produce all the amazing things to have ready to go. And one of those is his Scottish Ale (or Wee Heavy) Severance, a style I am familiar with and fond of, but don’t get to try too often. Especially in Southwest Florida.
I’m sure that there have been some around, but I have not seen a Wee Heavy come down the pipeline there in my decidedly limited experience.
Bill went a step farther and did something I’ve never seen before, treating the style in a way not too unfamiliar with Imperial Stouts.
Of the three treatments that were on tap when we were there, we went for Neapolitan Severance (Scottish Ale, 8% ABV).
As the name would suggest, this was flavored with the bones of the deceased French emperor a mixture of vanilla bean, cocoa nibs, and cheery in place of the traditional Neapolitan strawberry.
It came with its own release party, and (to be perfectly honest) was so incredibly good, I can see this beer being an annual release event for Kaleidoscope in a fashion similar to Hunahpu Day for Cigar City or Lumberjack Day at 3 Sons.
It is a Scottish Ale, and there is no taking that away from the beer. It’s beautifully dark, maybe even a touch darker than a normal Scottish would be. The aromas bounce between high octane caramel and a big nose coming from the vanilla and the cocoa.
Vanilla, specifically, seems to love the caramel and the two go crazy together.
Once you’re done with the aroma, tasting the beer is fantastic. It’s got a big, bold, deep body that is rich and full, with the aforementioned caramel aggressively coming in on a boozy mouthfeel that is just the right amount.
Then the adjuncts begin to play, and you get this wonderfully ice cream sundae feel of flavors, ushered in on the wings of the vanilla bean and delightfully punctuated with the sweet tart ping of the cherries.
It’s a great beer, and even though he never left, having this beer as a fantastic reintroduction to Bill’s brewing and a sort of welcome to his own location was amazing. It’s definitely a place we cannot wait to go back to again, but if all the beers are as good as this I’m not sure I’m going to be able to leave.
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
[email protected]
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