Now that Tampa Bay Beer Week 2015 has left the building, it’s time to … Celebrate Local Beer!
Granted, that’s something we do year-round, but the BFBC Leftover Party, in previous years a part of the TBBW festivities, has been rescheduled this year in hopes that more folks will attend and help raise funds for the Best Florida Beer Championships, which each year judges and awards the best homebrews and commercial beers produced in the state.
So what’s the Leftover Party?
“The BFBC homebrew competition is gaining momentum with each passing competition. Recent years have seen the number of entries grow to over 500, which means we receive more than 1,500 bottles of beer!
“In the process of the competition a mere one or two bottles are opened for judging purposes. This means that we are left with over 800 different beers that are typically just thrown out. We decided that instead of wasting these brews, that we’d share these bottles with you, our fellow craft beer enthusiasts.”
It’s like the biggest bottle share ever, and one of the best beer bargains of the year – only $10 at the door or in advance.
This year, the event will be at Pair O’ Dice Brewing, 4400 118th Ave. N., Suite 208, Clearwater. The festivities start at 6 p.m.
Around 7 or so, there will be a panel discussion with local craft beer personalities discussing the State of Craft Beer in Florida. Confirmed panelists are Sean Nordquist, beer writer and TBBW board of directors member; Bob Sylvester, founder of Saint Somewhere Brewing Company in Tarpon Springs; and Julia Rosenthal, co-owner and co-founder of Pair O’ Dice. There may be one or two other speakers, but that has not been confirmed yet. UPDATE: Matt Abdoney, who oversees the craft beer portfolio at JJ Taylor Distributing, Florida, has accepted an invitation to join the panel.
Yours truly will be the moderator. This is the third year we’ve done this, and it always proves to be an eye-opening and sometimes spirited discussion.
Also, as was pointed out to me, if you are a homebrewer and need empty bottles, there should be more than a few available after the event. In addition, there are usually a few bottles of the commercial award winners to sample at the event, and there will be a special tapping of at least two BFBC medal winning beers: Seventh Sun’s Saison Caribe and Funky Buddha’s Doc Brown.
If you have not yet purchased one, or if you did and would like it personalized, I’ll be signing and selling copies of “Florida Breweries
See you there!
