I’m wayyy behind on beer content (more about that in a future post), but I still have notes and photos, so I thought I’d return to my Florida trip last November and post about another brewery that we visited.
I mentioned in my Funky Buddha post that I spent a couple of years in Miami, but it’s changed a lot in the past 15 years or so. I had to research the city like a tourist if we didn’t want to just spend an afternoon on the beach at Key Biscayne (my go-to activity in 2002). Since we’d had such a good time at Funky Buddha, we decided to look up some other breweries in the area and easily settled on exploring the Wynwood Arts District. Wynwood is a neighbourhood with a ton of graffiti and street murals, and it’s become trendy and hipster-ish in the past few years. There are a few breweries in the neighbourhood, and we started out our Sunday Funday with Concrete Beach, since reviews said they had food on weekends.
We were basically wandering the area waiting for places to open, so we were those weird customers that walked in 2 minutes after opening. A little awkward, but easy to get a seat at the bar, and the bartender was friendly and happy to chat with us about their tap offerings. They have an outdoor area and an indoor one. The outdoor area was under a canopy, so we decided to stay outside, even though it felt like rain. When we went inside later to use the washrooms, it was typical Florida Frigid with the A/C blasting.
They had some tropical flavours, which appeal to me quite a bit, especially in the hot, humid weather. It may have been November, but it was hot and sticky and the air was so heavy. Fortunately, we had a flight to help us cool off!
Plantain Picaro (Dunkelweizen): A decent dunkel, with banana flavours, but I was hoping for a stronger plantain and something a little more unique. Nothing to complain about, though, and I liked the sweet finish. Fella: 4, Me: 3.75
Hibiscus Key Lime Gose: I was EXCITED for this one. I am not crazy about flowers in my beer, but my love for all things key lime outweighed my trepidation over the hibiscus. So I was relieved that the primary flavour in this brew was sour lime goodness, and the flowers didn’t turn it into drinkable perfume. Nice gose for a hot day, and one of my favourites from the brewery. A little too tart for the fella. Fella: 3.5, Me: 4
Size of the Coconut (Belgian Quad): A big Belgian Quad brewed with coconut, this brew was strong, as expected at 10%, but I wished it had more coconut flavour, which I found quite subtle. Some of the jammy dark fruits also came through. Fella doesn’t love coconut as much as me (who does, really) and he thought the coconut was plenty strong, with some floral notes. Fella: 4, Me: 3.75
Bouvalay (Bière de Garde): This one is a Bière de Garde brewed with Malbec grapes and aged in French Oak. Unique attempt, for sure, with a complex flavour profile. I don’t know where they came from, but I also tasted waves of vanilla and cherry after a bit. Like many of the beers from Concrete Beach, I wanted it to be bolder, but I liked where it was going. Fella agreed. Fella: 4.25, Me: 4
After a solid first flight, we were in for four more. I can’t explain why I didn’t take a photo of the second flight, but I did not.
Havana Lager (Vienna Lager): Less interesting and experimental than the ones we tried in flight #1, but this was a solid Vienna Lager. If you prefer a simpler beer, this is for you. Good toasted maltiness and crispness. Fella: 3.75, Me: 3.25
Eezypeezylemonsqueezey (Fruit Beer): Lemony fruit beer. Not too tart in the sour or gose sense, but the slightly bitter finish kinda sneaks up on you. Refreshing and citrusy. It doesn’t look like they have had this again since Nov 2017. Fella: 3.75, Me: 3.75
Violet Jane (Witbier): I love witbiers, but (as established), I do not love florals. This was too floral for me. Fella: 3, Me: 3.25.
Sangre de Flor (Imperial Porter): This Imperial Porter has chocolate and hibiscus with it, and it has a dark reddish-brown hue. This had the richest flavour out of the beers that we tried, and although the rest of the second flight was as strong as our first, I was glad that we got a second flight, if only to try this one. Fella got more coffee flavour than I did; I think it’s because I require coffee to survive, much like water, so I don’t always notice when it’s present in dark beers. Fella: 4, Me: 3.75
We didn’t end up eating, because it took the food vendor a long time to get going, and I decided I wanted tacos anyway (when do I not?). Concrete Beach is right down the street from the highly-rated Coyo Taco, so we planned our exit and cashed out after selecting a tank for me and one of those adorable flight glasses from the merch shelf. Overall: a really nice visit to kick off Sunday Funday.
Visit Concrete Beach:
325 NW 24th St
Miami, FL
Website
Open daily at noon
Closes at midnight most nights; 2am on Fri & Sat
Bring your kids ’til 7pm, bring your dogs
Rotating food vendors; feel free to bring your own food at times without a vendor
Disclaimer: the fella works in the alcohol industry, and I think we received an industry discount, though I forgot to write it down and can no longer recall the details.