Region: Tampa, FL and Orange County, CA

Price: $13.99 at Total Wine

Style: Farmhouse/Saison

ABV: 9%

Sight: marigold

Smell: perfume, lemon peel, ginger, honey, vanilla, musk

Taste:  spicy, coriander, lemon juice, orange, grapefruit, ginger, crisp, celery

Overall:  ”Dos Costas Oeste” means “two west coasts.”  It’s a collaboration between The Bruery (from America’s West Coast) and Cigar City Brewing (from Florida’s West Coast).  Some quick stats from the label: it’s brewed with coriander, ginger, orange peel, and aged on lemon wood spirals.  I grabbed it because I adore The Bruery, and also I’m currently near Tampa (home of Cigar City Brewing), so by rights I should check out the local beer scene and see what’s going on.  This selection pours a hazy marigold hue and stacks up a tall crown fast, but the frothy head disappears just as quickly and leaves about a half-centimeter of finely bubbled foam.  Steady veins of carbonation pipe upwards constantly.  The aromatics are both sweet and sophisticated; think about mixing lemon, vanilla, and honey, and then letting your concoction walk around wearing heels and musky perfume.  Stylistically, this beer has me puzzled—if I hadn’t been told I’m not sure that I’d quite know what to call it.  I’ve never tasted anything quite like it, which is a plus in my book.  It strikes the palate with a soft citrus-ginger fusion, and then takes a turn for the sassy, bringing in a grapefruit-and-something-vegetal duet with a fiery ginger-coriander finish.  The carbonation gives your mouth a good scratch, adding to the overall spunky character.  Perhaps the most impressive thing is how the aromatics consistently dominate—with each sip from the glass, that beautiful musky perfume takes over and shapes the whole experience.  Another win for The Bruery (to be expected), and a big win for Cigar City Brewing (a pleasant surprise), whose hometown I’m currently crashing at the moment.  Delicieux !