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!