I fell in love with a beer 10 years ago
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Dear Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, Happy Anniversary. Though I often think of the first time we met, the good robots of Facebook Memories reminded me this morning of exactly when it was with the following post. Ten years ago. I had no idea we were going to meet that day, Jai Alai. My then-wife and my daughter – 5 years old at the time – decided to spend the weekend in Central Florida, and they had some shopping to do. We ended up at Waterford Lakes Town Center in East Orlando. While they perused shoe stores and clothing shops on a beautiful spring morning, I scouted out a place where we could have ..read more
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‘Sunshine State Suds’ – Florida craft beer community featured in ‘Florida Crossroads’
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
A new half-hour documentary by the The FLORIDA Channel‘s show “Florida Crossroads” takes a look into the booming craft beer industry in the Sunshine State. Robb Larson of Grindhaus Brew Lab. Image from “Sunshine State Suds,” produced by The FLORIDA Channel Host Rebecca Baer talks to a variety of people in the state’s brewing community, from pioneer Michael N. Bryant of Dunedin Brewery to relative newcomers such as Robb Larson and Lisa Colburn of Grindhaus Brew Lab, as well as representatives from the University of Florida’s hop research lab and The University of South Florida-St. Petersburg ..read more
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Craft beer podcast ‘Gator Growlers’ debuts from Gainesville
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Image by GateHouse Media Services I have a craft beer podcast! We’re a few episodes in, but I’m pretty excited about it. Background: I try to keep my day job duties separate from my beer writing, but those pesky upper-level editors at The Gainesville Sun – where I’m a lower-level editor on the news desk – found out about my side gig and asked if I would be willing to talk about craft beer as one of a new group of podcasts being launched through the gainesville.com website. And those of you who know me are well aware that I need little excuse to ramble on and on about my passion for the craft ..read more
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Win swag from Jameson Caskmates Drinking Buddies and its beer partners
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
The contest is now over. Please check your email if you entered. It’s been awhile since Beer in Florida has done a giveaway, so let’s do one, especially since it has a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Late last year and earlier this year, seven breweries across the country released special beers in conjunction with Jameson Irish Whiskey as part of the distiller’s Drinking Buddies program. These breweries aged beer in Jameson barrels, and one of them was Downtown St. Petersburg’s own Cycle Brewing, with is Buddy Shots brew. In addition, Jameson aged some of their whiskey in stout beer barrels ..read more
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Florida Brewery Map updated, and the number is …
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
The growth of the small brewery industry continues to proceed at a dizzying pace. The Brewers Association announced at the end of November that the number of breweries in the United States passed the 5,000 mark, with 99 percent of those being small and independent breweries. More than 2,000 are in planning. But what about in Florida? As regular readers of this blog know, I’ve maintained a Florida Brewery Map and List here since 2012, and just completed a major update of it. As of January 24, 2017. there are 215 216 217 218 operating breweries in the Sunshine State, with 38 37 on their way to ..read more
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Signs point to more Florida craft beer tourism
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Crudely done and unofficial photo illustration by Gerard Walen Tucked in the midst of a long list of provisions to a transportation bill passed by the Florida Legislature is an add-on that should prove to be a real boon to local craft breweries. The list attached to CS/CS/HB 7061 — Transportation includes this line: Requires the FDOT to install directional signs for certain breweries on the rights-of-way of interstate highways and primary and secondary roads, subject to certain requirements and requires a brewery that requests a directional sign to pay certain costs. That’s right, soon loc ..read more
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Florida craft beer lands awards in front of the world’s eyes
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Florida breweries have had a slew of awards and recognition in just the past few days, and the timing couldn’t have been better because the 2016 Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference was in town. First the big one. In the recently concluded 2016 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Florida-based breweries took home a whopping 27 medals across 93 style categories. Based on the number of medals won, Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing was No. 3 in the Top 10 Breweries list, with Brew Bus Brewing, also of Tampa, not far behind at sixth. You can see the complete list here. Meanwhile, the uber-popular SeriousEats ..read more
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Florida brewery growth continues unchecked: Updated
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Florida persists on its path to becoming one of the most brewery-rich states in the country, according to the latest update of this site’s Florida Brewery Map and List. I try to keep the list and map updated in a timely manner, but the last time I wrote one of these posts was in August,  when the count was 152 operating breweries in the state, with 33 on their way to opening. That number has now reached 175 operating breweries as of this date and, again, 33 slated to start brewing in the near future. (UPDATED on 7/21/16: 184 operating breweries; 33 on the way) (UPDATED on 6/5/16: 180 oper ..read more
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Carnival will brew aboard cruise ship based in Florida
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line announced this morning that it will join with Concrete Beach Brewery, a subsidiary of Boston Beer Company’s Alchemy & Science Division, to launch the first brewery on board a cruise ship. Beer geeks will find some details lacking in the announcement – such as brewhouse size, whether the entire process will take place on board, or how the brewers will deal with the inevitable rough seas while brewing – but it’s still pretty exciting. One of the renderings provided by Carnival shows a respectable line of fermenting tanks behind the glass. Here’s the release ..read more
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Guest post: UF digs deep into Florida hops crop
Beer in Florida
by Gerard Walen
3y ago
By Jack Payne Special to Beer in Florida  Jack Payne The hunt for the next great Florida agriculture success story is unfolding in both Apopka and Wimauma. The storybook ending the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences hopes to write is one in which our state becomes a major hops producer. That would provide a local supply to match the explosive growth of the craft brewing industry. Along the way, it would create jobs, increase growers’ and brewers’ profits, and give Florida beer devotees a chance to drink local. Like so many previous success stories, it st ..read more
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