Maybe you just have to be on island, under a palm tree and on a beautiful beach, to truly appreciate what Kevin and Cheech and St. John Brewers have done, producing their own beer brews.
Ratebeer.com says it is "an independent world site for craft beer enthusiasts and is dedicated to serving the entire craft beer community through beer education, promotion and outreach."
Ratebeer.com's reviewers gave the Brewers' VI IPA a rating of 33, out of a possible 100 points. A comment from a Danish taster said, "The body is quite weak and the mouthfeel dry; dark toffee flavor, with a strong but rather purposeless bitterness." While an Italian offered, "Medium beige head atop clear amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, orange/grapefruit, light bread." By comparison, a Pale Ale from Minnesota scored 100.
Even though, Virgin Island Pale Ale from St. John Brewers took home the "Best Overall Brewers" award from the 2008 Central Florida Beer Festival.
Just shows it's a matter of taste.
St.John Brewers' beers (there are four of them) are available at most food stores and bars on the island.
And don't miss their bar, the Tap Room, on the second floor at Mongoose Junction. Air conditioning, cold beer on tap, and free WiFi, too! Other reviews of Cheech and Kevin's brews are available at BeerAdvocate.com.
Can’t wait to get down there to visit the Tap Room. I’ve read a lot about Kevin and Cheech and would love to meet them.
Cheers to following your dreams of Beaches and Beer!
The beer is made in Portland, Maine by Shipyard/Casco Bay Brewery, not in the islands.
I’ll take a Tropical Mango, soaking in the beauty and serenity of St. John, any time. At the end of the day, it’s all a matter of personal preference. “Mouthfeel dry,” “purposeless bitterness” – Nonsensical!
Try getting it in the states, specifically California, next to impossible. I love the Summer Ale and even with Cheech’s help still have a hard time. So even if “Lem” is correct (he or someone always post the same comment) it’s still hard to get. Oh and don’t tell me BevMo has it because, they occasionally carry the Mango. I haven’t seen the Summer Ale in over a year now. Ughhh
I love this beer especially when smoking a j in the park by the ferry dock. The empty bottles are also great for catching sandflies. Love, love love the bar in mongoose- especially the a/c- it cools the sores on my legs.
Hey Lem,
Stop by our brewpub, The Tap Room, located at Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay, United States Virgin Islands and try one of the fresh brews or homemade soda that Kevin and I created on draft. I think you’ll enjoy them.
By the way, yes we contract brew with Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, ME USA, not Casco Bay Brewing (you have incorrect information). I just returned from Portland two weeks ago, where I brewed our Mango Ale and Liquid Sunshine. You should try it.
And as I said before in this re-posted story by Frank that if any of his blog visitors want to help us and invest several million dollars in building a full scale brewery on St John, please give us a call.
I hope this clears up any misinformation out there. And we all know there is plenty of it out there.
Cheech
Owner/Brewer
St John Brewers
Rod, thanks for the positive comments. Just spoke with the folks at Bevmo today. They are working on shipping some Island Summer Ale to CA soon. It is a summer seasonal ale, so it is not on the shelf for very long. Stay tuned… Summer Ale will be back in 2012!