My family and I arrived in Florida today on our family vacation. We rented a condo on Madeira Beach. After getting in this afternoon, we dumped our stuff at the condo and went for a drive north toward Clearwater. After exploring for a bit, we were hungry, and used Yelp to help us find Cristino’s. It’s an italian restaurant which reviews said made great pizza. They were right! Since it was hot, I started with a Peroni, and then enjoyed this beer with my pizza.

Location: Poured into a regular pint glass from the bottle, at Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza in Clearwater, Florida.

Numbers: 7.3% ABV, 17.3% OG

Appearance & Aroma: It’s clear and brown in color with some brick red highlights. The head was a decent size and foamy with some retention, although it didn’t leave much lacing on the glass. The aroma was malty with a mix of caramel and fig-like notes.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and the mouthfeel was crisp from the carbonation in the beer. The flavors up front were slightly sweet maltiness with caramel flavors. In the middle, more biscuit flavors come in, as well as some dark fruity flavors. It finished with some very light bitterness, with mostly a caramel nuttiness. The flavors didn’t last very long in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: The biscuit and caramel flavors went nicely with our pizza, complementing the crispy crust and great cheesiness. I’d definitely recommend this beer with the pizza here at Cristino’s, but if I were home, I’d probably pair it with something heartier, like a steak.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the aroma with plenty of maltiness, and the flavors followed with a mix biscuit, caramel malts, and a bit of fig and dark fruits. Overall, I thought it was a fairly good beer, and a nice light doppelbock for the hotter weather here in Florida.

My Rating:

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