The secret’s out: Crystal River’s new nanobrewery is open

ser·en·dip·i·ty  

n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties
1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

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Beer in Florida photo by Gerard WalenA stroke of serendipity led me to the discovery of Florida’s newest craft brewery.

For various reasons, I’m temporarily living in the Crystal River area, and I discovered through a mention in a Google news feed that a nanobrewery recently opened just a few miles from where I’m staying.

Fran and Donna Copp opened Copp Winery about seven years ago in a restored mid-1960s Florida bungalow in Crystal River, but then Fran, a longtime homebrewer, got the itch to start a brewery in the space as well.

“She was having so much fun working 90 hours a week,” he said, “I said, ‘Hey, I might as well join.’”

Fran, a calculus teacher and a self-proclaimed lover of gadgets, did all the carpentry and other remodeling work himself, including custom-building the one-barrel brewing system.

Copp Brewery opened a little more than a month ago, but because there are still some finishing touches to be made in the tasting room, Fran has been relying on word-of-mouth to spread the news.

And because the brewery is so new and the production capacity is limited, he hasn’t decided on which of his brews will be featured regularly on the nine taps in the tasting room, other than the refreshing True Grit, a Pale Ale brewed with almost 30 pounds of corn grits per barrel.

Beer in Florida photo by Gerard WalenVisitors can expect new beers pretty much on every visit.  On my initial visit, he had a fantastic Black Pepper Porter on tap (Sorry folks, I kicked the keg, but it was so popular that it will likely make a return visit).

A few bar-type snacks with a twist are available. For instance, you can usually order a soft pretzel with homemade mustard for dipping. Unfortunately, they were out of the mustard when I visited, but I’m looking forward to trying it.

Copp Brewery is at 11 NE 4th Avenue, Crystal River, Florida 34429.

It’s closed Monday and Tuesday, open from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Oh, and I’ve heard the July 4th Fireworks Party is a blast (pun intended).

Fran was kind enough to give me a tour and talk about the brewery. Here’s the video.


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