Beer in Florida

Fire in the hole!

Blue skies, home brew and heavy weaponry combined for a fantastic day dedicated to sharing the joy of making one’s own beer.

OK, the weaponry aboard the SS American Victory remained silent, but plenty of firepower in the form of portable propane burners made its presence known as Special Hoperations, a South Tampa homebrewers club, helped the country celebrate National Homebrew Day on Saturday, May 7, 2011.

Danny Reid started the group about a year ago after the drive to meetings of the  longtime Tampa Bay B.E.E.R.S. homebrew club, which currently gathers at Mr. Dunderbaks in North Tampa, started to wear on him.  He’s still a member of B.E.E.R.S., but when he realized how many homebrewers lived in South Tampa, he decided to launch Special Hoperations. Currently, there are 52 members.

About a half-dozen or so brewing stations were set up on the American Victory’s aft deck Saturday, ranging from single-pot brews using malt extract to multi-tier, all-grain systems. People visiting the floating museum wandered by throughout the afternoon to watch the brewers at work, and have their questions patiently answered.

You can see more photos of the Big Brew celebration by clicking here.

National Homebrew Day was announced before Congress on May 7, 1988. The American Homebrewers Association created Big Brew Day to coincide with it on the second Saturday in May. The association estimates that there are about 750,000 homebrewers in the United States, and each year, thousands of them register their Big Brew events with the AHA. The event has spread globally. The AHA reports that in 2010, more than 5,000 beer makers brewed upwards of 11,000 gallons at 291 Big Brew sites on six continents.

A toast to homebrew!

As was the case around the world on Saturday, the Special Hoperators paused at 1 p.m. EST to raise a toast to homebrewing and the happiness it brings to lovers of good beer. As a bonus, the American Victory punctuated the toast with a series of blasts on the ship’s horn.

The SS American Victory ship is one of the Victory series of cargo ships built during World War II to shuttle supplies to troops overseas. It also served during the Korean and Vietnam wars before it was saved from the scrapyard in the mid-80s. Currently berthed in Tampa’s Channelside District, behind the Florida Aquarium, it is one of only three fully functioning Victory Ships in the country. It houses the SS American Victory Mariners Museum, and hosts several special events during the year. For more information, visit the ship’s website.

Special Hoperations derives its name from Reid’s days as a Special Operations officer. He currently is on active duty at MacDill Air Force Base, but he has been an avid brewer for years. The club holds its meetings at Datz, a South Tampa restaurant where Reid serves as consultant for its impressive beer list. Check out the Special Hoperations website for more information.

It should be mentioned that Special Hoperations is just one of many homebrew clubs across the state. I’m working on a blogroll of their websites to run in the sidebar of Beer in Florida. If you are in a homebrew club, please send me a link to your website, either in the comments below or by emailing trips4beer@gmail.com.

Oh, and by the way, I brought a few bottles of my very first homebrew to the Big Brew, and I appreciate the feedback I received both on the ship and later at the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room.

I’ve got the fever.

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