I stopped in at Broken Cauldron Brewery and Taproom in Orlando, Florida last night.  As usual, I was taking pictures for my blog postings.  The owner,  Jeanna, just happened to be out front and was wondering what I was doing with the pictures.  She thought I was with the city government.  Apparently there’s some dispute over her sign (the featured post image).  Personally,  I love the painted sign.  My picture-taking led to a wonderful time talking with Jeanna and her husband about the brewery, their beer and their plans.

I started with Ruckus Red, their signature brew.  What I learned from Jeanna is that their brewery and taproom is the tailgate spot for the Orlando City soccer club.  When there are home games the brewery hosts over 1,000 people.  And, the beer of choice is Ruckus Red, red ale.  I can see why.  I’ve enjoyed red ales before.  This one is special.  Its sweet (malty) and also spicy and bitter.  Its a complex beer and really enjoyable to drink.  Great job!

After Ruckus Red I tried the Bleed Purple Blackberry Saison and was really impressed.  This beer packed a delicious tart blackberry flavor into the saison.  Yummy.  I’d drink this often if I were in the area more frequently.  It has both sweet and tart notes.

Black Cauldron also has a nifty used beer receptacle.

Jeanna also gave me a tour of the brewery.  I felt like royalty.  And, in the process she shared how they use a Rinnai tankless natural gas hot water system.  Using this system saves them time and money.  With my background in the natural gas business I naturally perked right up when she described how this benefits them.  While in the brewery she told me about the cucumber sour they had which I also tried.  Delicious.  Jeanna wasn’t as pleased with this and I’m sure she’ll be putting finishing touches on this recipe.  With the emphasis on sours these days I find this to be a real contender.

Best wishes Jeanna.  Hope our paths cross again.