You’ve heard me complain about the lackluster selection at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival’s Belgium booth for years. For years it’s been fully populated by AB-InBev beers and Disney hasn’t really tried to make it any better, despite Belgium being one of the greatest beer countries in the world.

Palm, however, is not a subsidiary of AB-InBev. Finally, an outsider at the Belgium booth. However, it’s also a beer I’m not very familiar with.

Palm Breweries is a collection of craft breweries, the most recognizable to me being Rodenbach. Palm itself is brewed in Steenhuffel, where brewing began in the town inn in 1686 and continues at the Palm brewery there today. Spéciale was developed in 1908 as a top-fermented Belgian pale ale.

Spéciale has the distinct scent of Belgian yeast along with a bit of malt. Sweet bread, Belgian yeast, and a bit of pepper in the taste. It’s light bodied and a bit on the low side of carbonation.

Is it an incredible Belgian ale? No, not really.

Is it as good as a Duvel even? That depends on what you prefer, but for me probably not.

Is it a step in the right direction? Absolutely.

Are we ever going to see a Belgium booth with Cantillon? No, it’s unlikely Disney could procure enough to last an entire Food and Wine Festival. However, stepping up from the AB-InBev standards is worthwhile, and I hope Palm Spéciale is the first move in that direction.

Perhaps something more recent?

Today is the beginning of the 2015 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival! Let’s talk.

First, the Food and Wine Festival Beer List and iOS app are updated. A couple of locations are still being pinned down, so the locations may shift in the next day or two.

Second, beer sizes appear to be the same as last year. Six ounces for a single pour, and four ounces each for flights with four beers in the flight. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon.

When people think of the alcoholic output of Scotland, they think of scotch, and they should! 

Scotch is great, and if you make it out to Scotland I highly recommend visiting at least one distillery (that’s Glenfiddich above). And yes, the Scotland booth this year still carries the Glenfiddich flight. Go for it, I won’t judge.

However, I’m excited to see BrewDog added to this year’s Scotland booth. I wasn’t able to make it to BrewDog when I went to Scotland. Since I was there for work I only had limited touring days, and Fraserburgh, the original BrewDog brewery location, was a couple of hours away by bus.

BrewDog has been known for their extremely high ABV beers, including The End of History. This particular beer was 55% ABV; only 12 bottles were made and each bottle was stuffed in a taxidermied animal. It’s pretty much impossible to get a bottle of The End of History, but BrewDog still produces a 32% ABV beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin and a 41% ABV beer called Sink the Bismarck!

Punk IPA is one of their flagship beers and has a normal amount of alcohol; it’s a 5.6% ABV India Pale Ale. For some reason I had trouble finding this one and could only find Hardcore IPA (a double IPA at 9.2%) until yesterday.

Somewhere between golden and copper, Punk IPA is a transparent liquid with a small white head. Orange, grass, and pine aroma fill the nose, and the flavors match up pretty well along with a biscuit malt backbone. The hops are bitter, but not overly so. It’s a little thin, but everything blends in nicely and it’s a nice beer to sit back and drink.

More 2015 Epcot Food and Wine Festival reviews are coming!

Did you miss me?

It’s not like I’ve been radio silent; I’ve been posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, the site itself is long overdue for a new article, so let’s get on with it.

Have you heard the full menus for the 2015 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival are up? I’m going to update the data for the Food and Wine Festival Beer List app soon.

The Craft Beers booth (I presume it’s still The Odyssey this year but haven’t seen a map yet) is serving beers from Florida only. The good news is that there are some special beers here including a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from Shipyard. The bad news is that I won’t be able to get ahold of most of these ahead of time.

However, at the Hops and Barley booth this year one of the beers from SweetWater in Atlanta, GA will be featured. Take Two Pils has a very psychedelic look to it and the marketing materials make numerous Alice in Wonderland references.

Take Two Pils is a straw-colored pilsner with a large white head. A light citrus and malt scent in the nose along with a touch of floral. The beer has a crisp taste with a bit of lemon and floral hops. Only a small amount of bitterness to this one. Carbonation is fairly high and a somewhat thin liquid, but appropriate for a pilsner.

When you’re looking for something light and refreshing at the 2015 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, grab a glass of this one. Your best bet is probably to grab this one in a flight, which will also include Goose Island Honker’s Ale, Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, and Dogfish Head Sixty-One IPA.

More beer reviews for the 2015 Epcot Food and Wine Festival are coming!

Some say that Racer 5 and Grand-Am are brewed just for Cars Land…

This ends today’s lesson in “don’t believe everything you read on Twitter”.

However, Bear Republic products are starting to get more exclusive. Recently they pulled distributon from Texas and other states because the California drought is affecting their water supply. It shouldn’t affect Disneyland since Bear Republic is a California brewery, but we should keep an eye on whether distribution to Florida continues as we know how much everyone loves a Racer 5 at Epcot.

So how did I end up with a six pack of Bear Republic Grand-Am American Pale Ale if distribution to Texas has been halted?

I found it at the grocery store just the other day. It’s a beer I don’t usually see at the grocery store either. Perhaps the distributor was trying to clear stock since they won’t be getting any more. Only a few six packs remained.

Grand-Am has a noticeable amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle; a half-inch worth perhaps? It pours a cloudy but fairly bright orange with a nice sized white head that dissipates slowly. Grassy and slightly floral nose with a hint of orange peel. Citrus continues in the taste with some grapefruit and orange as well as the hop bitterness on top of a bready malt flavor. Medium carbonation, light bodied with a clean finish.

Grand-Am is a nice pale ale and fits in well at Cars Land in California Adventure, but it’s definitely not an exclusive. If you’re looking for something a little lighter than Racer 5, maybe Grand-Am will do the trick. However, if you’re looking for as few hops as possible, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.

Conveniently, the Resort Monorail loop will take you to the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian resorts for a monorail bar crawl. If you’re staying at one of these resorts, just hop on the Resort Monorail. If not, the easiest way to start is to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and get on the Resort Monorail from there if you’re staying at one of the other Disney World resorts. You could also park at the Ticket and Transportation Center and get on the Resort loop there.

Let’s assume you start at the Magic Kingdom; from there the Resort Monorail will take you to the Contemporary Resort. Head down from the Grand Canyon Concourse to the ground floor where you’ll find our first stop, The Wave!

Featured at The Wave is the Orlando Brewing organic beer sampler. It includes pours of Orlando Blonde, Orlando Pale Ale, and Orlando Brown Ale. In addition, The Wave carries the expanded standard beer menu, so you can expect beers such as Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat and Left Hand Milk Stout (not the nitro version unfortunately).

Once you’ve had your fill at The Wave, head back up to the monorail station and continue your journey through the Ticket and Transportation Center to the newly updated Polynesian Village Resort. We’d be remiss in not recommending the brand new Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto for your stop at the Polynesian.

At the Grog Grotto flights of Kona beer are served as well as several others. The Kona sampler includes pours of Kona Longboard Lager, Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale, and Kona Castaway IPA. Sit inside for the full effects and mood of the Grog Grotto or enjoy live music on the Tiki Terrace.

One more stop on this monorail ride: our recommendation for the Grand Floridian is a bit unusual. Instead of going to the restaurants or Mizner’s Lounge, our suggestion is to head down to the pool! Both the Beach and St. John’s Pool Bars serve a varied selection including a Cigar City Special Release rotating tap.

At this point the Resort Monorail heads back to the Magic Kingdom. Bonus points for taking a boat over to the Wilderness Lodge or heading back into the Magic Kingdom for a Be Our Guest Restaurant reservation!

Click here to view the other articles in our crawlDisney series!

A few weekends ago my friends and I headed over to Epcot to check out the 2015 Flower and Garden Festival that kicked off March 4th.  This and Food & Wine are easily my two favorite times of the year at Epcot, for obvious reasons.  Since I’ve been such a slacker with writing reviews for B&E, I forced the friends that were with me to try some of the beers and help give their thoughts.  We didn’t get to hit all of the beers so hopefully there will be a Part 2 in the future (hopefully….).

We quickly decided to head clockwise starting in Mexico (we skipped Urban Farm Eats for now) so we grabbed a Passport to keep track of what we try and headed over to Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico).  The line was surprisingly short and we were quickly enjoying our grub and drink.  I’m a sucker for tacos and flan so this was a perfect start to the adventure.

• Tecate draft beer with a Patrón Citrónge floater
• Taco al pastor – Corn tortilla filled with achiote marinated pork, garnished with grilled and diced pineapple, onions, cilantro and salsa verde
• Flan de queso con chocolate abuelita – Mexican chocolate custard with whipped cream and cinnamon

The tacos were definitely in our Top 3 items that we tried that day.  The flan was a little too thick for my liking and not too chocolate-y.  And the Tecate with Patron floater?  Hmm… lets just say that we should just ordered the tequila flight instead.  This was a liquor/beer combination that non of us enjoyed AT ALL.  It was just odd, and really strong.  So I guess if you’re looking for some bang for your buck, attempt to drink a few of these.  Even the big drinkers in our group were struggling to finish this one cup between a few of us.

We made a quick stop at the Lotus House for the Kung Pao Chicken Bun (it was tasty!) but none of us wanted to try the Tsingtao beer since it’s such a staple in Disney already.

The Florida Fresh booth was up next and our first beer flight!  There was a few items I wanted to eat as well but I stuck to the watermelon salad (one of my fave combos is watermelon and feta and this didn’t disappoint).  Others had the shrimp and grits and said it was delicious.  Next time I’m going for the lemon tart!

But onto the beers, shall we?  First thought when I went up to the beer area to pick up my purchase… All the samplers are sitting out pre-poured and waiting for their guests.  Eh, so they weren’t as cold as I had hoped but we had seen this happen at Food & Wine as well.  Luckily it wasn’t 923 degrees outside so it wasn’t too bad.

• Blonde Ale, Orlando Brewing Company, Orlando, FL
  • Another beer found around property, you can see my old B&E review here from The Wave.  Everyone agreed that this was an easy drinking beer, pretty plain and standard.
• Channel Marker Red Ale, 3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg, FL
  • This surprisingly got a thumbs up from everyone, including the random couple sharing the table with us.  A traditional red ale for all you red ale drinkers.
• Feast of Flowers Farmhouse Ale, Florida Beer Company, Cape Canaveral, FL (Festival exclusive)
  • Pretty sure this was the entire tables favorite of the sampler.  Definitely some floral hints but not too hoppy.  Pretty enjoyable on a warm day!  I believe this debuted last year at Flower and Garden and is specifically brewed for the festival.  Pretty snazzy.
• Jai Alai, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
  • This baby can be found in almost every nook and cranny of WDW property.  Like always, I’m not a huge IPA fan.  Ok, I actually hate them.  This was definitely on the lighter end of the hoppiness scale, but still I wasn’t a fan.  My other friends said it was a decent IPA.

Italy was next on our journey but since none of us really wanted any of the food offered, we decided to head into Tutto Gusto and get the same beer offerings, and then some.  We grabbed a table after some confusion at the hostess stand and ordered a sampler.  The current offerings were Birra Moretti La Rossa, Birra Moretti (both offered at the Primavera Kitchen booth outside), TipoPils Birrifico Italiano, Anderson Valley Seasonal (Winter Solstice), Goose Island Seasonal (Ten Hills – I believe?), and Sam Adams Seasonal (Cold Snap).

I’m a little bummed that Tutto Gusto doesn’t offer more Italian beers, like they used to when it first opened.  I know they have to appeal to the masses and such, and possibly a supply issue, but I can get Anderson Valley, Goose Island, and definitely Sam’s anywhere else.  We could select 4 of the beers for the sampler so we chose everything but the IPA (Goose Island).

• Birra Moretti La Rossa – I’ve had La Rossa a few times (click the link to the left to read the reviews) and still think that it has a stronger hoppy flavor than what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it.  It went well with our meat platter
• Birra Moretti – I’ve also reviewed this one in the past and it’s still a typical lager.  Nothing too amazing but I enjoy it
• TipoPils Birrifico Italiano – Another past review for me, a typical pilsner, easily drinkable
• Anderson Valley Seasonal (Winter Solstice) – probably our favorite of the entire sampler!  Had a sweet flavor to it, caramel like.  We were all fighting for the last sip!
• Sam Adams Seasonal (Cold Snap)  – One of the better Sam brews in my opinion.  Had a strong coriander flavor and everyone enjoyed it.

The Smokehouse was the next stop on our adventure and we were all excited to try the sampler.  I think we all agreed that this was our favorite sampler of the festival.

• Floridian Hefeweizen, Funky Buddha Brewery, Oakland Park, FL – One of my favorites, very refreshing with some hint of bananas.  We all agreed this was a winner
• Category 3 IPA, Due South Brewing Company, Boynton Beach, FL – Another IPA so it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that we weren’t fans of this one.  Moving on….
• Maple Bacon Stout, Shipyard Brewing Company, Clearwater, FL (Festival exclusive) – I really enjoyed this!  The maple flavor stood out for me with a slight smokey background.  Not overly ‘bacon-y’ so don’t be scared!
• Billy’s Chilies, Twisted Pine Brewing Company, Boulder, CO – Another surprising winner in my mind.  There was a slight kick at the end of this but not overpowering in any way.  Dare I say refreshing?

We skipped Hanami since we can get Kirin all over the Japan pavilion.  Same with Casa in Morocco.

Next on our list was Botanas Botánico.  Unfortunately I didn’t try the Polar Beer this time around but we did get some good eats.  The Cachapa con Queso and White Corn Arepa with Braised Beef and Chayote Slaw might be two of my favorite food items at this year’s festival.

To finish up our eating and drinking extravaganza for the day, I dragged my friends to the Urban Farm Eats booth for some healthier grub.  The kale Salad with dried cherries, almonds, goat cheese, and white balsamic vinaigrette is easily in my Top 4 list of items (along with the two Botanas ones I mentioned above and the tacos from Mexico).  Really wanted to also try the Urban Mary (their take on a bloody mary) but for the sake of this blog, I tried the Crispin Blackberry Pear Cider.

We all enjoyed the cider, which surprised even the manliest of men that I was with that day.  It wasn’t too sweet or overpowering.  Definitely refreshing and light!

After I was completely stuffed with kale salad (is that even possible?) we decided to call it a day, with the promise to return again soon.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get you guys a Round 2 post before the festival ends!

A few comments from Twitter:

Glad you found us Chris!

Are the comments an omen of things to come?

Honestly, this beer dominated all its matches, and even received almost 2/3 of the vote in the championship match. Even though the championship started off pretty close, this beer pulled away and held onto the lead until the polls closed Sunday night.

Whether you voted:

• Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA vs. Chimay Blue
• USA vs. Belgium
• Imperial IPA vs. Quadrupel
• Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater vs. Be Our Guest Restaurant

or whatever other criteria you came up with, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA beat Chimay Blue to become the 2015 Disney Beer Tournament Champion!

It’s been another successful Disney Beer Tournament! Be sure to keep checking back for new articles and such both about beer and theme parks, and we’ll do it all again this time next year!

It’s finally time for two beers to try to bring home the bacon. To be honest, the polls were pretty decisive from the start. These two beers started out in the lead and never relinquished it. Let’s get right to it.

First, on the left side of the bracket…

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA never really gave St. Bernardus Abt 12 a chance. The massive amount of votes seen last round didn’t show up this time, but 90 Minute still won.

However, it faces the winner of the right side of the bracket…

Chimay Blue finally gave Rogue Dead Guy Ale the loss many believe it deserved much earlier in the tournament. Rogue Dead Guy Ale had beaten Boulevard Tank 7, Bell’s Two Hearted, and Ommegang Three Philosophers on the way to the Final Four.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale also made it to the final round of the 2013 Disney Beer Tournament, but lost to Unibroue La Fin Du Monde. It’s not Dead Guy’s first rodeo. Can it overcome the Dogfish?

Here’s the complete bracket for those of you who like to look at it. As always, click to enlarge.

This one’s for all the marbles, the whole ball of wax, and any other idioms you might want to throw in here. Let’s get down to business (to defeat the Huns…).  Vote now for your 2015 Disney Beer Tournament Champion!

Polls will close Sunday, April 5, 2015 at 6:00 PM Central Daylight Time. This should be a close one; be sure to vote!

We’re down to the Final Four beers in the 2015 Disney Beer Tournament!

Sometime late Saturday night or Sunday, a post on Facebook started getting shared around. I haven’t seen this post personally, but the large influx of views from Facebook, the random comments on the site, and the voting all showed that there was a post out there encouraging people to vote for Dogfish Head 90 Minute. Sometimes one of the great mysteries of the Internet is tracking down where a link came from. If you came here from a post on Facebook on Sunday and don’t mind sharing the source, let us know below!

The polls themselves were pretty close until I checked around mid-day Sunday; we then saw some clear breakaways. But first, as always, your tweets!

Three Philosophers and Dead Guy went back and forth for a long time!

Were those the final choices? Let’s find out! Each winner will be announced, then the polls will follow. Voting for the fifth round will end Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 6:00 PM!

First up, the Mickey region winner is…

St. Bernardus Abt 12!

This ended up being the closest match of the tournament although Abt 12 led most of the time. Bell’s Oberon just couldn’t pull together a comeback.

St. Bernardus Abt 12 will be facing the Donald region winner. But first, let’s present the Minnie region winner…

Rogue Dead Guy Ale!

This one was close until sometime on Sunday and was tied on multiple occasions. The influx of voters on Sunday elevated Dead Guy Ale over Ommegang Three Philosophers. It just goes to show that you can never be sure a beer’s going to win until it’s over!

St. Bernardus Abt 12 will be facing the Donald region winner, who is…

This one started out close as well, but 90 Minute had already started to pull away from Hopageddon when the influx of Facebook voters started. Those voters really just removed the doubt.

Now let’s see who Rogue Dead Guy Ale will face; here’s the Goofy region winner…

Chimay Blue!

Throughout the entire round, Ballast Point seemed to lag just a bit behind Chimay Blue. Sculpin would catch up a bit then fall behind again. The voting on Sunday only increased that gap.

Only two polls today; the winners of these will face off for the tournament championship!

First, the left side of the bracket:

The right side of the bracket:

I’ve saved the full bracket for the end for those who like to see it.

Voting will end Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 6:00 PM. Be sure to have your votes in before then!

In just a week and a half, 64 beers have been reduced to eight!

Most of the matches in the third round were close ones. Let’s look at what you had to say.

Timehop gave us this lovely reminder.

Via Napoli wasn’t pleased with La Rossa’s pairing.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You’ve probably already figured out the results from the photo at the top, but here’s the updated bracket.

Let’s get into the regions and see who’s battling for the regional championships! Voting for the Elite Eight round will end Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 6:00 PM Central Daylight Time.

In the Mickey region, one of the gems of the Walt Disney World expanded beer menu, St. Bernardus Abt 12, is facing Bell’s Oberon. Oberon is one of the beers that’s helped the American Adventure pavilion at Epcot have a better craft beer selection!

Who wins the Mickey region? Vote now!

The Minnie region comes down to Ommegang Three Philosophers, a beer that’s not widely known to be at Walt Disney World, but we’ve seen it at California Grill, Citricos, and Il Mulino. It faces Rogue Dead Guy Ale, which would fit in perfectly at Pirates of the Caribbean but has been featured at Todd English’s bluezoo and Raglan Road.

The Minnie region needs a champion! Who will you choose?

The Donald region comes down to a battle of the imperial IPAs! Dogfish Head 90 Minute has had the easiest road so far, but Napa Smith Hopageddon is a beer found around the deluxe Walt Disney World resorts as well as in multiple locations at Disney’s California Adventure.

Does the number one seed become the Donald region champion? Or will the bicoastal beer pull through? Vote now!

Chimay Blue narrowly beat Trois Pistoles to make it to the Goofy region final. It’s another bicoastal beer; it can be found in several places at Walt Disney World and at the UVA Bar in Downtown Disney Anaheim. Its opponent is Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, the third bicoastal beer in the Elite Eight. Sculpin is featured at California Grill in Walt Disney World and the Sonoma Terrace in Disney’s California Adventure!

One more regional champion must be crowned! Who will win the Goofy region?

For those of you keeping track, the Elite Eight beers consist of two imperial IPAs, one IPA, two quadrupels, a wheat beer, and a maibock.

Votes must be in by 6:00 PM Central Daylight Time on Sunday, March 29, 2015. On Monday morning we’ll find out the Final Four!