Beer Review - Xingu Black Beer

Epcot’s 2024 International Food & Winter Festival, what are you looking out for?


Griddled Cheese? It’s so yummy, I need to grill cheese more! 

Griddled Cheese

Unnecessarily Spicy Yet Extremely Tasty Carolina Reaper Pepper Curry Wings? So tasty, and yeah spicy enough to make my face numb!

Unnecessarily Spicy Yet Extremely Tasty Carolina Reaper Pepper Curry Wings

Fried Pickled Spears? Juicy and crispy!


Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup? It’s just so delicious!


Me, I was going in wanting a pint of “Xingu Black Beer” due to my love of dark beers. At this festival, there are several IPAs, lagers, and wheat beers. But a dark beer is something that got my attention. My research told me that there were flavors of black licorice, in this dark lager or Schwarbier. I love me some black licorice. Also, I found out that the Beverage Institute Tasting of Chicago named it the best dark beer in the world. I don’t know who they are…but I’m guessing they’ve sampled a lot of beers! I am in, and it’s a nice specialty beer to see offered in a festival. The Brazil booth was my personal goal for this event.

"Xingu Black Beer"

“Xingu Black Beer” is a drinkable 4.5% ABV beer with 20 IBUs. I found the beer to be smooth but very malty, almost giving me coffee notes as I drank. The IBUs didn’t give me bitterness. While not the same style as Guinness, that is the beer it reminded me in color, taste, and creaminess, but the dark black liquid may have tricked my mind a bit as it’s a really malt-flavored lager.


I will admit, especially this with festival, it’s fun drinking new beers from new places…with interesting histories. “Xingu Black Beer” is brewed by Cervejarias Kaiser Brasil SA (Kaiser), a Brazilian brewery. However, they do not own “Xingu Black Beer” because Xingu is a beer brand that contracts with Kaiser to brew their liquid. Xingu brand was created to celebrate the history of female brewing in the Amazon, where they make a dark beer-like liquid from the manioc root! While this beverage is not an exact clone, Xingu offers Schwarbier as a close equivalent. The brand itself is named after a tributary of the Amazon River, can we get this on the Jungle Cruise. When founded, it was started by 5 female friends in…Vermont! So we have a beer brand owned in the United States, honoring Brazil, and sold primarily in South America. In 2001, around 15 years after starting, the brand was sold to Brazilian interests. It is not uncommon for a beer company to contract brew, with Sam Adams originally using contract brewing to start up their enterprise. 

Schwarzbier as a style is a German dark lager. It can exhibit flavors of chocolate, or as in this case coffee. It gets its color from the dark malt used in the brew.


Who Drinks This?  If you are a beer fan and you want to taste a model Schwarbier per the industry, this is for you. Those who want to fill out their scorecard for beers of the world, this is why the International Food and Wine Festival exists. Those who want a licorice beer, can pass on by. I am personally glad I grabbed a pint, but it also is probably a one-and-done for this beer fan currently between pints.

Beer Review - Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen

As I raised my cup of “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” to my face and the bouquet of lemony aroma struck my nose, I had questions.

Is it Pledge (all rights reserved) or is it beer?

If you know what Pledge tastes like, you’ve got bigger concerns than is it beer! Call another adult, call Poison Control, call a medical professional…NOW!

Is it beer or is it a kid’s lemonade?

Also, if you are considering giving a kid a substance that may or may not be beer, I need you to slow down and ask the question again in your head, only say it out loud if alone!

And finally, does it really need a umlat? Yes, it needs an umlat…umlats are cool. They make your words sound fancy as you touch your tongue to your teeth… umlats are cool!

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”, see umlats are fun, is the 2024 Food and Wine Festival's new Schöfferhofer offering at the Germany booth found oddly in the Germany pavilion. You may know and love “Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen” which you can also find in Germany (and everywhere in the world including beer fridges in Antarctica) with this being a festival variant. Think of it as old man Loki using tons of Ricola cough drops, when “Schöfferhofer Prickly Pear Hefeweizen” was fun-loving Alligator Loki with all his sweetness! It is the official position of Between Pints one should not cuddle alligators. 

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”

Stop it Between Pints, and get back to business. “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” is a yellowish cloudly wheat beer with a clear but not overly strong lemon flavor. It is not Pledgy-like, or at least what I imagine it would taste like. It’s sweet but not so sweet that it comes off as lemonade to me. Instead, it was a lightly sweet lemon bread, thanks to the wheat style. It carries no IBUs, just the citrus of the added lemon. Untapped is dishonest or confused and says it has a 0 ABV, which would make it wheaty juice! But let’s safely assume it should never be placed in a tippy cup and carries the same 2.5% ABV that other Schöfferhofer hefe’s carry. Yes, at that ABV, you likely could give it and should give it to a young one, young adults trying to drink around the world! Though it may make their reels and TikTok’s less embarrassing or funny as they hit drink number four.

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”, has also caused a great tragedy for this household! I place all the blame on you sir, assuming this beer’s gender! “Schöfferhofer Prickly Pear Hefeweizen” is gone. While it may not have been my favorite, those I cared about found this sweet yet odd is it a fruit, flower, or cactus creation highly beloved! I received many a dirty look when I said it was gone…at least for this moment in time. 

Who Drinks This?   “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” is for those who enjoy lemon-flavored muffins and breads. It’s also for those who need to collect them all, drinking every Schöfferhofer flavor they can, keeping those variety packs moving off the shelf of their local grocery store. Finally, for those who want a light beer or beer that does not taste like beer, this is a pint for you.

Brewery Review - Sideward Brewing

Sideward Brewing Co.

As I looked past the bar into the brewhouse I just kept thinking, “That’s a lot of metal!” Sideward Brewing Co. in the Milk District was a brewery that for some reason I had slept on. But as I saw the investment they had made in stainless steel, like two brite tanks (I’ve seen some breweries make the mistake of not adding this finishing tank)...I was left impressed. I was shocked at all that metal in an unexpecting building. And now I know we can find Sideward cans all over the Orlando area. This means this is a brewery that could be a default beer choice for me at several central Florida locations.

Sideward Brewing Co. is situated in the beer-rich section of Orlando. One could travel between Tactical, GB’s Bottleshop, and several other craft breweries to make a fun day. Just make sure that someone is the designated driver because, within a few minutes, there are a lot of choices. 

All That Steel!

Parking is plentiful at this taproom, which I fully appreciate when visiting a new-to-me location. The venue honestly to me looks a little bigger on the outside. The sign says there is only room for around 90 inside. There is a bar and a few long tables. But there’s not really a lot of inside seating. Alongside the building is a covered patio with even more seating, where honestly most guests sat on the day of my visit. The reason it looks bigger on the outside is the brewhouse has a lot of stainless taking up the floor plan. There is also a full kitchen. The building has a lot going on.

Hey…let’s get past blueprints and get to the beer. Sorry, I skipped a flight. Flights were not an option, but I could order 5-ounce pours. Now with a flight, I may try to jump around styles. But this brewery had for me what I love…Imperial Stouts!

"Morningstar"

• “Morningstar”: Is a 10% ABV Boston Cream Pie Imperial Stout. Now, I’ve never had a Boston Cream Pie in a glass. But I did find that it may not have exactly matched the taste but definitely the vibe and reminded me of the donut I had that morning. It had a really nice sweetness, with much of that coming from the lactose in the liquid.

• “Is This Batter?”: This pour was another 10% lactose-backed Imperial Stout. It was brewed with adjuncts of pistachios, cacao nibs, vanilla, and cookie dough. Like “Morningstar” I also got the sweetness from the lactose combined with the vanilla and cookies. But I got more nuttiness than defined tones of vanilla and sweet dough.

Overall, I did think flavor wise they were very similar and on the sweet end of things due to the lactose. They were not must haves, but they scratched a sweet stout itch. I also grabbed sips and a pour from two other brews.

"Is This Batter" and "Moon Boots"

• “High Volume: Peach and & Mango”: This is a 4.6% ABV fruit bomb. It is really sweet and creamy, almost a smoothie sour. It reminded me of something that Drekker Brewing in the Midwest could produce. But the wild thing to me is this fruit snack is lactose-free, so that sweetness is all from the mangoes and peaches. It is yummy, and my companion loved it.

• “Moon Boots”: Every brewery needs a flagship IPA. “Moon Boots” is even listed on the menu as that flagship, so I didn’t need to overthink. Okay, Sideward, I see you. I’d love to know the IBUs, because I was caught off guard by the bitterness. The first sip slapped me in the mouth with the piney punch. I mean a flagship IPA typically has some bitterness, but approachable. As I sipped it grew and grew on me as it’s filled with flavor from that hop bite. It reminds me of a Double IPA, not most brewery's everyday drinker. I kept thinking, this isn’t a special release! And yes, If I can find this on tap at a restaurant…yeah, this is the IPA I would pick today from a list of flags.

Along with the beer, there were seltzers, wines, cocktails, and NA drinks. There’s also a full kitchen with apps and sandwiches that we did not sample. Based on the weekend afternoon crowd around me, there was a fairly diverse Sideward community. And everyone had something to drink.

Who Drinks Here? Well, me. I plan to drink here again. I will keep my eye out for Imperial bottles to grab and go, along with the changing tap list of 20. It is a location that could easily serve as a cornerstone of a non-park day brewery tour, where everyone can stop by. I love the Sideward graphics with demons, which while I hate scary things…for some reason I like scary beer images. I’d also say if you stop into a central Florida liquor store or bottleshop that has Sideward cans for sale, they are good options for filling up your resort hotel fridge.

Just remember, don’t sleep on Sideward Brewing Co. There’s some serious intention going on over there!

Beer Review - Hog's Head Brew

"Hog's Head Brew"

I do like myself a good Scottish Ale. They can be lovely after living in a bourbon barrel. I’ve also had some clunky ones that wanted to put the Scotch in Scottish Ale by going real peaty instead of sweet. These typically scare off most drinkers before they have time to enjoy the nice balanced flavor in this style.

“Hog’s Head Brew” is the beer which takes on the name of the best place to drink it, the Hog’s Head Pub In the Hogmeade section of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The beer is a 5.5 % ABV Scottish Ale with 0 IBUs. The taste is sweet, with a nice caramel tone from the malt sitting on backbone of the taste of traditional beer. The 0 IBUs is paired with no smokey or peaty flavors, making it a really nice and easy to drink Scottish Ale. This is another Wizarding beer brewed up by Carib Brewing USA.

I was going to say, I really enjoy this beer sitting in the Hog’s Head to escape the heat or sitting on the patio outside of the Hog’s Head and Three Broomsticks. But, with this being a Wizarding World brew, you will only get this pint when feeling magical and more likely than not this is the exact location you are drinking this. In this wizard cosplay moment, I might debate if I wanted sweet and grab this brew, or hoppy and grab a “Dragon’s Scale” instead. Maybe there is a spell to help one decide.

Let’s run back to Scottish Ale and what it is. They style can jump all over the flavor spectrum. Generally a malt-character is the beer’s trademark, which explains why “Hog’s Head Brew” is a sweet sip with malt greatly impacting the flavor of this potion. This sweetness helps many Scottish Ales to play well with aging programs. It will also give it the light brown color instead of yellows. But, as a brewer plays with it, they may add peat flavors in the recipe or aging program, or allow the grains to be smoked in the brewing process to give it a fire kissed flavor. Personally, I think this has mixed results with some Scottish Ales being too earthy, like Scotch. This can be a little hard to swallow, literally, with the earth taste in the beer. Also, not everyone likes smoked beers, which can also vary in quality from those that taste like liquid smoke has been added in the brew to those where the smoked grain lightly brings forth the smoke profile, like smoking ribs or brisket at home. But for “Hog’s Head Brew”, sweet is the overwhelming note.

Who Drinks This? Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has made you feel like a Wizard. You want an traditional beer style from the United Kingdom and are willing to be a little adventurous in flavor. Maybe you don’t like IPAs, you’re no hipster! Then you take a little adventure, but not too much, with a “Hog’s Head Brew” sitting right there in the Hog’s Head, refreshing yourself with some sweetness before you wait the long line to see Hagrid’s creatures. Honestly, this is the best way to pretend play!