Beer in Florida

Beer Bites: Melancholy, Panhandling and Heroes

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Gerard Walen

The bust of Lee Roy Selmon in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Ordinarily, this time of year is a happy one for me because my birthday was Thursday and football season has started, but this week is book-ended by sad events.

The passing of Buccaneers great Lee Roy Selmon on Saturday struck many NFL fans right in their hearts. I and many others followed his career from his being the first-ever pick of the expansion Tampa Bay team in 1976, on to his stint as athletic director of the University of South Florida, where he proved instrumental in developing the school’s new football team (Was that rain on Touchdown Jesus’ face Saturday, or was it tears?). But his greatest legacy perhaps was his contributions to his community. I finally was able to shake his hand during the pregame tailgate party before the 2008 magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl, and knew immediately that I just met one of the finest men in this world. Rest in Peace, Lee Roy.

Of course, Sunday marks the 10^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Pause for a moment Sunday to remember those thousands of innocents and heroes killed in the attacks, and the brave men and women who have given their lives since trying to keep us safe. Raise a beer in their honor.

Dare I say it?

There seems to be at least a promise of cooler weather in the air the past couple of days. Don’t worry; the heat will return, but maybe this weekend we could grab some Ocktoberfest and pumpkin beers off the shelf and pretend we live in a place where there are more seasons than hurricane and tourist.

On with Beer Bites.

Celebrate the Heroes

Lagniappe Brewing Co., makers of Effinheimer beers, will hold a 9/11 Fundraiser from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday at its tasting room in Minneola. Proceeds will benefit the Minneola Firefighters Union, and NFL games will be on the TV screen. More information here.

Panhandling

The Emerald Coast Beer Festival takes place Saturday in Pensacola. This festival has been growing over the years, and the list of brewers at the fest includes a couple of Panhandle breweries that are new to me: Grayton Beer Company in Rosemary Beach and McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola. A lot of homebrew clubs from across the Southeast will be there too. More information here.

Going South

An upcoming brewery in Boyton Beach got some nice features on some local TV stations this week. See the WPTV story on Due South Brewing here.

Speed Dining

The Palm Beach Post reports that area venues will host four beer dinners in a span of 10 days, starting with an Oskar Blues pairing on Saturday at JoJo’s Raw Bar. Read more here.

Putter About

The second annual PUTToberfest will be Thursday in Miramar Beach. The event at The Golf Garden features 18 holes of mini-golf with beer sampling stations set up along the course. Presented by the Destin Area Sports Commission, the tournament also features a chipping contest, and prizes will be awarded. More information here.

Blog the Day Away

The Ticket Sarasota Beer Geek, aka Alan Shaw, gave Cryptkeeper Rick Andrews a forum to write about his adventures at the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon. Hey, I was there too! Rick, of course, is the mastermind behind Ales from the Crypt and Firkin Around.

Don’t Panic; The Beer is Safe!

Finally, you’ve got to love those student journalists at the University of Florida. They certainly have their priorities straight, as evidenced in this front page story in The Independent Florida Alligator.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. Have a great weekend. Go Bucs! Go Bulls!

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 travel, beer trips, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, festival, microbrewery, Tampa, top beer in florida | 2 Comments

Beer Bites: Missing Mice, Labor Day and Haters

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Cigar City will be pouring at this weekend's Savannah Craft Brew Festival.

Where am I? Oh yeah, Savannah, which is why I’m writing this so late on a Friday. See, I was in a hurry to pack, and somehow forgot my computer mouse (Yes, my laptop has a touch pad, but there was an unfortunate incident a few months ago involving a full pint of beer, my arm and the keyboard. The touch pad hasn’t been the same since. And I just realized that “my laptop has a touch pad” sounds kinda dirty).

Anyway, my good hosts at Visit Savannah came through and loaned me a mouse so I can write about the Savannah Craft Brew Festival this weekend for Road Trips for Beer. (Tickets are still available, and I’ve seen the brewery booths. Well worth the drive, Florida beer geeks).

Enough of my flimsy excuses. On with Beer Bites.

Here’s the Key

If you don’t want to drive north to Savannah this Labor Day weekend, you can head south to the Key West Brewfest, going on through Monday. More information here.

Honor Roll

Congratulations to JJ Taylor Distributing and Pepin Distributing Co., both out of Tampa, for being nominated for the 2011 Craft Beer Distributor of the Year by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Brewers Association. The winner will be announced October 1 at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. See the list of nominees here.

Sound Off

Cigar City Brewing will be holding a beer and cheese pairing on Tuesday at 5 p.m in the Tasting Room. What’s so special about that? Hell, I do that all the time at home. The cheese will be “Briny Bagpipe Cheese” from Jasper Hill. OK, that’s a little special. But … it will be paired with 2009 Big Sound Scotch Ale, not only the very first bottling of the beer, but the first Cigar City bottling EVER! Even better, it’s free! More information here (scroll down).

Who Hates Stone?

Mr. Beery’s Sarasota hates Stone. So much that owner Mark Tuchman is throwing an “I Hate Stone” night Wednesday from 3 to 10 p.m. Buy any beer that’s NOT from the California brewery, and you’ll have a chance to win some rare Stone bottles from Mark’s personal collection, including a 3 liter magnum of Double Bastard. The winner will be expected to pour the bottles down the drain. Why does Mark hate Stone so much? Read here. Why does he own rare bottles of Stone beer if he hates them so much? You’ll have to ask him yourself.

Beer 101

If you’re a newbie to the craft beer scene, you might want to check out one of the occasional beer-education classes at some Total Wine & More stores. There will be one Thursday at the Orlando store called “Beer 101: Get Your Suds On.” If you are a craft beer expert and have never been to one of these, here’s a tip from someone who has. You get to taste some great beer during the presentation, receive beer goodies (hats, glasses, etc.) and get a $10 off coupon for use in the store after the class. Not a bad deal for $15. More information here.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. Sorry about the lateness, but shit happens.

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 travel, beer trips, brew pub, brewpub, central florida, Cigar City, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, festival, florida, key west, Tampa | Leave a comment

Florida Craft Beer Show Debuts at Redlight Redlight

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Gerard Walen

"Fermented" hosts Brent Hernandez and Lucas Widrick on the screen at the show's premiere at Redlight Redlight

Florida has a beer show.

The pilot episode of “Fermented” debuted Tuesday night at Redlight Redlight in Orlando, and it shows a lot of promise. The show can be viewed at iZonOrlando.com, a Central Florida online venture headed by Will Rodriguez that features web shows produced locally on a variety of subjects.

In the pilot episode, hosts Brent Hernandez, owner of Redlight Redlight, and Lucas Widrick, assistant manager, take a look at four summer beers: Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Wittekerke, Xingu and Saison Dupont.

First, after a clever opening segment in which the two sit with their feet in a kid’s swimming pool lamenting how the heavy stouts they’re drinking just don’t work for Florida’s summer weather, the featured beers are introduced. Then comes a quick lesson on the difference between ale and lager yeast.

The action moves to the tasting table, where Hernandez and Widrick pour the beer choices for the panelists: Rodriguez from iZonOrlando.com, Troy Barfoot from Micro Man Distributing, Sarah Gould from Florida Micro Beverage, and Dave Kazyk, a musician and co-owner of Dear Prudence Shop.

The lively banter between the hosts and their interaction with the panelists gives this segment an enjoyably fast pace. Overall, the production value of the “Fermented” is of high quality, especially for a web show, but this segment could use a little better sound management. The panelists’ voices become a bit muddled, especially when more than one is talking at once. But like a first visit to a new restaurant, it’s easy to see what kinks need to be worked out in the pilot episode.

Widrick said he encourages comments on the website on how to improve the show. The pilot can be viewed here. With a running time of just less than 20 minutes, it won’t take much time out of your day.

Orlando craft beer bar Redlight Redlight sponsored the first episode of "Fermented."

On a side note, it was revealed at the premiere that Redlight Redlight now has an official website: RedlightRedlightBeerParlour.com, an exciting tidbit of news for Florida craft beer geeks and fans of the world-renowned bar.

It’s encouraging to see this endeavor to bring more notice to Florida’s craft beer scene, and I’m looking forward to more episodes shot at various locales in Central Florida.

You can follow “Fermented” on Twitter or like their page on Facebook.

Will Rodriguez of iZonOrlando.com, speaking, and co-host Lucas Widrick talk to the crowd at Redlight Redlight before the premiere of "Fermented."

People crowded Redlight Redlight for the premiere of "Fermented."

From left, Lucas Widrick, Will Rodriguez and Brent Hernandez at the premiere of the pilot episode of "Fermented."

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Posted in Beer news, Craft beer in Florida | Tagged beer, brewery, brewing, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, downtown orlando, florida, microbrewery, Orlando, redlight redlight, top beer in florida, web show | Leave a comment

Beer Bites: Beervana, Road Trips and Heaven & Hell

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Gerard Walen

See! I really WAS there!

Sorry, but I was at the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon, last weekend and just did not have a chance to write a Beer Bites column.

What I DID have time for was talking up the Florida craft beer scene in the midst of “Beervana,” with the help of my good friend Rick Andrews of Ales From the Crypt and Firkin Around.

By the way, Rick has already written some great pieces from the conference, here, here and here. I have not been so productive yet, but keep an eye on my Road Trips for Beer site for posts, videos and photos.

We hope that BBC12 will be on the East Coast next year, so we’re hoping for a LOT more representation from Florida beer writers, bloggers, brewers and distributors. Start saving your pennies now; it will be well worth it.

Shout It Out!

You know the Florida craft beer scene is making its mark when the national media takes notice. I was thrilled to see this Associated Press story by Brendan Farrington get picked up by many national newspapers, including The Washington Post. Farrington leads the piece with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, but mentions a lot of the other players on the state’s beer scene.

Also, a little more locally, the St. Petersburg Times took a look at “Five Tampa Bay bars that brew their own beer.” Though Tampa Bay is a body of water, let’s hope this one gets picked up by some national outlets, too.

Northeast Matchup

Our friends in Jacksonville are in for a real treat Monday: Cigar City AND St. Somewhere Brewing at a beer dinner at Kickbacks Gastropub. St. Somewhere owner/brewer Bob “Saint” Sylvester himself will be in attendance, as will Joey Redner and Justin Clark from Cigar City. More here.

Festive Occasion

The second annual Sarasota Beer Fest Festival will be Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. at Robarts Arena. Here’s a preview by Sarasota “Beer Geek” columnist Alan Shaw.

Heaven and Hell on Earth

Speaking of Sarasota, fans of Dogfish Head’s expensive and exotic limited releases should pencil in a trip to Mr. Beery’s for “Heaven & Hell” on Tuesday night. But what does that mean? Let Mr. Beery himself explain: “It’s called a Heaven & Hell and people freak out when it’s available…Take one part Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA – a very limited, 18%abv American Strong Ale… And, one part Dogfish Head World Wide Stout – a very limited, 18%abv Imperial American Stout… And, Yes, it layers!” At $30 per person, it’s not cheap, but could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And you get to keep the DFH snifter glass. More here.

Firkin Up

Dunedin Brewery will be bringing a firkin of its I.P.A. Chronicle 3: ABC to Keep the Pint Night on Saturday at Willard’s Tap House in Largo. I was hoping to make it to this one, but real life has intruded once again. Regardless, should be a great time with some great folks. Oh, and a big “Happy Birthday” to Dunedin’s Mike Bryant today! More here.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. As tempting as it is, don’t make too much fun of the northerners freaking out over Hurricane Irene. The hurricane season still has a long way to go, and karma is a bitch.

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, Craft beer in Florida | Tagged beer, beer and food, beer tours, beer travel, beer trips, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, central florida, Cigar City, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, Dunedin, Dunedin Brewing, florida, jacksonville, microbrewery, northeast florida, Orlando, restaurants, Sarasota, St. Somewhere, Tampa, top beer in florida | 1 Comment

Beer in Florida