When one begins listing off Florida breweries, names like Cigar City and Funky Buddha immediately come to mind. Between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton in South Florida, there’s another outfit that should be on your radar: Due South Brewing Company. More specifically, Due South calls Boynton Beach home, crafting a number of award-winning beers and canning many of them. Among the canned lineup is a “Core Series” of beers with a broad range of styles, including a cream ale, two IPAs, a porter and others.
Due South’s Caramel Cream Ale pours an amber brown with a tan-colored head that fades quickly. It’s a lot darker than a typical cream ale thanks to the dark crystal malts used to make the beer. In the nose, there’s a load of caramel and vanilla sweetness that reminds me somewhat of a sticky bun or a similar pastry. The aroma tricked me into thinking this beer would be overly sweet, but as I found out, it’s definitely not. And that’s a good thing.
The first sip is packed with caramel and vanilla, but the sweetness is subdued, offering the advertised flavors without becoming unpleasant. Caramel notes come from the dark crystal malts that give Caramel Cream Ale its amber hue, and the addition of vanilla beans offer an almost cream soda-like taste. The maltiness of the beer isn’t lost as there’s plenty of the more traditional flavors from that ingredient as well, much like you would get in an amber ale or perhaps even an ESB. However, even though this tastes like it could be much bigger beer, the 5% ABV keeps this Due South Brew quite drinkable.
As the beer warms, the caramel maltiness remains consistent in both the nose and the flavor. The vanilla fades a bit, but it doesn’t totally disappear. The caramel notes start to become even more like a pastry the further I get down the glass. But again, it never gets too sweet. In fact, this beer isn’t very sweet at all, aside from the natural sweetness imparted by its ingredients, and that’s a big part of what makes it so good. Due South recommends pretzels, mussels and apple pie to pair with this Caramel Cream Ale — all solid suggestions. I think it would also go nicely with a nutty cheese. It’s full of flavor and remains easy to drink, so it’s perfect for an after dinner beer, even if you’ve just had a big meal. And if you’d rather drink one in place of dessert, there’s enough caramel and vanilla here to fill that void admirably.
Brewery: Due South Brewing Company
City: Boynton Beach, Florida
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Primarily Florida, but also distributed to Eastern Pennsylvania, the Cayman Islands, and the Dominican Republic
Billy is the host of The Brewcast, a beer podcast that never records on a regular schedule. You can follow his drinking habit @beardbrews on Twitter.