Beer in Florida

Beer Bites: Magazines, Summer Beers and Pirates

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Gerard Walen

I’ll be rockin’ Branson, Missouri, this weekend. Yee-Haw

Wow, there are a lot of craft beer events and news items to talk about this week.

Though the forecast calls for temperatures slightly lower than Hades through at least September, it’s still a great time of the year for great beer in the Sunshine State.

Unfortunately, I will be out of town this weekend in, of all places, Branson, Missouri. I’ve a feeling I’m going to either love it or hate it. We’ll see.

Let’s get to this week’s Beer Bites.

Mag Love

Garden and Gun magazine featured The Porch craft beer bar in Key West as one of the places in its “The Guide to Outside: Drink.” Read it here.

Cigar City magazine, though it has nothing to do with the brewery, nevertheless published a nice profile of Joey Redner, owner and founder of Tampa’s Cigar City Beer. In it, Joey talks about starting the brewery, dealing with the city bureaucracy and what it was like growing up as the son of Tampa’s strip club king. Read it here.

Tour This!

Tampa’s Cold Storage Craft Brewery will open its doors to the public again for tours on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. Details here.

In Gainesville, Swamp Head Brewery will hold its first beer tour Saturday, but as they say on the Facebook page, “this will not be just any old brewery tour.” Not only will participants tour the brewery, but there will be a bus tour to a few of Gainesville’s other craft beer places for beer. Tickets are $25 and include everything. Details here.

Do Sushi What I See?

Speaking of Swamp Head, the brewery is partnering with Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company in Gainesville for a five-course beer dinner. Since I won’t be able to be there, my good friend Amie will cover it for me. Stay tuned for her review next week, especially since they’re doing it again on July 11. Tickets are $60 plus tax and available at the restaurant.

Wheat in the Heat

The Lager Haus Summer Fest will be Saturday in Palm Harbor. Expect Hefeweizens, Belgian Wits, Berliner Weisse, a wheat beer home brewing contest, a dirndl contest, a hot pepper sauce contest and lots of Spanish paella. Details here.

Maple. Bacon. Coffee. Porter … Imperial!

The Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery in Boca Raton will hold the grand opening of its homebrew store next door to the brewpub on Saturday. They will also release the highly anticipated Imperial Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. The regular version ranked near the top of best beer lists by BeerAdvocate.com and RateBeer.com, and the imperial version clocks in at an impressive 10.5 percent ABV. There will be other rare beers on tap, as well as raffles of Funky Buddha merchandise. Details here.

New Brews

Looks like there may be yet another craft brewery in the works in Jacksonville, according to the “Amber Waves” blog on the The Florida Times-Union’s website.

Also in J-ville, Green Room Brewing announced on its Facebook page that it has received state and federal approval to brew its own beer. No word yet on if any of it’s on tap yet.

ARRR!

Head over to the World of Beer Sarasota this Saturday for its Pirate Fest Day. Dress like a pirate and get Happy Hour prices all day. There will be a costume contest, live music food and special brews from Ballast Point, Clipper City and Heavy Seas. There will also be Rogue Dead Guy Ale on tap (the official brew of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which occurs each year on Sept. 19).

Outta the Can

I reported here in February that Buckbean Brewing Company in Reno, Nevada, was going to start distributing in Florida. Word is that the Reno, Nevada, brewery’s canned craft brews have arrived. I haven’t seen them yet, but then again, I don’t live in what you would call a craft beer hot spot.

Mark Those Calendars

St. Petersburg craft beer bar The Ale and the Witch announced that it will sponsor the inaugural Brewgrass Festival on Saturday, July 2, at the St. Petersburg Coliseum.

Also at the Coliseum, the Cask Beer Expo on Saturday, July 23, will feature cask ales brewed by a slew of Florida breweries, live music, and food. Tickets are limited.

The Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood will hold its inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Beer-B-Que on Sunday, July 3. The beer lineup isn’t too impressive, but for $35 advance, $45 at the door, you’ll get unlimited tastings of it and unlimited tastings of barbecue food. Seven Mary Three will provide the musical accompaniment.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. With all that’s going on, I’m sure I’ve missed something. Let us know in the comments or use our interactive events calendar – the link’s at the top of the page.

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 bands, beer, beer and food, beer travel, beer trips, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, central florida, Cigar City, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, festival, florida, guided tours, hollywood, jacksonville, joey redner, key west, microbrewery, Tampa, top beer in florida | Leave a comment

Beer Bites: Father’s Day, ’70s Porn, and Oprah

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Happy Father’s Day weekend to all the beer-loving Florida dads out there. Unfortunately, my pop left this mortal coil a while ago, but I’ll still be sure to toast him on Sunday. Sorry, Dad, but it won’t be with Old Milwaukee, though I do owe you a few that I pinched from the fridge when I was younger.

So in honor of our dads, we’ll start off this week’s Beer Bites with a few ways to treat the old man to a beery special time this Sunday.

Brunch and Beers

The Villa de Flora restaurant at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee will hold a Father’s Day beer brunch beginning at noon. Options include a flight of three beers to accompany the meal.
Bring Dad into Orlando Brewing and use this coupon to get $5 off a growler or refill. And if you’re looking for a present, you can buy a $50 Orlando Brewing gift card from now through Father’s Day and get a $10 gift card free. (No need to tell Pop about the second card. Also this weekend, Orlando Brewing will release its Pale 500 to commemorate its 500^th batch of beer. It’s described as an amped-up version of its signature Pale Ale.
Up in the Panhandle, Pensacola Bay Brewery is knocking 25 percent off its gallon growlers and refills for Father’s Day weekend, as well as 25 percent off T-shirts. And for $40, you can get a $55 gift certificate.

Behind The Green Room Door

Jacksonville’s Green Room Brewing finally opens its doors today at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, the permitting is not quite together enough for Green Room to serve its own beer, but there will be 16 taps pouring Florida-made craft brews until then. Oh, and if you didn’t get the reference in the subhead, here you go.

Festive Occasions

Beaches Summerfest in Jacksonville Beach will be Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Marriott Courtyard Oceanfront. There will be tastings from local craft brewers, as well as wine, music, food and a silent auction, all to benefit MDA. Ticket information here.
The Hoptomic Bitter Beer & Food Festival kicks off at 2 p.m. in the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa. This festival sounds like a hophead’s dream – organizers say there will be NO beer with less than 35 IBUs. Click here for more details.

Another Reason to Visit the Keys

A Facebook fan let me know about another craft beer bar in Key West. Krawl Off Duval opened in April and seems to have a pretty impressive craft beer offering and wine list. Its website isn’t active yet, but posts are regularly made on its Facebook page. And apparently there’s a “Mustache Party” the second Friday of the month, and ladies are welcome (the ‘staches need not be real).

And now for the odd news

Bet you never thought you’d find a Florida beer profiled in Oprah’s magazine, but it happened. The feature, “The 10 Best Microbrews,” profiles various beers from across the country. Cigar City’s Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale made the list, deservedly, but the article itself has a flaw that shows it was likely edited by someone who doesn’t know much about craft beer. Each beer is introduced with “If You Like: (macrobrew, mockrobrew or … wine?) Try: (the craft beer). In Maduro’s case, it was “If You Like: Guinness.” Now, I hesitate to cross the most powerful woman in the world, even though she’s never given me a Cadillac – yet – but Guinness? It’s not even the same style, and the flavors are not similar at all. Maybe “Newcastle Brown Ale” would have worked better? This part of the feature was off for nearly all of the profiled beers. Anyway, here’s the story so you can judge for yourself.

That’s it for this week’s Beer Bites. Enjoy your week of exploring Florida’s craft beer scene.

Reminder: Please use our free interactive calendar to promote your upcoming craft beer events. The link’s at the top of this page.

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 bands, beer, beer and food, beer travel, beer trips, brewery, brewing, brewpub, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, festival, florida, Gaylord Palms, jacksonville, microbrewery, northeast florida, Orlando, restaurants, Tampa | Leave a comment

SeaWorld Summer Nights Will Include Beer Tasting

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Shamu Rocks!

SeaWorld Orlando just announced some of the details of its Summer Nights special event, which kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m.

Of course there will be plenty of family-friendly fun, such as the “Shamu Rocks” show, DJs and live music, and fireworks. But what really caught my eye was the Brew Sampler option, which for $25 offers unlimited samples of more than 20 beers.

I’m trying to find out which beers will be poured, but if it’s anything like the options that were available at the Bands, Brew & BBQ event during February and March, Florida craft beer fans should be happy.

I’ll post more information as it comes in.

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Posted in Theme parks | Tagged bands, beer, beer and food, beer trips, brew pub, brewery, brewing, brewpub, central florida, craft beer, craft brewer, craft brewing, florida, microbrewery, SeaWorld, Summer Nights, Theme parks | Leave a comment

Father’s Day Brunch at Gaylord Palms Resort

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Gerard Walen

Father’s Day seems to get the short end of the stick sometimes.

When it comes to Mother’s Day food traditions, it’s all about the brunch. Restaurants open early to pour champagne and mimosas while Dad makes multiple trips to the food line to try to forget that he’s drinking mimosas.

But seriously, moms deserve a lot of pampering for all they do. But how about a little equal time for Dad on his day?

Any moms and kids in Central Florida who feel that turnabout is fair play will have an opportunity this Sunday at the Villa de Flora restaurant inside the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee.

For $44, Dad can enjoy a special Father’s Day Beer Brunch that includes a flight of 8 oz. each of Samuel Adams, Peroni and Kronenbourg. Extra flights can be purchased for $12 each, and there are lower prices if you don’t want the beer.

I’ve had the Villa de Flora brunch several times over the past few years, and the food is fresh and delicious. Throw a few beers in, and we’re talking about a real treat for Pop.

The brunch will be served from noon to 3 p.m., and reservations are recommended. Call 407-586-1114 for more information or to make reservations.

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Posted in Events | Tagged beer, beer and food, beer brunch, brunch, central florida, father's day, Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, mother's day, Orlando, restaurants | 1 Comment

Beer in Florida