Venue Review - The Burning Blade Tavern

The Burning Blade Tavern

I like some Wizarding World of Harry Potter beers. The Hog’s Head is my favorite hangout and sip location. But with the announcements of Universal Epic Universe, it wasn’t The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic that I most wanted to visit. It was, shockingly enough Dark Universe. I hate scary things! As I previewed Epic Universe, on my own dime, I will agree that Darkmoor is wonderful, immersive, and a place that I wish to visit again. Among the attractions in this spooky land is The Burning Blade tavern, with theming and specialty beer. While my family had attractions as their must-dos on our preview day, it was this pub with its distinctive burning windmill that I most wanted to hit.

The Burning Blade Tavern was my second stop in the Dark Universe. “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment” was stop number one…and well worth it. I was excited after hitting that attraction, and now my heart pounded as I saw the unburning blades of the windmill (spoiler, I never saw them burn). It skipped a beat as I opened the door and found…a giant crowd! The inside was dark and crowded. The side and back wall featured a long bar, with a lot of disorganization to order with some monster heads behind the bartenders. There was a smattering of tall tables. It was a bit overwhelming. But boom, mobile order! I put in our order, walked up to the bar, trying to find where one could pick up the order, which said it was ready, and was told to go outside. Outside on a patio, I found a few more standing tables, one window that did not indicate a mobile order pickup, and a long line. It’s that line I was told I could pick up from once I was informed my order was ready! So, I had gone mobile to stand in another line, which may have been longer than the inside lines. Only because my party had multiple people were we able to hold a table while I waited to pick up our food and drinks.

A monster hunter did enter the patio while I waited, and he was very entertaining. Not Igor entertaining, but definitely still fun. And it was needed as the process I used to save time didn’t save any time.

"Reaper's Reserve"

For me, what I have been dreaming of is “Reaper’s Reserve,” a brown ale with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. It’s a no IBU, 5% ABV offering. Now I know it’s never winter except in Hogsmeade in Universal, but it screamed Winter Warmer to me. Crooked Can brews the ale of the monster hunters, like many Universal specialty beers. I found the brown liquid to be almost purple in the right lighting, which gave it a spooky feeling. The taste was a light flavored light brown ale malty flavor with some baking spices, especially cinnamon. It was nice and enjoyable. Now my non-beer drinking companions in the group made “ugh” faces as they sipped. But as a dark beer fan, I found it enjoyable and something I would consider again. But I can see how a brown ale doesn’t scream refreshing in the heat.


The table also grabbed a “Darkthrone Mead,” another exclusive drink. It’s a blackcurrant boysenberry vanilla mead with a pink peppercorn infusion. It is a 12% ABV with no IBUs. It’s also a Florida creation, coming from Brewlihan, a meadery in Oakland Park, FL. It was a sweet and refreshing drink that “screamed” of berry jammy flavors.

For food we grabbed three items to share. The “Hunter’s Garlic Stake” is a garlic butter pretzel with a garlic dipping sauce. Honestly, it was a solid, but not my favorite, pretzel-like treat. We grabbed the “Staked Grilled Chicken,” a char-grilled chicken skewer with garlic naan, tzatziki, shaved cabbage, and a salsa roja. This was our least favorite item. It was so wet, with water sitting on the spinach and naan. Finally, we shared “Burning Cheddar Bites,” which are crispy fried jalapeno cheddar bites with a sriracha ranch. These had mixed reviews at the table, with the spice level either being too much or just right. We also found that we had to attack them with one bite. We know it’s a preview, and we as a group kinda hope the quality improves a smidge. At the moment, we would grab the Stake as being the most pretzel-like.


Who Drinks Here? Monster Hunters…Monster Hunters drink here. I love Dark Universe, and I hate scary things! I like the vibes that the Burning Blade may provide in the future as the newness wears off, some operations change, and maybe some tweaks to the food. It was a preview day, so things will change. I think most drinkers will find “Darkthorne Mead” to be a refreshing, safe choice, served in a small glass to fight the big ABV. And for those of us collecting all the specialty beers, “Reaper’s Reserve” must be enjoyed!


But sadly, it’s not the Hog’s Head of Epic Universe! Yet!

Beer Review - Volcano Blossom

 

I just wanted a beach beer. And instead, I got a mystery and a reminder of the problems of crowd-sourced data!

We headed off the the bay…Volcano Bay. And with a planned long day of fighting the fearless river and a water coaster, I knew that I would be picking up Volcano Bay’s specialty beer!

"Volcano Blossom"

“Volcano Blossom” is a no IBU, 5.5% ABV Pilsner. It’s a brew from Orange Blossom Brewing Company exclusively for Universal's third park, Volcano Bay. I found it fine. It’s a beer with no bite, and some slight fruity sweetness. It’s a lightly sweet beer that tastes like beer.

But here’s in the controversy. I had this beer around five years ago. And this pint reminded me of those first sips…beer flavor with no hop bite and nothing exciting to my palate. It’s a nice, not overly heavy beer that fits a theme park where you want some refreshment that won’t hold you down on a water slide. But, when I went to enter my sips into Untappd, I found two “Volcano Blossom” entries, and both exclusive to Volcano Bay. Somewhere, somehow, a second entry was set up by a beer fan for an exclusive Cigar City “Volcano Blossom” with an IPA style. Basically, it’s reported as a fruited “Jai Alai,” which, like the Pilsner version, is actively being rated on in the app. But let me reassure you, this IPA version does not exist. I assume you can likely find “Jai Alai” in the park. But “Volcano Blossom” is, as Orange Blossom Brewing reports on their website, is a Pilsner, brewed by them, and exclusive to the park. There is only one “Volcano Blossom.” I do wonder if, once upon a time, there may have been an IPA version from Cigar City. But if so, it’s not now, and it’s not when I visited Volcano Bay the first time over five years ago. What likely happened is a drinker enjoyed one or two, thought it reminded them of “Jai Alai” and dropped in an entry for the beer they imagined. But we got to stop rating the fictional Cigar City brew. 

 
Who Drinks This? You like Pilsners, including macrobrands, and are having fun at the beach, this is for you. If you are a Pale Ale or IPA fan, you may find the lack of bite a little underwhelming. But you’ve joined the islanders, and you need to enjoy their beer at least once. It will keep you in the mood and allow you to fight the waves!

Beer Review - The Triple

"The Triple"

It is the beer that cannot be named. Because if you order it with the Harry Potter trademarked name fans prefer, you won’t get one! Also, it’s not technically a brew but we’ve reentered the world of potions and beer blends.

I wandered into the Hog’s Head, one of my favorite attractions in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Now, I needed a line beer for Hagrid’s! But I wanted something different and since I have drank all of the specialty wizard beers and wanted something new, I grabbed a “Triple.” Now, this blend can be ordered as “The Triple” or “Three-Layer” or “Triple-Layer” beer. They will all get this potion mixed up for you. I felt more magical than my buddy who ordered a “Yuengling Lager” for our slow stroll to the motorbikes

The pint is a blend of two beers and a cider. The bottom layer is “Strongbow Cider”, the middle is a “Hog’s Head Brew,” and it’s topped off with “Guinness Stout.” Now you can mix this all up, but me, I drank this three-brew potion sip by sip, letting the layers mingle together while still keeping their black, amber, and yellow stripes distinctly clear and clean. But the middle and bottom both have some sweet tones to balance the malty start. 

"Yuengling Traditional Lager" and A "The Triple"

Overall, the flavor starts malty as you dip into the stout. But before the malty liquid layer is gone, you begin to hit some sweetness. The cider sweetness seeps into the ale in the middle even more as they mingle together longer. Then you get a nice sweet punch at the end, where the ale mellows out the sweetness of the cider just a pinch. It’s a journey in a plastic pint.

It’s a journey in a plastic pint. You get different taste experiences with the first sips and the last sips not matching. And the middle becomes a muddled up potion of different yet pleasant flavors.

Who Drinks This? Honestly, if I am at the Hog’s Head, I think I would choose a “Hog’s Head” or a “Daisy Root.” This is for someone who wants to experience something new or already has a taste for it. But I think if you want a pure Wizard beer…well, 2 of these brands have international audiences. It’s fun and sweet, but to me, it’s more for a mood than fitting a wizarding theme!