Putting Craft Beer Back in Hurricane Grille & Wings

**In response to Diana Foote's review of Hurricane Grille & Wings, Vero Beach, I could not sit idly by and let such a sad discretion of beer discrimination/neglect go by unnoticed. And so, I post here my letter back to Diana regarding her article incomplete on Hurricanes, Wings, and Beer.**

Good morning and good day. The name is Kristyn Lier and beer is what I do. You could rightfully say it is my life and I am quite proud to say that. No, I’m not a lush, boozer, alcoholic or person with issues. I am an appreciator of the rich diversity of flavor, culture, history, and the ever personable human story behind beer. Did you know that beer is the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage? Yes, long before mankind was drinking wine or water or soda or juice, man was brewing, drinking, and celebrating beer partly as a heavenly gift, partly as a social release, and partly because it was a pleasurable flavorful experience. I live life with flavor and right now more than ever beer is all about flavor. As much as possible, as diverse as possible, and it’s only getting better. Wine? Paf! You can have it. Beer is the better pairing partner for food hands down and it’s a dirty little secret that oenophiles and sommeliers will only tell you in the darkly lit alleyway of a nondescript street in the middle of the night.

But I digress.

I am not just a beer aficionado, I am also a foodie. What better way to savor a luscious beer than with food equally stimulating and luscious to my palate. I was pleased as punch to read your glowing review of Hurricane Grille & Wings here in Vero Beach, FL, my hometown where I was born and raised. Their wings are rightfully plump, their sauce flavors as diverse as they are tasty, and their beer selection is the best you will find here in Vero Beach. Wait a minute… I don’t recall reading a single iota of a mention of their fabulous beer selection in your review.

Hang on, let me check…

Nope, not a single letter, word, or sentence about the 30+ draft lines featuring 30 different beers of which over 90% are of the artisanal crafted flavorful variety. Now THAT is a crying shame. Food is all well and good, but there is more to the food experience than that which one inserts in one’s mouth (besides the proverbial foot at times). It’s food. It’s drink. It’s ambience. It’s service. It’s the human connection which transforms an average brick&mortar joint into a place I call home. That is the Hurricanes Grille & Wings of Vero Beach experience which has brought me back into her tender embrace after at least a year’s absence due to the absence of good beer diversity. But now the wings are as good as I remember if not better, and the beer is a little slice of heaven in a town drowning in flavorless macro light lagers without a wit of personality and appeal.

I know Howard and his staff is proud of their establishment, service, and menu rich within wings and other tasty food stuffs. I also know they are extremely proud of their beer selection. Ask any staff member about the beers and their eyes will light up while gifted words of prose will flow from eager lips like water off a mountain’s face. Howard and friends aren’t done yet, either. More beers (draft lines) are planned which means more diversity of flavor which means more selection which means even more beers for me to pair with their 30+ flavors of sauces. Not just the wings, but their salads, burgers, and wraps OH MY! all scream for a slightly chilled beverage of beery designs. The flavor? Depends on what I am in the mood for and what I am eating. But I know without a doubt I will have at least a few options if not more to more than enhance my beer foodie experience.

Hurricane Grille & Wings of Vero Beach is the only Hurricanes in which you can find such a wonderfully diverse palate of beers along with a wonderfully diverse group of people who enjoy them. You can travel north. You can travel south. You can travel inbetween. No other Hurricanes has the wonderful variety that my hometown does and I’m very proud of that. They feature on any given day at least a dozen different styles of beers, dozens more with different flavors, and rotate the taps on a regular basis. I know when I walk into my Vero Beach Hurricanes I can find pale ales, amber ales, pilsners, lagers, brown ales, porters, stouts, American wheat beers, Hefeweizens, Belgian wits, IPAs, strong ales, and many more. Some are spicy, some floral, herbal, sweet, chocolately, roasty, hoppy, citrusy, fruity… the list goes on. You want to talk flavor to pair with those wings? There can be only one: beer.

And so as pleased as I was to see Hurricanes get a positive review in the Press Journal, for myself and dozens of other Vero Beach citizens, a sad disservice was done in not mentioning their beer selection. Thankfully, I’ve got that covered. The opportunity vibrancy and life of good beer diversity is here in Vero Beach and we aren’t going anywhere. Just as we enjoy flavor in other aspects of our life, so too do we enjoy it in our beer. Even better, we like to share that love and it shows in how well Hurricanes has done since embracing real beer diversity. If next time you’re in Hurricanes and you see a buzzed head lady at the bar (or at a table) laughing with friends and staff, beer in hand, food in front, be sure to stop by and say hi. Even better, grab a chair and we’ll share a beer or two. It’s on me.

(an original written work by Kristyn Lier. plagiarism is not tolerated)