Reef Donkey
Tampa Bay Brewing Co. in Tampa, Florida, United States 🇺🇸
Pale Ale - American Style / APA Regular|
Score
6.76
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6.5/10
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Appearance 5
Aroma 7
Flavor 6.5
Texture 6
Overall 7
16 oz. can
5.5% ABV
Canned on: 04/16/26
$10.29 (on sale) 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Moderately sweet, with moderate scents of orange/tangerine and lime, followed by mild scents of juniper. All-in-all it has a quite refreshing nose that is bright and inviting, without being overpowering.
APPEARANCE: Pours a cloudy gold color with a three-finger, white, tight-frothed head that dissipates somewhat slowly with excellent lacing. For my tastes, I find it to be a bit too cloudy. In a clear glass, the level of cloudiness, gives me the impression that something accidentally got mixed into the beer. Even though that is clearly (pun intended) not the case.
TASTE: At the beginning of a sip, I get mild sweetness that then transitions to some crisp, mild bitterness. There are light flavors of citrus and pine. Oddly enough, the finish transitions to a touch of citrus sweetness, at the very last second. Normally, it is the bitterness that finishes things off.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly "grabby" texture. Carbonation is slightly higher than average. Finish is mildly dry.
OVERALL: It's crisp and refreshing, has a nice balance of sweet and bitter, and has a nice aroma. All while still having enough uniqueness to maintain its own identity, and not fall into the trap of being another "me too" beer. Couple that with a mild ABV and you have a nice "porch-sitting" beer. Astoundingly, as the beer warms, I really don't detect any change in nose or taste, which is a rarity in my book. Although, to be fair, the texture does become less "grabby" (which I prefer).
5.5% ABV
Canned on: 04/16/26
$10.29 (on sale) 4-pk @ Publix
AROMA: Moderately sweet, with moderate scents of orange/tangerine and lime, followed by mild scents of juniper. All-in-all it has a quite refreshing nose that is bright and inviting, without being overpowering.
APPEARANCE: Pours a cloudy gold color with a three-finger, white, tight-frothed head that dissipates somewhat slowly with excellent lacing. For my tastes, I find it to be a bit too cloudy. In a clear glass, the level of cloudiness, gives me the impression that something accidentally got mixed into the beer. Even though that is clearly (pun intended) not the case.
TASTE: At the beginning of a sip, I get mild sweetness that then transitions to some crisp, mild bitterness. There are light flavors of citrus and pine. Oddly enough, the finish transitions to a touch of citrus sweetness, at the very last second. Normally, it is the bitterness that finishes things off.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly "grabby" texture. Carbonation is slightly higher than average. Finish is mildly dry.
OVERALL: It's crisp and refreshing, has a nice balance of sweet and bitter, and has a nice aroma. All while still having enough uniqueness to maintain its own identity, and not fall into the trap of being another "me too" beer. Couple that with a mild ABV and you have a nice "porch-sitting" beer. Astoundingly, as the beer warms, I really don't detect any change in nose or taste, which is a rarity in my book. Although, to be fair, the texture does become less "grabby" (which I prefer).
Tried
from Can
from
Publix - Winter Springs Town Center
on 07 Jun 2026
at 17:51
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Reviewed from notes.
Thank you, Kelly!
Can to becher glass.
Appearance: dark orange close to copper color with a finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: stiff piney hop bitterness with big citrusy hop rind bitterness; caramel/toffee malt backbone
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to an expected bitter tone; finishes bitter and malty
Texture: light to medium bodied; slightly sessionable; some smoothness but also some bitterness assertiveness - nothing overbearing - more or less just noticeable
Overall: not a bad APA - sure is old school, I will say that!
Thank you, Kelly!
Can to becher glass.
Appearance: dark orange close to copper color with a finger's worth of white foamy head which dissipated nicely to leave some light lace
Aroma: stiff piney hop bitterness with big citrusy hop rind bitterness; caramel/toffee malt backbone
Flavor: meshes the prior noted aromas to an expected bitter tone; finishes bitter and malty
Texture: light to medium bodied; slightly sessionable; some smoothness but also some bitterness assertiveness - nothing overbearing - more or less just noticeable
Overall: not a bad APA - sure is old school, I will say that!
Tried
from Can
on 14 Apr 2026
at 20:02
6.4/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Draught at Frenchy's: pours light copper. White head. Aroma is lightly piny and biscuity. Fairly low bitterness. Really old school. Malty.
Tried
from Draft
on 26 Apr 2025
at 18:04
6/10
RB score 3.33
Tried
from Can
on 17 Mar 2025
at 02:58
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Key West Trip. Gold in color with a two-finger head. Aroma is like an IPA, with citrus and spruce. Taste is also like an IPA, with citrus and spruce.
Tried
on 21 Jan 2025
at 05:39
6/10
Tried
on 28 Oct 2024
at 16:27
4.4/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Big pounder can. Pour is an ever so slight haze on pale. Head is nice but goes into pond scum mode after a few minutes. Nose is plain fresh and ale-like; some hints of citrus, just maybe. Yes, from the start its yer typical APA; not really bitter like an IPA, so its pretty much on style. Nice to find an APA that's not been bastardized by the IPA fad. Session is even keel and, simply just an amberjack, maybe one of the toughest pound-for-pound fighters in the ocean. Not sure if this really deserves the amberjack name, because its not quite a rich, buttery flavor, nor a taste mix between tuna and mahi-mahi, though not as steak-like as tuna and not as mild as mahi-mahi. However, it does seem hold up well to almost any APA brew, and can go nicely with the actual broiling, baking, grilling, pan frying or smoking of a real AJ. JMHO. There, you have it.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Oct 2024
at 21:23
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
sampled at Tampa Bay Beer Festival - decent American Pale Ale - pretty simple
Tried
from Can
on 08 Mar 2023
at 01:16
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Keg Brewskival 2022-08-14 Helsingborg AR: dried tropical fruity, pineapple AP: yellow hazy, frothy head F: dried tropical fruity, pineapple
Tried
on 02 Oct 2022
at 14:36
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
On tap at Reel Fish Coastal Kitchen in Orlando. Medium gold pour. Crisp malt meet’s citrus hops. Soft malt notes balanced by lemon, grapefruit and pine. Smooth and drinkable with a hint of black pepper on the backend. Decent.
Tried
from Draft
on 24 Apr 2022
at 23:31