St. John Brewers revisited

A year ago I visited St. Thomas with family. During that trip we ventured to St. John for the day to experience the beautiful white sand beaches and clear blue waters. We ended up at the Tap Room in Mongoose Junction. It was here that I got a real taste for St. John Brewers beers.

















This year hubby and I decided to take a vacation to St. Thomas. For a day trip, we took the ferry to St. John. We drove the wicked windy roads, saw the sights, swam in the sea. All the typical touristy things.

Of course we stopped into the Tap Room for some cold brews and a meal. There were some beers on tap that I hadn't had before; that's always a good thing!

I started out with a Liquid Sunshine, a Belgian Blonde (5% ABV) which I'd seen listed on beer menus everywhere on St. Thomas but everyone seemed to be out of. It was light and delightful and I wish I could have had more of it.

Hubby got a Roundabout Coffee Stout; which he was sweet enough to share. Especially, since we both appreciate a good coffee stout. It was a good, smooth brew with just the right amount of coffee flavor.

This was followed up with a Hard Cider which was tasty and refreshing.








But, hands down, the best beer we had was Mongose. As the name might implies, it is a gose (5.1% ABV). I'm a fan of sours and more recently goses. My local brewery, Two Roads, makes a wicked good Gose that is a collaboration with Evil Twin. So, I was very interested in comparing and contrasting the two.

The Mongose is a richer, golden color. The taste is fuller and has a fruity character, mango perhaps, that is absent from  Geyser Gose. Similarly, it's mildly salty, as a gose should be. I asked the source of the salt; salt ponds was the reply; ew. Nonetheless, Mongose is a refreshing, delicious beer. Though quite different in flavor, Mongose and Geyser Gose are comparatively delicious. We had more than one. Yum!

Frenchtown Brewing Company

Hubby and I were in St. Thomas for vacation. I'd been to the island last spring with family and the only brewery in the USVI at that time was St. John Brewers.

Aside from St. John Brewers, the only beer widely available on the island are brews such as Carib, Presidente, and the like - basically, the Budweisers and Coronas of the Caribbean.  I admit I had my fair share of those every time I've been in St. Thomas, they're light and easy drinking. But, the availability of locally brewed craft beer is clearly lacking.


Imagine my excitement when I discovered a brandy spankin' new brewery just minutes away from where we were staying.

Nature abhors a vacuum and Frenchtown Brewing Company fills the craft beer void. Of course, I had to drop in and say "hey".

FBC is a 3-barrel nano-brewery. They are located in the Frenchtown section of Charlotte Amalie down Hop Alley and up a narrow back-alley staircase.




We were early for the regularly schedule tour but we were warmly greeted and admitted for a tour. Which basically consisted of a look at the shiny brewing system and drinking lots of samples. No complaints here! Mmmm, so good!

We got an opportunity to speak with Kevin Brown, the founder and brewer. One of the challenges with brewing beer on the island is the availability of water. Obviously, they are surrounded by an ocean of water but fresh water isn't readily available. So, I asked him about about this.  The salty sea water is purified by the process of reverse osmosis; desalination  removes the salt and other minerals from sea water to get fresh water. This process basically gives the brewer a blank canvas to create a water profile to fit any style of beer.

We sampled three different brews and they were all remarkably true to style. Positively tasty too!

Rooster Brown Ale - 5.5% ABV - is a smoked brown ale that is brewed for the The Smoking Rooster; a local barbecue restaurant. I'm not a huge fan of smoke beers, but this one was quite nice. It is tasty brown ale with a hint of smoke. It was very smooth and drinkable. I imagine it would go down very well with a big honkin' pile of barbecued meat. Nom!

Frenchie Farmhouse Ale - 6.2% ABV - is a saison. True to style, it was a cloudy straw colored brew. It was nicely carbonated for a lively mouthfeel. It had the lovely fruit flavors imparted by the yeasts, banana and bubblegum flavors were pleasantly represented. A very nicely done Saison.

Hop Alley IPA - 7.1% ABV - is a west coast IPA. This was, without a doubt, my favorite! Brewed with a plethora of  awesome hops - Citra, Warrior, Columbus, Amarillo, and Simcoe - the hop profile is amazing and the brew is oh-so tasty. Tart, fruity, deliciously bitter. Mmm, mmm good!

I will definitely be visiting again the next time I'm in St. Thomas! I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

St. John Brewers

While on vacation in the US Virgin Islands, I continued my ongoing quest for new-to-me brews. Most especially, local beers and local brewers.

The first beer I had when I got to St. Thomas was Island Summer Ale brewed by St. John Brewers.

I was curious as to how beer brewed on the islands would taste liken considering that fresh water is fairly scarce and the tap water had a distinctive brackish quality to it that, to my taste buds, is nearly unpalatable.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was pretty good beer, light and refreshing. Not the best beer ever but great to relax and cool off with while burying my toes in the sand and enjoying the amazing beauty of the islands.

On further inspection of the bottle, I noticed that the beer was actually brewed practically in my own back yard - Portland, Maine.

Interesting. It only took a quick Google search and a peek at the St. John Brewers website to determine that their beer is contract brewed at Shipyard Brewing.  I was a little disappointed to discover that since I'm generally not a fan of Shipyard.

St. Johns Brewers' standard offerings are pretty good but not outstanding. I especially liked Pale Tourist.  However, their VI Massive series is fabulous.

Since I was vacationing without my beloved spouse, who also happens to love beer, I brought a few bottles back for him.  That was a pretty pricey proposition since I now would have to check my bag at the airport and that's a hefty $25 surcharge.

It turns out that I can buy St. John brews in New Hampshire and Maine. New Hampshire is practically my home away from home! Oh well. At least I may get to try some of the brews that I didn't have when I was in St. Thomas and St, John.

Cheers!

VI Massive's at the Tap Room

I spent a wonderful week on vacation with my family in St. Thomas.

One of the best days of the vacation was the day trip to St. John. We got an early(ish) start and hopped the ferry to the island.

The views on St. John are amazing, the water is incredible, and the beaches are gorgeous.

It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.


We spent the day driving around teh island site seeing, snorkeling, and relaxing on the sand.

There may have been a beer (or three or . . . ) involved.

We finished up the day at the Tap Room at Cruz Bay.

I enjoyed a number of St. John Brewers beers and a fabulous burger.

I was totally dying of thirst so I quickly sucked back a Pale Tourist. Thirst quench, I looked at the menu and spied the VI Massives.

Holy Beeroli!

Of course, I had to try them both.

As fabtabulous as the Double IPA (8.8% ABV) was, the Coffee Stout (8.9% ABV) was even better. And this is from a girl who will pick an IPA over a stout any day of the week.

Both beers are well crafted and delicous. And, strong. Soooo, good.

There's no doubt, that the next time I visit St. John, the Tap Room is going to be a do-over destination.

Pale Tourist

When I was on vacation in St. Thomas, I spent a lot of time on the beach and in the water.

Basically, I spent a lot of time in the sun. That was a lot more sun than this fish belly white northern girl usually gets exposed to.

That's how I went from a pale tourist to a painfully pink tourist in a very short period of time.

So, when I spied a bottle of St. John Brewers Pale Tourist for sale in the market at Charlotte Amalie I had to laugh and get a bottle.

I liked Pale Tourist. It was pleasantly hoppy and super refreshing. Just the thing to cool off with after a day in the sun.

The sunburn? So worth it!

Island Hoppin' IPA

One of the great things that I enjoyed during my island vacation was being able to wake up to soft caressing breezes, a gorgeous view from my balcony, and occasionally starting my day with a cold bottle of beer. Okay, maybe it was more than just occasionally. Don't judge me, I was on vacation.

One of my go-to breakfast brews was Island Hoppin' IPA (6.20% ABV) by St. John Brewers. Why? Because IPA's are generally my go-to beers and they were stocked in the fridge.

Island Hoppin' is what I would consider a "gateway" IPA. It's a mildly hoppy, easy going, drinkable IPA. A good beer for someone new to the world of India pale ales.

I had more than a few of those puppies with my feet kicked up and just enjoying life. And, that's what it's all about.

Island Summer Ale

Normally when I go on vacation it's to some place woodsy - like the mountains in New Hampshire or camping in upstate Connecticut.

I recently diverged from normality and went to someplace tropical with warm air, gorgeous blue waters, sandy beaches, and lots (and lots) of rum. I went to St. Thomas.

On arrival, as I was traversing the airport, there were free samples of Cruzan rum in a variety of flavors available. I could sample as many samples as I wanted to sample. I can say, with no hesitation, that my vacation was off to a rockin’ good start!

Within minutes at arriving at the rented condo in Cowpet Bay, I was hangin’ at the beach with my toes in the sand and the first of many (many) local brews in my hand.

There only a few brewers in USVI but the predominant local beer is brewed by St. John Brewers.

My first beer was Island Summer Ale (4.5% ABV). I can't say that I was blown away by this beer, but it is a tasty, drinkable brew that went down way easy. I was refreshed and relaxed; that's what vacation is all about.

Island Summer Ale is a brew that almost anyone can enjoy and makes for a pleasant beach-side companion.