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!

Brewery Review - Zymarium Meadery

Zymarium Meadery

Let’s drink like Thor Disney Adults!

It was date day, but I wasn’t fully in a brewery mood. That’s a lie, I am always up for a brewery! Okay, let’s be honest after visiting some fantastic Tampa area breweries the week before…I figured my date would consider non-beer options their first choice. So I got sneaky and went with a Meadery!

Having convinced my companion that we were running to Sideward, I led our longship to Zymarium Meadery.

The first question on my companion’s mind is simply what was mead. It wasn’t a good start for me to say the preferred brew of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s god of lightning. Mead is an alcoholic beverage that is made by fermenting honey, not grain like beer, and adding other ingredients for flavor. It has been called honey wine, but whenever I watch Thor, our hero is drinking it from big tankards like beer. As the server and the internet explained to me, there are still meads that very much come off like an Ale, which I believe the Norse one’s drink of choice. And there are bubbly ones that are more like wine, which I automatically knew was not my zone. There is also a whole range of dry to sweet, which means a range of flavor profiles could be satisfied.

"Florida Lychee"

My table ordered two very similar items, but with different tasting profiles. My companion ordered “Florida Lychee” a 6.5% ABV mead with zero IBUs. The choice was based almost entirety on the use of Lychee, a household favorite flavor, to flavor the mead. The light yellow liquid was a true sweet sweet lychee bomb, which may not please those who want a drier taste.

"Lychee Mead-Mosa"

I went with the “Lychee Mead-Mosa” which was labeled as being on more of the dry side. It was an 8% ABV, with what I assume was no IBUs, but it’s also Untapped unrateble as it was a blend of the “Florida Lychee” with their “Miel de Miel” mead which is the traditional mead that I think the hammer wielder would enjoy. The blend flattened out the sweetness quite a bit, making it more approachable for the non sweet lovers. And I found it delightful, and a great substitute for a fruit-forward ale. It also had a feel that felt more beerish to me than the non-blend which was more wine like in feel.

Feeling Like a Hive?

The taproom is a wide open medium room with seats and booths with a lot of black splashed around the room. The black does make the metal tap handles on the wall pop out. It’s a clean hip vibe that made me feel comfortable. But I will admit, having been to a lot of Midwestern Norse themed breweries, it was different than what I expected.

You don’t want to try mead…well, you must have gotten dragged here then! There are a number of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic options. I was lucky enough to pick up the collaboration beer “City Brewtiful” IPA which was brewed by pretty much every Orlando brewery together and has awesome artwork. I was tempted by a beer/mead collaboration where I could have selected a beer and a mead that Zymarium and Tactical brewed separately to be drank side-by-side.

I will say, I’ve spent some dough on specialty beers before and will do so again. I honestly have a price point in my head that says a good beer can cost this much to take home and a great beer can cost that much. And those prices for me generally all end at $50. But Zymarium had a lot of take-home meads that ran past and laughed at my number, making drinking a taster or pint on-site seem a lot more affordable. Is this what wine costs? It felt like I had entered the land of bourbon and not beer price tags!

Who Drinks Here? Honestly, if you like beer, wine, or spirits, you should give this a try. The menu is extensive enough that I think most tastes can find something to enjoy, much like my small little party did. It’s a nice spot to break up the IPAs in your life as you may visit other nearby venues like GB’s Bottleship or Sideward. I think that everyone, of drinking age, should give this spot a try at least once. Whoever drinks this mead shall have the power of Thor! I mean, who doesn’t want that?