Though the weather may be a bit rainy, there are craft beer happenings out the wazoo* across Florida. In fact, this weekend would be a good time to have a cloning machine, but I lost the number for Phineas and Ferb.
And if you need an excuse, how about celebrating the five medals that Florida breweries brought back from the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last weekend?
*not to be confused with the annual WaZoo beer festival at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.
Tiger’s Den
Lagniappe Brewing Company, brewers of Effinheimer Beer, in Minneola is throwing a Florida at LSU watch party Saturday from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Gator fans be warned; there will be complimentary jambalaya served, which may give you an inkling about which team the brewery favors. More information here.
Gonna Fly Now!
Red Bull Flugtag takes place Saturday on the downtown Tampa waterfront starting at 1 p.m. What is Flugtag you ask? It’s a competition where teams create some outlandish, human-powered flying machines and basically dump them into the water, hoping to be the one that “flies” the longest distance before splashdown. It looks like loads of fun, but here’s why you’re reading this. Following the event will be the Rock & Brew Fest, presented by Cigar City Brewing. Plenty of great local music and Cigar City beer will be there. Read more here.
Capital Fun
Brewfest Tallahassee, presented by the Sunrise Rotary, will be Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. Nearly 100 brews will be available for sampling, and VIP tickets are available. More here.
Oktoberfestivus
The big beer festival in Munich may have ended, but that doesn’t mean the spirit of Oktoberfest doesn’t live on, even here in Florida. What follows is a quick and likely incomplete list of upcoming events and festivals.
- Oktoberfest Downtown Stuart will be Saturday from 3 to 11 p.m.
- International Beer Garden Oktoberfest will be Friday and Saturday.
- Oktoberfest at Largo’s First Friday will be tonight in downtown Largo.
- Craft Beer Oktoberfest will be Saturday from 7 to 11:30 p.m. at the The Coffee District.
- Croctoberfest will be Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Myakka Outpost inside Myakka State Park.
Speaking of Munich
How would you like to win a trip to next year’s Oktoberfest – the big one in Germany. If you can hoist a full 1-liter glass stein long enough, Samuel Adams will send you there. Try your luck at one of these upcoming events in Florida. Here are the details on the Sam Adams contest. By the way, the current leader is Jihad Nassar, who held the stein at arm’s length for an astounding 21 minutes anfd four seconds.
Brew On
The Funky Buddha Homebrew Store in Boca Raton will hold a homebrewing class on Sunday at 11 a.m. Cost is $20, but that includes a $10 off coupon to use in the store. For more information, email Tony at Tony@funkybuddhabrewery.com.
Spooky Cruise
If you haven’t made plans for Halloween night yet, here’s a chance to costume it up on the water while drinking some great beer. The Shipyard Emporium brew pub in Winter Park will hold a sunset cruise with Shipyard beers on board and a chance to try brewer Ron Raike’s “scariest seasonal beer yet.” Cost is $20. For more information or to make reservations, call Tom Pence at 407-383-9463.
A Good Reason to Drink
Hops for Hospice will be Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Brighthouse Field in Clearwater. Proceeds will benefit The Suncoast Hospice Foundation.
Geeks, Meet Geeks
Get your beer and Star Wars geek on Saturday night during the Beer & Star Wars Lowbrow Art Extravaganza at Mr. Beery’s in Sarasota. More information here.
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. Now it’s time to get back to work on that cloning machine.
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Until next time, Florida, remember: We are Here! We are Beer!
