Beer in Florida

Online Craft Beer Show Will Focus on Florida

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Lights! Cameras! Pour!

A new craft beer show based in Central Florida will debut Monday at Redlight Redlight, the world-renowned Orlando beer bar.

“Fermented” will air on iZonOrlando.com, which bills itself as “Orlando’s FIRST Online TV Network.”

Here’s the pitch from the IZonOrlando website: “Pull up a barstool and pour a pint — then join us! The name says it all as this show celebrates all things fabulously fermented, from craft beer to craft foods. If you find yourself lost and confused when it comes to choosing the right beer or pairing your beloved brew with some snacks, we’re here to help. Keeping our feet firmly planted in the world of craft beer we’ll feature some of the great artisans that call Central Florida home while looking at the latest and greatest fermented products from across the globe. And then we’ll put our picks to the test with a panel of judges.”

The show is co-hosted by Redlight Redlight owner Brent Hernandez and Lucas Widrick, assistant manager and the writer of the A Night with the Hops blog.

Widrick said the pilot episode focuses on “styles of beer that are good for hot weather drinking,” a subject that will remain near and dear to those of us in the Sunshine State for some time to come.

“We are making it as a show to simplify the world of craft beer for those who are overwhelmed when walking into a place with tons of taps and hundreds of bottles,” he said.

But future episodes will not focus exclusively on beer styles.

“The name of the show is purposely generic as we also hope to take advantage of local artisans making cheese and bread and all of the great things that fermentation helps us enjoy (and that go well with beer),” Widrick said.

The screening of the pilot episode will begin at 9 p.m. Monday, August 29, 2011, at Redlight Redlight, 745 Bennett Road, Orlando. If you’re planning to go, you might want to arrive a little early: Widrick said he and Hernandez will likely talk about the show before it starts. Flights of the beers featured in the pilot will be available for purchase afterward.

Here’s a sneak peek:
Fermented Promo

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Posted in Craft beer in Florida, Events | Tagged beer, beer and food, brewery, brewing, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, florida, microbrewery, Orlando, redlight redlight, restaurants, television, top beer in florida | 2 Comments

Beer Bites: Ambassadors, Big Brother and Field Trips

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Gerard Walen

At least these festival-goers in Cleveland know there's some craft beer in Florida.

After a week’s hiatus, Beer Bites returns. I spent last weekend at the Bluegrass and Beer Festival in Keystone, Colorado, and what a great time it was! Even though this Florida boy was gulping air at 9,300 feet, the sunshine and mid-70s was a welcome respite from the stifling heat and humidity we endure in August.

Naturally, there was plenty of great beer, but I had too many conversations that went along these lines:

Festival-Goer: “Where you from?”

Me: “Florida.”

FG: “Yeah I (lived in/visited) Florida. Not much good beer there, is there?

Me: “When did you (live there/visit)?”

FG: “1995.”

Me: (Long spiel about how the craft beer scene is booming here, ticking off a list of breweries and bars, festivals, etc.)

FG: “Wow. I did not realize all that.”

What I’m trying to say is that, when we travel outside our state, we must all be craft beer ambassadors and spread the word about the great things happening here. Otherwise, we don’t get no respect, no respect at all. *tugs ties, silently apologizes to Rodney Dangerfield.*

On to Beer Bites.

Now You Can Be Big Brother

How would you like to check out the crowd at your local watering hole without leaving home? Thanks to a Central Florida company, it’s now possible. MyCrowdCam.com has installed webcams at (currently) seven Orlando-area bars, clubs and restaurants. The cameras post snapshots of the crowd, updated every five minutes, that can be accessed on the website. Now you can find out if the place is hopping or Deadsville before you put on your beer goggles. Of course, if you tell your spouse that you’re going to the bar for a drink or two, you’d best show up. And behave. There are perks too, including a free beer or soda through August when you show the barkeep a logo from MyCrowdCam.

Your Own Personal Beer Bong

OK, I know it’s crappy beer, but I find this hilarious.

A Really Good Trip

Lee Roy Selmon’s is giving away a round-trip for two to the Great American Beer Festival. Does it come with barbecue nachos? More details here.

The Chronicles Continue

Dunedin Brewery will release the third chapter of its IPA Chronicles on Thursday. No, it’s not a book; it’s a beer. More here.

Get on the Bus to Take Me to Brews

Swamp Head Brewery has arranged a field trip of sorts. A bus will take a group from the Gainesville brewery on Saturday for a pub crawl of some Jacksonville craft beer hot spots. It will leave at 1 p.m. and return about 12 hours later. More here.

Spread Your Wings and Eat

Oh, I so wish I could make it to this event. Dunedin House of Beer is holding Wing Fest on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. The bar is rounding up wings from various Dunedin restaurants, and for $15 you can get all you can eat and any draft from the rail. Taho Fox will provide the music. More here.

Beer Pairing

On Monday, the Independent Bar and Café will feature the beers of Cigar City Brewing at its first monthly beer dinner. Cost is $45. More here.

Baseball and Brews

Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter will hold Baseball & Brews on Saturday. Admission includes a souvenir tasting mug, 20 beers for tasting AND a minor-league battle on the diamond between the Bradenton Marauders and the Jupiter Hammerheads. More here.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites.

I’ll strive to do it again next week, but I’m in the midst of moving plus I’m leaving Thursday for the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon.

Here’s to hoping I won’t have to engage in as many “Florida has good beer” conversations there, but I’m ready to do so if called upon.

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, Beer news | 3 Comments

Win a Free Trip to Great American Beer Festival, Courtesy of Lee Roy Selmon’s

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Win a trip to the GABF.

One of the things I miss most about moving from the Tampa Bay area is that it’s now a long drive to the nearest Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant.

Graced by the name of one of my real-life role models (though I’ve only met him in person once), the down-home cooking of the seven-restaurant chain makes my mouth water just thinking about it. And now the eatery has given me a reason to love it even more.

Lee Roy Selmon’s is giving away a trip for two to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. Included is airfare, lodging and tickets to the festival. All you need to do is fill out a form on the restaurant’s website.

Entries will be accepted through August 31, 2011.

I could not afford to attend the GABF this year, but now … at least there’s a chance.

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Posted in Beer festivals, Restaurants | Tagged beer, beer and food, beer travel, brewery, brewing, central florida, contest, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, florida, GABF, GABF ticket contest, great american beer festival, microbrewery, restaurants, Tampa | 2 Comments

Seventh Sun Brewing Co. to open in Tampa Bay Area

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Some great news for the Florida craft beer scene recently arrived in the email inbox. Here’s the release:

Seventh Sun Brewing Company is preparing to open this fall in Dunedin, Florida.

After three years’ planning, Seventh Sun owners Devon Kreps and Justin Stange have purchased equipment and begun the build-out process for their fledgling brewery.

Kreps and Stange both come with industry background: After finishing a Food & Fermentation Science degree at Oregon State, Kreps began work at Anheuser-Busch, until she left to become production manager for Sweetwater Brewing Company in Atlanta. Stange began volunteering at McGuire’s brewpub in Destin, was later hired on as a brewer at Sweetwater, and now brews for Cigar City in Tampa.

The pair started out with plans to open a much larger, 15-barrel production facility but decided to scrap their plans when faced with the reality of finding funding in a struggling economy.

“At the end of the day, we re-evaluated the plan and came to the realization that not only was a small project affordable, but it would allow us to have more flexibility with the style of beer we want to brew,” says Kreps.

The brewery will offer Belgian style ales and a variety of experimental IPAs from their three-barrel system as well as occasionally offering limited barrel-aged releases.

You can find Seventh Sun Brewing at 1012 Broadway near the intersection of Skinner Blvd (State Rd 580) and Broadway (US Alternate 19) in downtown Dunedin; projected to open this fall pending licensing approval.

The brewery’s website is still under construction, but there is an active Facebook page and a Twitter account.

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Posted in Brewery | Tagged beer, beer travel, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, Cigar City, craft beer, craft brewer, Dunedin, florida, microbrewery, new breweries, new brewery, Seventh Sun Brewing, Tampa, top beer in florida | 1 Comment

Beer in Florida

Online Craft Beer Show Will Focus on Florida