Meet Tom Barris, Florida Beer Co. brand ambassador, in person this week!
Don’t you just love September in Florida? Crisply cool morning temperatures. The beginning of Mother Nature’s annual artistry of color-changing leaves. Sweaters and turtlenecks coming out of the closet.
Ha ha ha, enough humor. The weather is still beastly hot and will be for weeks to come; however, if you judged the season by the pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest styles on the store shelves, you might be fooled into thinking that we Floridians actually experience four seasons in the Sunshine State.
Regardless, a good beer is a good beer, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a fall seasonal on the lanai even if the thermometer is still closer to 100 degrees than it is to 70.
On with Beer Bites.
Update!
Somehow I missed this until after this week’s Beer Bites was published. The Dunedin House of Beer Beerfest will be Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Note that there has been a venue change. More information here.
Sam I Am
Mr. Beery’s in Sarasota will hold “An Evening With Sam Adams” today starting at 3 p.m. There will be limited-release kegs, and each Sam Adams a customer buys enters him or her into a raffle for a bottle of the rare – and expensive – Sam Adams Utopias. There will also be a Utopias tasting at 8:30 p.m., with limited seating, at a cost of $28 per person. Sounds pricy, but when you consider the Utopias sells for $200 a bottle … . More information here.
It’s a Beach
Joe’s Beach Bar in St. Petersburg will host a Florida Brewing Company Keep the Pint Night tonight beginning at 8 p.m. Expect more giveaways, and you can pester Tom Barris, the FBC brand ambassador. More here.
The REAL Magic of Disney
Big River Grille & Brewing Works, the only brew pub on Walt Disney World property, is releasing its Oktoberfest seasonal Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Brewer Kent Waugh is producing some great special releases these days, and he posted on Facebook that he sent his Rocket Red to the Great American Beer Festival competition this year. The Oktoberfest release will feature $3 beer, $2 bratwurst sandwiches and $2 hot pretzels (while supplies last). More information here.
Rogue Ahoy!
The World of Beer locations in West Palm Beach and Coconut Creek are having Rogue Tap Takeovers on Tuesday (West Palm Beach) and Wednesday (Coconut Creek). The lineups are impressive. More information here.
Mow Me Down
Great news out of Largo. A local paper reports that the planned Barley Mow Brewing Co. may be buying the former O’Houstons Pub location from the city, whose Community Redevelopment Agency bought the property in 2007. Read more here.
Guide Posts
I received an email this week from the founder of the relatively new Orlando Beer Guide website. I must say that I’m quite impressed with the look of the site and its content. If you live in Central Florida or are planning a visit, it’s definitely worth bookmarking. Be sure to check out the listing of Oktoberfest-themed events in the region.
Intertubes News
Cigar City Brewing announced on its Facebook page Thursday that it will soon have a new website, with a daily updated tap list, a new blog and an online store. I’m glad to hear this because one of the Tampa brewery’s weak spots has been the quality of its online presence. The new site should boost its profile among its fans, both in Florida and out-of-state.
Sea to Sudsy Sea
Regular Beer in Florida readers may have seen the story posted this week about The Brewskies. Well, that sparked interest clear across the country, and Emily Engdahl of PDX Beer Geeks interviewed Dave Vanz, the man behind the online-brewery-in-comic-book-form concept. Here’s the interview.
Arrrr!
One of my favorite holidays of the year, International Talk Like a Pirate Day , will be on Monday this year. Last year, I wrote a post about it on my Road Trips for Beer site: “Top Five Fermented Grogs Fer the Pirate in Ye.” If you’re curious, this is what this paragraph looks like when run through the Pirate-to-English translator: “One o’ me favorite holidays o’ t’ year, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, will be on Monday this year. Last year, I wrote a post about it on me Road Trips for Grog site: ‘Top Five Fermented Grogs Fer the Pirate in Ye.’ If you’re curious, this be what this paragraph looks like when run through t’ Pirate-to-English translator.”
Bouncing Beer Geek?
Finally, I wanted to send my congratulations to Alan Shaw, a.k.a. the Ticket Sarasota Beer Geek, and his lovely wife, The Beer Widow, on their announcement that a lovely little bundle of joy will soon be part of their life. And I ain’t talking about a case of Hopslam. Cheers, my friends!
That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. Have a great weekend. Go Bucs! Go Bulls!
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Until next time, Florida, remember: We are Here! We are Beer!
An Orlando Beer guide? Going to go check that out here after this comment. It’s looking good on Saturday for Big River, are you getting there at 6pm?