Today is National Key Lime Pie Day. Named for the small citrus fruits said to have been introduced in Florida’s Keys in the 1830s by Henry Perrine, a botanist and diplomat who discovered the plant in Mexico, this tart and creamy dessert can be found on almost every menu in the Sunshine State. One thing that will set a true key lime pie apart from the pretenders is the use of real key lime juice squeezed from fruit harvested from plants now native to parts of the West Indies and Mexico but with origins in Asia. The citrus plant produces a small green fruit that, when ripe, becomes yellow and offers an intense tartness. In celebration of National Key Lime Pie Day Peaks and Pints offers a flight five lime-flavored craft beers that we call Craft Beer Crosscut 9.26.17: A Flight of Lime.
Wingman Lime Gose
4% ABV
Gose derives its name from the river in Germany, located in a mineral-rich region centered around the town of Leipzig. In the Middle Ages, it’s where gose beer got its start, according to the German Beer Institute. It’s one of the few beer styles in the world that calls for high-salinity water, which historians attribute to the high salt content in the city’s water. After a dormant period, gose beers were brought back to life after the fall of the Berlin Wall, as Leipzig could once again divert some of its limited grain resources back to brewing beer. Wingman Brewers’ Lime Gose is smooth, flavorful, light and refreshing. Aroma is a tart lime with an obvious salt. Flavor is a juicy lime constant, with a slight salt that makes you want to drink this whole thing down quick. It’s a bit sweet, bubbly and sticky in the finish.
Uinta Lime Pilsner
5.3% ABV
For many years, Uinta Brewing Co. had been playing it safe in the national craft beer game, concentrating on making traditional styles as technically perfect as possible. Uinta Brewmaster Tanael Escartín and Head of Research and Development Isaac Winter said screw that. Meet Uinta Lime Pilsner, if you haven’t already. Winter drank endless amounts of Tecate, Dos Equis and Pacifico while figuring out what Lime Pilsner should taste like. Uinta’s Lime Pilsner is what a lot of these beers should be; it’s lean, dry and effervescent up front, followed by a long citrus finish. It was initially intended as a summer-only release, but interest from distributors was so fierce that it quickly became a year-round offering.
Urban Family Zested
6% ABV
It’s our guess the Urban Family folks take break walks around the Magnolia neighborhood loop, stopping on the southwest side to stare off into the Pacific Ocean. Those moments of Zen must be the inspiration for the Magnolia, Seattle brewery’s decision to brew a citrus sour. The French and Belgian farmhouse-forward thinkers have a real zesty treat in their Zested — a blend of citrus zests including grapefruits, oranges, limes and lemons. Aroma is citrusy and flowery and funky. Taste is fruity and sour — strong sour but not vinegary. Low sweetness. Delicious.
O-Town Tropical Cream
5% ABV, 24 IBU
The American cream ale style emerged prior to Prohibition as brewers looked for a beer to compete with the emerging popularity of American light lager. Cream ale is light and easy drinking. It’s often overlooked among craft beer enthusiasts because it comes off as a little too “big brewery,” with its clean, non-offensive personality, which some mistake as bland … unless it receives the O-Town Brewing treatment. O-Town’s Tropical Cream is just that, with coconut, key lime and mango plus a smooth mouthfeel and finish.
Breakside Beachcomber
9.2% ABV, 25 IBU
Portland’s Breakside Brewery has tiki on the brain. Its strong golden ale Beachcomber with fresh ginger and Belgian yeast strains ages 11 months in Caribbean rum barrels, developing rich notes of coconut, molasses and burnt sugar. Breakside thought the flavors pointed so clearly toward tiki cocktails that the brewers decided to make a cocktail beer out of it, aging the beer on vanilla bean, toasted almond and a bit of lime zest. Mahalo!
