Beer in Florida

Beer Bites: Legos, Weiners and Drummers

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Did you know that Legoland Florida opens to the public Saturday?

Did you know that no beer is served there? Yep, this one’s for the kiddies.

Luckily, if you’re seeking entertainment options in Florida that include craft beer but no plastic building blocks, there is no shortage of those in the upcoming days, and the Sunshine State’s weather promises to live up to its name through the weekend.

On with this week’s Beer Bites.

Roll Out the Festivals

Brews by the Bay is today beginning from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa’s Channelside District.
Oktoberfest Tampa runs from today to Sunday at Tampa Water Works Park.
Craftoberfest Ocala will be Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. in downtown Ocala.
The second annual St. Pete Oktoberfest runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday in St. Petersburg.
The second annual Cajun Café Wine Festival will be Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. in Pinellas Park. Wine you say? There will be more than 100 varieties to sample, but café owner Paul Unwin promises at least a half-dozen craft beers on tap, and Paul knows his craft beer. And you get to hang out with your closest wino friends!

On Site

Gainesville’s Swamp Head Brewery has revamped its website. The new, easy-to-navigate site is filled with info on the brewery and its beers, events and a beer-finder. Find it here.

Anniversarial Maneuvers

Bold City Brewery in Jacksonville celebrates its third anniversary Saturday. You can expect live music, pint discounts, raffles, trivia and special beers on tap. More information here.

Halloween Treat

Largo Patch reports that Barley Mow Brewing Company plans to be open by Halloween. The story says that it will serve a variety of craft beers while its in-house brewing operation kicks into gear. Hooray for new Florida craft breweries!

Wiener Love

In the grand spirit of Oktoberfest, Pour House Tampa will hold a “Save the Weiners” party Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit DARE, an volunteer-based organization that provides temporary foster and permanent homes for lost, abandoned, surrendered or abused daschunds and daschund mixes. As always, dog owners can bring well-behaved and leashed pets along. Learn more here.

Bang on Your Drum All Night

The Cock & Bull in Sarasota will present “Drummers Night 4” on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. Yeah, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. Here are the details.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Beer Bites column.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. As always, if I missed something, please feel free to mention it in the comments section below. For those of you already roped into Legoland Florida opening weekend, finish scrolling down for a little video gift.

Please email trips4beer@gmail.com with any ideas or story tips. You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Until next time, Florida, remember: We are Here! We are Beer!

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Posted in Beer bites | Tagged beer, beer and food, beer in legoland, beer in legoland florida, beer travel, beer trips, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, can you buy beer at legoland florida, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, do they sell beer at legoland, does legoland florida have beer, does legoland have beer, does legoland serve alcohol, does legoland serve beer, festival, florida, legoland florida, microbrewery, oktoberfest, restaurants, Sarasota, Tampa | Leave a comment

Garrett Oliver will host three beer events in Florida

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Update: A previous version of this story left out an event in South Florida.

Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver will make stops at events in Florida this month: two centered on beer and food, and the other on beer.

On Tuesday, October 25, Oliver will lead a class at the Tampa Publix Apron’s Cooking School, 7835 Gunn Highway. The next evening, he’ll hold a beer class at the World of Beer UCF in Orlando from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday, October 30, Oliver will present a Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner at The Local – Craft Food & Drink in Coral Gables from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Oliver has made his mark in the craft beer world since becoming the head brewer and a partner at Brooklyn Brewery in 1994. Besides the beer he creates, he’s penned several books, including “The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food,” and most recently served as editor of the “The Oxford Companion to Beer.”

He’s well-known for his dapper appearance as well, and recently caused a stir in the craft beer world with his comments on Craft Business Daily about the rather, er, casual dress code adopted by most in the brewing industry.

Seating is limited at the events in Florida.

You can find more details on the Publix class here, and for more information on the World of Beer appearance, click here. Details on the Coral Gables dinner can be found here.

Will you be attending any of these? We’d love to have you share any photos if you do.

By the way, if you can’t make it to any of the events but want to create your own Garrett Oliver-style beer-pairing dinner, check out this piece on CraftBeer.com.

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Posted in Brewers, Events | Tagged beer, beer and food, beer events, beer in florida, beer trips, brewery, brewing, brooklyn beer, brooklyn brewery, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, downtown orlando, florida, garret oliver book, garrett oliver, garrett oliver florida, microbrewery, Orlando, oxford companion to beer, publix, restaurants, Tampa, the brewmaster's table, World of Beer, world of beer ucf | 3 Comments

St. Augustine’s Mile Marker Brewery opens its doors

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Gerard Walen

According to a story in today’s St. Augustine Record, Mile Marker Brewery has unofficially opened its doors with a soft opening that began Tuesday.

Owner Vance Tyson Joy said an official grand opening will happen soon, according to the story.

As far as the beer, the Mile Market Brewery website advertises Mile Marker Zero, an American Kolsch, as being available in bottles and on tap, with Mile Marker 1565 St. Augustine Red Ale and Mile Marker 82 Islamorada IPA “coming soon.”

One interesting tidbit that comes from the news story: When Joy was seeking a location for the brewery, he came across an 18,000-square-foot warehouse, empty except for three dusty brewing tanks and other brewing gear.

Fate?

“I don’t believe in that kind of stuff,” he told the Record. “But that’s really, really weird. It saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Mile Marker Brewery has grand plans for expansion and has already signed a deal with a local distributor. You can read more here.

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Posted in Beer news, Brewery | Tagged beer, breweries in florida, brewery, brewing, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, florida, microbrewery, mile marker brewery, new brewery, new florida brewery, St. Augustine | Leave a comment

Florida Beer Company moving to bigger facility in Cape Canaveral

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Gerard Walen

A story in Florida Today reports that Florida Beer Co. will be moving its operations to Cape Canaveral from Melbourne during the next four months.

FBC will move into a 49,000-square-foot facility in Cape Canaveral from its 12,000-square-foot Melbourne brewery, according to the story.

The move will allow the brewery to immediately boost its production to 100,000 barrels per year from its present 30,000 bbl/year, with room to grow to a yearly output of 300,000 bbl, the story says.

Plans for the new location include a 7,000-square-foot tasting room, and a jump from a current staff of 30 to about 70.

FBC recently won a bronze medal at the recent Great American Beer Festival in the American-Style Amber Lager category for its Florida Lager.

The brewery produces several other products, according to its website: Swamp Ape IPA; Key West Sunset Ale, Pilsner Light and Southernmost Wheat; La Tropical pilsner; Indian River Amberjack and Shoal Draft pale ale; Hurricane Reef Caribbean-Style Pilsner, Lager, Pale Ale and Raspberry Wheat Ale; Kelly’s Hard Cider; and the recently released Conchtoberfest, an Oktoberfest style. ,

It also contract-brews beer under other labels, including Hog’s Head Brew, the Scottish ale served exclusively at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando.

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Posted in Beer news, Brewery | Tagged beer, beer in florida, beer news, brewery, brewing, cape canaveral, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, Dunedin Brewing, florida, florida beer co., melbourne, Theme parks | 6 Comments

Beer in Florida