Yours Truly and Kent Waugh, right, at the 2013 Florida Brewers Guild Fest in Ybor City.
From Denver, Colorado, during the Great American Beer Festival, the news broke this weekend that one of Florida’s most veteran brewers has been named head brewmaster at a new Central Florida brewery set to open in the next few months.
Kent Waugh is leaving his position as head brewer at Big River Grille and Brewing Works, the brewpub at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, to lead the brewing team at Crooked Can Brewing Company in Winter Garden.
Big River is one of the brewpubs in a chain owned by Craftworks Restaurants & Breweries Inc., and Waugh joined it in 2010. He started his brewing career at Boulder Brewing in Colorado, moved to head brewer job at the now-defunct Overland Stage Stop Brewery in Longmont, Colorado, then took a few years off from the brewing industry before moving with his family to Central Florida.
Though he had to produce “corporate” recipes for the regular taps at Big River, he managed to put his mark on them. When he called the shots for various seasonals or the “Brewmaster Choice” taps, though, his talent became obvious.
Don’t take my word for it, though: Waugh consistently won medals at the annual Best Florida Beer Championships, including a gold earlier this year for his Rocket Red, which incidentally won a bronze medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.
Waugh’s one of the first brewers I met when I started this beer-writing thing, and I’m just one of legions of beer geeks and brewers who consider him a good friend. He’s one of the most personable, good-humored and cool guys I know, and I can’t wait to taste what he’ll create.
In moving to a start-up Florida brewery, Waugh joins another veteran brewer, Ron Raike, who is leaving Winter Park’s Cask & Larder Southern Public House to partner with Playalinda Brewing Company in Titusville.
Crooked Can is aiming to open by St. Patrick’s Day 2015.
Read more details on the Crooked Can Facebook page.
