Beer Review - Daisyroot Ale

Does a pint make you a bigger or smaller personality? In the world of Harry Potter, Daisy Roots can be found in every well-stocked potions cabinet, as it is an essential ingredient of Shrinking Solution. Would this Golden Ale work magic on me and make me smaller?

"Daisyroot Ale"

“Daisyroot Ale” is a 4.8% ABV with no IBUs specially brewed by Crooked Can Brewing Company for Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I do need to chuckle a little bit as I researched the style. Universal’s website calls this a “refreshing traditional English mild with a light malty flavor profile.” Untapped lists this as a different traditional English brew, “Blonde/Golden Ale.” Untapped wins on this concoction. The color is bright yellow and clear, reminding one of the daisy that inspired it. There is no color from malt, and an English Mild is generally a darker color. An English Mild is also generally beardy or malty. “Daisyroot Ale” is the opposite of that, with it being smooth and clean with a slight sweetness on the end. There is no hop bite as we would expect by the lack of IBUs. It is light, crushable, and easy to enjoy. Lager drinkers would find this to be very approachable, especially if one wanted a beer that reminded them of their 12 packs at home.

I’m sad to say if you ordered this brew based on Universal’s menu, you won’t get the potion you are looking for!

Golden Ales or Blonde Ales gained popularity in the early days of craft brewing in the 1970s and 80s as it provided an approachable and sweet pint to drinkers who may have been wary of the more hop or malt-forward recipes that many early craft brewers created their reputation on. A British version of a Golden Ale, much like this one would downplay the hop flavors, while an American version would look to highlight the hop character in the glass. “Daiseyroot Ale” is a very English brew and something that fits in the Wizarding World very well.

Did “Daisyroot Ale” provide a shrinking effect? As I sipped mine, I needed a break from the cares of the day. I sat behind the Hog’s Head sipping, wizard-watching, and cheering for those running from velociraptors. I will give it credit for shrinking the reality of the Muggle world away even for a brief time.

Who Drinks This? While this is not my favorite of Wizarding beers, it did surprise me on how well-balanced and refreshing it was. “Daisyroot Ale” will likely be my choice on days I want something light or am hot and want to cool off. The lack of hop and malt makes it the easy I don’t want something heavy Wizarding choice. Also if you are a parent pulled by your wizard into the Wizarding World and want a beer that reminds you of a lager or pilsner of the macro variety, this is a sweeter version of a familiar beer.

Beer Review - Dark Forest Ale

A Pint of Dark Forest Ale

I’m in a mood! But maybe I did it to myself. I love dark beer. It’s my favorite. When I saw Dark Forest Ale in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios at Universals Islands of Adventure I was excited.

I saw dark…and assumed it would be at least a brown ale.

I saw forest..and I thought woodsy, maybe a little spicy.

And I swear I saw spice in a description somewhere. But maybe I tricked myself!

I thought, yes something different and new, I bet it’s a spicy winter warmer style beer that will remind me of cold days as I see the snow-capped buildings of Hogsmeade.

I was wrong!

Dark Forest Ale by Crooked Can is a drinkable 5% ABV copper-colored beer with no IBUs. It is light, drinkable, and reminds me so so much of Yuengling Traditional Lager! The color is similar and I think the flavor is similar. I walked away wondering if that was what I just drank. But nope, it was a theme park specialty beer that I hoped was going to be different than other offerings, but I think I could have just been as satisfied with another copper-colored beer in Dragon Scale which also has no IBUs.

So first, let’s be fair. I do love a themed beer and I love craft beer. So I do tip my wand to Universal for choosing again to partner with Crooked Can as a local craft brewery. I also think that Crooked Can as a brewery has dialed in making a drinkable crowd friendly beer. I just wanted something dark, spicy, and as dangerous as the scariest creatures in the Dark Forest.

Who Drinks This: You like lagers, you like Yuengling, and you want to be themed so you find yourself with a dilemma as you spend a buck fifty more for this draft than you would outside of the Wizarding World for Traditional Lager. Then you flipped a coin and selected this potion over Dragon Scale!

 

Beer Review - Dragon Scale

The goal of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort is that you are in a world of magic…so no regular, muggle-made, junk can creep into this world. Everything you see is unique to the theme and setting because you’re a Wizard (insert name here), meaning no Big Named Beers for you! Evanesco Budweiser!


 

A Pint of Dragon Scale

Accio Dragon Scale!

Dragon Scale, a wizarding beer, can be found throughout the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Recently, I had one at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley in Universal Studios Florida. I was instantly hit with the red color, which reminded me of the red eyes of the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the largest and most ferocious of dragons. But sadly, this breed’s scales are not red but gray. The color is nice, with you being able to see through the glass to reveal your favorite witch or wizard sitting across the table. The potion, described as a red lager, in the magical plastic pint, tasted miraculously like beer.

When I say beer that tastes like beer, that’s my general description of a common lager. It is what one has come to expect from those days of mindless drinking before our alcohol intake became a cool new annoying hobby. And here, it does taste like a beer but slightly elevated. The malts to create the red color, give off some grainy flavor that is quite pleasant. But it is a lager that tastes like a solid, drinkable, crushable lager that still has enough flavor wizards who turn their noses up to beer that cannot be named are not allowed to mock you. With an ABV of 5.3%, it is also possible you might have a few. It is super approachable, as long as you like the taste of, well, beer. It has no hop bite at all. So it should be approachable for many.

All kidding aside. It is hard to make a good lager, especially for a craft brewery, which really needs to get the liquid out of tanks and into the hands of wizards. But the potion masters seem to have put it all together. A wizard brewery hidden in the muggle world named Carib Brewery USA, makes this concoction over at Cape Canaveral. Hmmm, that’s an odd name. Oh, because it’s not a small craft wizard or witch. No, Carib Brewery is a Trinidad-based brewery that used to have contracts with InBev, the makers of Budweiser. They purchased the Florida Beer Company in 2016, and it is clear they have brought the lessons of making large-scale lagers outside of the US at their production site in Florida!

Honestly, I’m not a lager-loving wizard. But drinking a Dragon Scale while sitting in a themed restaurant, and carrying your first wand at your side, Maple and Unicorn, just seems magical. Just remember to drink and apparate responsibly!

Who Drinks This? So you’ve been in Universal’s theme parks all day. You got yourself a refillable cup, congratulations on earning house cup points for showing that wisdom. You’ve been filling it with Bud Light or Coors Light of the Muggle World. Now that you’re in a magical place these brands are no longer an option! This is a beer for you! You just need to understand that the color does not mean the beer is going to be too dragony and adventurous!