Cold Mocha Cocktail, Crush Wine Bar, Stuart, Fla.

Stuart, Fla.,--If you've never had an iced, hard, mocha then you are missing out. Bartender Patrick Trischitli at Crush Wine Bar in Stuart, Florida, makes a delicious iced, hard mocha.

Iced, hard, mocha cocktail made with Florida ingredients and more, Crush
Wine Bar, Stuart, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

This past January, I got to try one while attending a joint event between Castronovo Chocolate Factory and Crush Wine Bar that featured the single origin chocolates paired with wine.

The mocha came at the end of the wine & chocolate tasting event. It included local mint, strawberries and Castronovo chocolate, along with Borghetti Caffe Espresso Liqueur and Bittermens-Xocolatl Mole Bitters.

"I do old style cocktails with a new style twist," said Trischitle.  It took five different tries to get the recipe right for this cocktail. "I make everything from scratch," added Trischitli with a smile.

Crush Wine Bar is closed Sunday and Monday. Tuesday to Saturday they are open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

They serve wine, beer, cocktails and some food. And they have very club feel later into the evening hours.

They are located at 100 South Dixie Highway, Stuart, FL 34994
Phone (772) 600-5836

Naples Beach Brewery, LLC, Naples, Fla.

Naples Beach Brewery makes very drinkable beers. Owned by Chicago native Will Lawsen, the brewery has been open for three years. It is not located on the beach but instead in an industrial area near the airport.

Naples Beach Brewery LLC, delicious micro-brewery on west coast of Florida,
Naples, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by R.T James

We got there the first night the new tasting was open to the public. To get a nine, four ounce glass beer flight we had to pay $15 dollars for nine tickets.

In 2007, Lawson, who had a degree in Turf Management Practices, enrolled fulltime in a brewing curriculum at Siebel Institute of Chicago. His Diploma course was taught in both Chicago and Munich. After he graduated he worked in a brewery in Ann Arbor before moving to Naples in 2011 with the goal of opening his own brewery.

I am a stout and porter drinker and do not often drink anything above 30 IBU (International Bitterness Scale, a measurement system for bitterness of beer going from low numbers to high) but at Naples Beach Brewery I tried higher IBU beers and liked them.

Owner/brewer Will Lawsen of Naples Beach Brewery LLC
Naples, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by R.T. James

I complimented Lawsen on his high IBU beers being drinkable. Lawsen said he didn’t believe that high IBU beers should be bitter. He believes in mellow beers.

I tasted Naples Classic—Golden Ale (5.2% ABV, 26 IBU), Farmhouse Ale—2 Belgian yeast (5.5% ABV), Paddleboard Pale (5.2% ABV, 35 IBU), Latitude Adjustment (7.2% ABV, 70 IBU) Triple C—Coconut Coffee Cream Stout (5.8% ABV, 28 IBU), Line Dropper-Fruit beer with mango & ginger (9% ABV, 24 IBU), Imperial Pub Ale—English IPA (8% ABV, 55 IBU), and Short & Skirty—Scotch Ale (6.8% ABV, 24 IBU).

The Naples Beach Brewery is open a very limited amount of days for a limited amount of hours, while they are under construction. Call for hours.

There was no food truck when we went but they did say we could purchase food from local restaurants and get it delivered.

4110 Enterprise Ave, Naples, FL 34104

Phone 239-304-8795

Darwin Brewing Company And Craft Beers, Bradenton, Fla.

This three-year old microbrewery in Bradenton, Florida has adventurous beers. Located next to McKechnie Stadium, Darwin Brewing Company got its name from Darwin Santa Maria owner of the restaurant Darwin’s on 4^th . Today however the brewing company is not affiliated with the now closed restaurant in Sarasota.

Beer Flight at with Lychee Madness in front
Darwin Brewing Company, Bradenton, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

The brewery has many beers with Andean-inspired seasonings. But the standout detail of this brewery is a female small-batch brewer called Leslie Shore.

I went in for a flight of beers, back in July, and found there was no set price. Instead, each beer’s price, at a lower glass size, was calculated and factored into a four-glass flight.

I ordered Circa 1926 Tangerine Wheat Ale (@ 5.2 % ABV), Charapa Spiced Porter (@ 7 % ABV), Hispster Alpaca Saison (@ 5.2 % ABV and crafted by Shore) and Lychee Madness Belgian Wheat (@6 % ABV and crafted by Shore).

All the beers came on a wooden board in the shape of a Peruvian bird. My favorite was the Charapa Spiced Porter made with Peruvian peppers, Florida orange blossom honey and Amazonian chocolate. It tasted like a delicious spicy dessert in a glass.

The other brews, while ambitious with ingredients like organic peaches, mint, basil and sorachi ace hops in the Hipster and local Florida lychees in the Lychee Madness, did not wow me in flavor. But my likings may not be the same as yours.

So if you are looking for a brewery with adventurous ingredient brews then Darwin Brewing Company beers are for you.

They are located at 803 17^th Ave., West, Bradenton, FL 34205

Phone 941-747-1970