Words: Seth Lyda | Photo: Dan Florez
This month marks Ignition’s inaugural “Booze Reviews” section. The column is dedicated to bringing you a profile of different beers, with an emphasis on promoting regional microbreweries. The idea started when a few of us were sitting around, enjoying some craft beers, and got to talking about how many notable breweries we are surrounded by. Musicians like beer, we like beer, you like beer; so sit back and let us bring you the best brews that the area has to offer. This month features Intuition Ale Works and their I-10 IPA. The fine people at Intuition were nice enough to invite some Ignition staffers to take the tour and sample their beers, and even sent us home with a few extras to share with the office.
The Jacksonville, FL based brewery was established in 2010, and by February of 2012, Intuition became the first craft brewery in the state of Florida to can their own beers. They currently can 3 of their most popular beers (I-10 IPA, People’s Pale Ale, and John Boat Coastal Ale), but also brew an array of draught-only small batch specialties, which can be found in their Riverside taproom. Not sure what you want? Not to worry. The members of the taproom staff are Cicerone Certified Beer Servers, and can help guide you to the perfect beer. You can even catch live music from time to time.
This month is dedicated to Intuition’s I-10 IPA, and as a disclaimer, I don’t consider myself to be a beer connoisseur in any way, shape, or form. However, having sampled a multitude of craft brews, I certainly have an affection for quality IPA’s, and this beer ranks with some of the best. The I-10 IPA greets you with a brilliantly hoppy flavor from start to finish; in fact, it might it even be too bitter for the timid, but it’s perfect for me. Intuition describes the brew as an “extremely hoppy, true India Pale Ale. Our two-row malted barley and caramel malt come to life with a ?@!#-ton of Northwest hops. We use 4 different hops during the brewing process and during dry hopping. It’s music to your nose.”
While “taking in” the entire gamut of Intuition beers in their taproom, I ran into Mark Wisdom, Craft Beer Examiner for Examiner.com. According to Mark, “This is a fine example of a West Coast IPA. It’s big and piney from the moment it is set in front of you. Part of the aroma has a citrus component with hints of floral notes. The piney aroma follows through to the flavor, which also contains a touch of sweet, caramel maltiness, in a satisfying, medium-bodied brew. With this beer Intuition was looking to create a classic West Coast-style IPA, and by all measures, they succeeded in grand style.” (In addition to being the Craft Beer Examiner, Mark also appears on the television show “I Know Jax” as The Beer Guy. The show airs every Saturday night on CW17 in Jacksonville at 11:00pm. You can also find other beer reviews on his blog at http://sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com.)
Make sure to check out the Intuition Brewery and Taproom at 720 King Street, Jacksonville, FL. And keep up with their upcoming events and live music schedule at www.IntuitionAleWorks.com. Stay tuned for more Booze Reviews, and feel free to contact us if there is a particular brew you would like to see highlighted.
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