Brew Hops & Wine Stops

I was very lucky to attend a special event at the brand new First Magnitude Brewing Company in Gainesville. It is named for the powerful first magnitude springs of north central Florida churning out fresh water at 100 cubic feet per second! In addition, there are the brightest, first magnitude stars that illuminate the night sky. This is what inspired the attractive logo depicting a mermaid with her telescope gazing up at the stars. 

I drove up to the outskirts of downtown Gainesville and found the brewery tucked away behind some construction. I navigated through a labyrinth of parked cars and found a spot in the gravel lot. Inside I was greeted by a friendly crewmember who gave me a mini tasting glass, card for a flight and a raffle ticket to hopefully win a t-shirt. The crowd was light compared to the grand opening that occurred the week before drawing over 1,500 people! I admired the large tasting room with exposed wood beams and a really cool bar top made from iron paint sprayed with an oxidizing agent that was then sealed to stop the oxidation, leaving beautiful browns, turquoises and oranges. I walked to the bar and greeted the young, gnome bearded bartender and requested the one beer everyone told me to try first:  the 72 Pale Ale named for the constant, year-round 72-degree temperature of the Florida springs. I was not disappointed. This pale was full-flavored with bright citrusy hops and a firm malt backbone.

I was delighted to see that the event was catered by the local Piesano’s Italian restaurant and grubbed on some delicious slices of different calzones and fried ravioli. With a full belly I talked with the distributers for the brewery who were sponsoring the event before going for my second beer, the Siren Blond Ale, named for the beautiful sea nymphs of Greek mythology who lured sailors to certain death with their bewitching songs. This was a nice blond, light-bodied and refreshing. I then met co-owner and head brewer John Denny and his wife Christine. He was a very nice gentleman with a love for his craft and a big beer geek like me. I inquired about plans for barrel aging and a chance for sours. He replied that they were going to take it slow but definitely were interested in these things in the near future. We chatted some more and he thanked me for attending and invited me to eat and drink as much as I wanted. I decided to get my third beer, the Drift English Mild Ale, which had a nice charcoal hue and roasty flavor.

There was a thank you speech from the craft manager of the distributor and also from John himself. He talked about their journey to opening the brewery and its huge success only a week behind schedule. I went for my fourth beer, Time Out Irish Dry Stout, a hearty stout with good toasty mocha flavors. The 72, Siren and Drift are their core year-round beers with Time Out and the last beer I tried, Night Fall Porter, being rotating seasonals. I was sad to find out I missed some delicious specialty brews including Devil’s Eye Double IPA, named for a popular cave diving spot near High Springs, Florida, as well as Skinny Dip Amber Ale, Karst Belgian Pale Ale and River Rise Belgian Strong Dark Ale. These brews were sucked dry by the masses during the grand opening.

I had a chance to talk with brewer Eric about his techniques and plans for the future before a tour of the facility was announced. I followed a small group gathered at the back of the warehouse to see where the magic happened. John gave an in-depth discussion on the brewing process and explained the different tanks, heat exchanger, centrifuge and piping. It seemed like a very efficient 30 barrel system.

For now, they distribute in extremely limited batches and will stay solely in Gainesville. If everything works out, they will start bottling and/or canning in about a year. As soon as I can get some kegs, I will put them on tap at my growler station, so you will have to come visit sometime.

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant - Gainesville

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams

According to a recently passed New Hampshire law, a nanobrewery is defined as a brewery that brews less than 2,000 barrel of beer a year. They are popping up all over the country and are giving new brewers a chance to experiment with a few brews in a concentrated group of consumers. Enter Alligator Brewing. They were incorporated in 2007 and are nestled inside of Tall Paul’s Brew House in downtown Gainesville. A good friend of mine who bartends at Tall Paul’s, gave me the opportunity to tour the tiny facility. 

I started the night by sampling various brews from Tall Paul’s 30 tap list. One excellent one was Tartare Rouge by Bear Republic, also Hop Gun by Funky Buddha. Then I had a flight of Alligator’s brews, including Procrastination Brett(anomyces) Pale Ale, Pineapple Basil Saison, Devil’s Milhopper IPA, Habanero Smoked Ale and Baron, Lord, Knight – a strong ale. All were flavorful and exhibited unique tastes. I liked the Habanero Ale and Saison the best. Now I was ready for the tour.

He opened the room to reveal a space the size of a walk-in closet. To the right was a plastic container with some fermenting beer. Next to it were a few recipes with some interesting looking future brews, including a Black Widow Wit and an Orval clone. Above that was some cultured yeast in erlenmeyer flasks. In the middle was a crate of fresh pineapples for the saison and behind that some boil kettles. In a little refrigerator were some kegs and oak barrels for aging. Down a small hall were some maturing tanks. Even for such a minute operation, it was still really cool. 

Now that I have toured Gainesville’s beer scene I need to go around Florida and hit up some good breweries like Intuition, Bold City, Cigar City, Funky Buddha and Due South.  If you are ever in the Gainesville area, take a ride downtown to 10 SE 2^nd Avenue and experience the taste of Gainesville in beer form.

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant - Gainesville

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams

Jacksonville is known for its large acreage.  However, it is quickly becoming known for its craft beer. It seems as if a new one is opening up every year, and they are all different—that’s what makes them all so great.

Bold City Brewery is probably the most well known craft brewery in the city. Walking through the door to Bold City, you feel like you are in a very small neighborhood gathering place. There are a bunch of tables all around and a bookshelf with board games to play at your table if you choose. If you start to get hungry, you can step into the garage where they have a local grill-master cooking up some food. And if you enjoy homebrewing like I do, you can walk next door to Just Brew It, a home brewing supply store, as you leave Bold City.

Right around the corner and down the street a few blocks is another microbrewery called Intuition Ale Works.  There is a different vibe here compared to Bold City.  Large high-top tables fill the room, and once you make it past the tables you are at the long bar. No games here, just a cool place to enjoy a craft beer after work or anytime.

River City Brewing is another local brewery that has been around for a while. This is a place on its own. When you walk through the doors, you have your choice of walking to the left into a nice restaurant or walking to the right and into the more fast-paced bar area. If this type of atmosphere isn’t for you but you still want to try the beer, you can take your beer outside on the deck and enjoy the Florida weather and the St. John’s River.

Right down the road is one of the newest additions to Jacksonville’s craft brew scene. Aardwolf Brewing is a more upscale place without really being upscale. There are three different gathering rooms to choose from to sit and enjoy your brew. There is a large room where the bar is located where most of the patrons tend to sit. This room is loud so if you want a quieter, more casual space, then just walk a couple feet farther and into a smaller area separated by Plexiglas from the large room. This is pretty cool because you can be away from the loudness of the other room but still see what is going on over there. There is also a child-friendly room at the back of the building where many people just chill and eat some of the great food from one of several local food-trucks that park behind the building on the weekends. There are even picnic tables out front for an even more relaxed atmosphere.

If you’re looking for more of a fun-filled night, you can head out to Jacksonville Beach and go to Green Room Brewing. You can enjoy their great beer sitting in the front of the house talking, enjoying some local music, playing games at your table or even ping pong in the back room. Whatever your pleasure is, I am sure you will have a great time.

Engine 15 is another cool place to hang out and enjoy some great craft beer. There is a larger selection of beer on tap here than any of the others. Not a huge place, so it gets stuffy when the room is filled, but it is definitely a place not to be missed.

Finally, my personal favorite is Pinglehead Brewing. It is located inside of Brewers Pizza, which, by the way, has the best pizza hands down in the area. They have flat-screen TVs in both rooms that have a continuously scrolling menu of the beers on tap. During the weekend there are always plenty of sports being watched on the other TV. This is a great place to go and it is very kid-friendly. Great beer, great food and great people!

The best part of these breweries is that they are really not that far to get to no matter where you live around the city. Everybody who enjoys great local craft beer needs to try and visit them all at least once. However, if you are just passing through or just don’t have the time to stop into one of these great breweries, you can always stop in to the nearest ABC and pick up an offering from Bold City, Intuition or Green Room. These brews will give you great insight into the kind of craft beer the city of Jacksonville has to offer. Cheers.

Chris Brooks, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeerchrisb

I had a chance to go to a tasting event held by Susanne Hecht, Export Sales Director for Schneider Weisse. While I am very familiar with Schneider’s Aventinus Eisbock (one of my all-time favorites), I was not very familiar with the entire lineup or much of the brewery’s story, which is quite interesting. 

In the 1800s in Germany, wheat beer could only be brewed by the Bavarian royal family. Wheat beer sales had been steadily declining and in the 1870s King Ludwig II discontinued brewing wheat beer and sold the exclusive brewing rights to Georg I Schneider. Thus, the Schneider family saved Bavarian wheat beer from extinction. Today, the Kelheim-based brewery is run by Georg VI Schneider. That location, which the family acquired in 1927, is the oldest wheat beer brewery in Bavaria brewing continuously since 1607.

On to their beers. The lineup for the evening included: TAP 1 Meine Blonde Weisse, TAP 7 Unser Original, TAP 5 Meine Hopfenweisse, TAP 6 Unser Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock.

The TAP 1 Blonde I found to be very refreshing, with aromas reminiscent of fresh spices and blooming flowers.

The TAP 7 Original is the beer that pays homage to the founder Georg I. It is brewed according to the original recipe from 1872. In the glass, this beer is a lovely deep, amber color. Aromas of clove, bananas and nutmeg dance out of the glass and pull you in for taste after taste. 

The TAP 5 Hopfenweisse is a collaborative effort with Brooklyn Brewery. This beer, I found to be surprisingly hop-forward for a Bavarian wheat beer. The beer is a reddish-gold strong wheat dopplebock with an intense tropical nose. It has typical dopplebock sweetness, balanced very nicely by a pleasant, bitter finish.

The TAP 6 Unser Aventinus is a deep ruby colored wheat dopplebock with a nose of bananas, raisins and plums that somehow morph into roasted notes and licorice spice. This would make a great pairing for roasted meats or fruity chocolate desserts.

Lastly, the Aventinus Eisbock is made by allowing barrels of the TAP 6 Unser Aventinus to cool to the point that some of the water contained in the beer freezes to the sides. The liquid that remains is concentrated, with more intense flavors and a higher ABV (12% compared to 8.2%). This is a great beer to have by itself, as an aperitif, on a cool evening by a fire. It is nearly black in the glass with aromas of ripe plum and bitter almonds accompanied by strong notes of banana and clove.

These beers are available to us at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. If you do not see one of these beers, or any beer you are in search of in your local store, please ask us about it. We are always happy to do what we can to fill an order.

Rick Swartz, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeerrick

Have you ever passed by a local brewery and wondered why the parking lot was so full? Well the answer to that is drinking like a local is the best thing you can possibly do. There are plenty of local breweries in each state, city and zipcode. When you walk into the brewery/bar they welcome everybody with open arms--as long as you have a love for beer!

For instance, one of my favorite breweries to visit is Funky Buddha, located in Oakland Park, Florida, and not too far from ABC Fine Wine & Spirits where I'm a beer consultant. They appreciate every guest that walks in and make you feel like part of the family. It's a great spot for after work and happy hour specials. Some of their popular beers are Hop Gun IPA and the Floridian Hefeweizen which will be in package this fall and avavabile at your local ABC. Every Tuesday they have a special tapping at 7 p.m., ranging from Ghost Dog Whit (Belgian wit) to Clifford's Big Red Ale (imperial red ale with an abv of 9.7%). Don't get me wrong,  drinking some of your favorite nationally distributed brews is prettty cool, but when you drink like a local there is something special going into every ounce of that beer. 

Due South is another one of my favorite local breweries, which is operated out of a warehouse in Boynton Beach, Florida. If you're not paying attention on the road you can easily miss it. They also have a welcoming atmosphere. Some of their top beers are Category 3 IPA (which can be purchase at your local south florida ABC) and Caramel Cream Ale which is sometimes available on our Brew Stops for growler fills--not a bad idea, if I do say so myself! Due South tends to do specialty brews, and one of my favorites is the Mexican Standoff. This is a porter brewed with cocoa nibs and nacho chilies (amazing), but it is only avavabile at the brewery. While drinking their beer you tend create an appetite, but dont worry! Food trucks are usually on site. 

Local breweries might be considered the "little guys," but to me they are the ones that keep the authenticity of craft beer alive with their passion and love. Where else can you go to feel at home, have special tappings at a certain time and also have some of the most unique beers ever? Visit one of your local breweries, and I promise you'll think just as highly of the "little guys" as I do.

Jamal Jackson, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeerjamalj

Rogue Brewery was founded in 1988 complete with a brewpub in Ashland, Oregon.  They started with two beers—American Amber Ale and Oregon Golden Ale.  This however was not a large enough facility for the company, so the founder went in search of a new place where they met a woman named Mo, who had an ideal place in Newport, Oregon. She had two stipulations if they were to use the property:  

1. They must always take care of the local community, mainly a fishing village.


2. They must display a picture of her in the bathtub above every brewpub they open. They still abide by both stipulations. 

The main focus of Rogue is to do things right—they aren’t worried about what you think of them; they are focused on making good quality products. They don’t take short cuts, they take long cuts. For example, the brewery is located virtually in the middle of nowhere, making something as simple as shipping out the products a real task.

If you want to see a business founded on the right fundamentals, read through their company guidelines. I particularly like statement 6 of their fundamental agreement, which states, “And most important, cut out all the B.S.” They believe in doing business the right way by taking care of their employees, who in turn will take care of the business. 

In a recent visit with Rogue we learned about how they are now producing their own produce on the Rogue Farms. They grow everything from hops to barley and a variety of fruits and vegetables. This allows them to be nearly self-sufficient and to have control over the quality of almost everything that goes into their products.

Rogue was voted distillery of the year in 2013 at the 23^rd Annual World Beverage Competition. A newer venture for them, they are a pioneer in the American handcrafted spirits category, making everything from single malt whisky to a malt vodka. So next time you are out shopping for beer, look for anything with the Rogue name and I can guarantee you will be getting a high-quality product made the right way.

Mike Love, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant – Ocoee

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeermikel

After gorging yourself on chocolate goodness in Hershey, go about an hour southeast to Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and visit the beer mecca that is Victory Brewing Company. Meet Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski, two friends since fifth grade with a passion (and top-notch education) for great beer. Ron started out with Baltimore Brewing Company to get his one-year brewing prerequisite. After that, he attended the prestigious Technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan, where he honed his brewing prowess.  Meanwhile, Bill took over Ron’s position at Baltimore Brewing and brewed some award winning German specialty brews. Feeling accomplished, he said auf wiedersehen to his Baltimore pals and studied abroad in Munich at Doemens Institute. After a year of German training and probably many liters of delicious Weihenstephaner, Ron came back to the states to work at Old Dominion Brewing in Virginia, where he helped increase their production ten-fold. With their expert German educations and a few impressive credentials on their résumés, Ron and Bill finally agreed it was time to open their own brewery and share their tasty beer with the masses. Victory Brewing opened its doors, sadly not in time for Valentine’s Day, on February 15, 1996. They have 12 year-round releases, all with great, full-flavor including Hop Devil IPA, Storm King Imperial Stout, Golden Monkey Tripel, Headwaters Pale Ale, and Dirt Wolf Double IPA, which replaced Hop Wallop. I have one of their specialty brews to sample, Hop Ranch IPA. Their beers are brewed with whole cone hops, rare nowadays for breweries, to ensure bright hop notes and a fresher taste. Now for some bitter delight.

Appearance

Pouring it well-chilled in my favorite IPA glass, it produces a crystal clear aurulent color with a whipped white head. I always enjoy the color of a good IPA, reminds me of a sunset.

Smell

Did someone dunk a Juicy Fruit in my glass? It has an amazing tropical fruit aroma of pineapple, mango, tangerine and lemons. I think Carmen Miranda walked by.

Taste

A fruit cocktail of grapefruit, citrus, papaya and hint of pine. I even think there is a blueberry floating around in there. The showcase hop is Mosaic, which has made its way to the front of a few IPAs I have noticed recently. The fruitiness is very refreshing.

I will certainly put this on high on the list of my favorite IPAs. Look for other fantastic Victory beers including V-Twelve Quadrupel and Prima Pils. Do you have kids? Do not fret; they make their own root beer available on draft at the brewpub. I think next time I will pick up a Helios Saison just in time for summer!

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams

From my home town of Chicago comes the very versatile brewery known as Goose Island. They brew everything from sour wild ales to rich bourbon barrel aged stouts, and they're very tasty to boot! They were established on a very lucky Friday the 13^th in 1988 by John Hall, who built the first brewpub known as the Clybourn Brewpub in Lincoln Park. Chicagoans and fellow midwesterners were tired of mass-produced beers and enjoyed this relatively new “craft” beer, shooting up demand. In 1995, Hall built a larger brewery and bottling plant while demand climbed even higher. In 1999, Hall built his second brewpub near the home of the Cubs, Wrigley Field. Today Goose Island beers are available in all 50 states and in Europe.

Goose Island’s beer portfolio has a wide range of styles for everyone’s taste. There are the Vintage Ales, mostly Belgian-style saisons and wild ales aged in wine barrels, known as the “sisters.” These are big, full-flavored beers in bombers and not recommended for the novice beer drinker. There is Sofie, Matilda, Halia, Gillian, Lolita, Madame Rose and Juliet, all very exquisite with a wine-esque presentation complete with foil around the crown and simple labels with their name elegantly scripted in bold lettering.  I have a Gillian to try later. 

For the boozy barrel aged beer lovers, there are the highly desired Bourbon County Ales including Bourbon County Stout, Bourbon County Coffee, Bourbon County Barleywine, Backyard Rye BCS, and Proprietor’s BCS.  All are heavy on the sweet bourbon smell and taste and high in ABV.

There are also the Urban and Classic Ales available at various times throughout the year, and all are very refreshing like Honker’s Ale and 312 Urban Wheat. Then there are those that do not leave Illinois, like Fulton and Wood, but I will not elaborate on those because they are just a tease to us Floridians. 

I will now taste a young Gillian that can be aged for up to five years. The label is classy with a strawberry color and the name Gillian in a curvy font. It is a Belgian-style farmhouse ale. This beer was originally named Scully after Gillian Anderson’s character on The X-Files but failed to sound ladylike, so was renamed the appropriate “Gillian.”

Appearance

It pours the color of a fine French Champagne with a quick fizzing head

Smell

Tart, jammy strawberries, faint petting zoo, apple cider vinegar and a hint of honeycrisp apples

Taste

Strong, funky barnyard, strawberries, a touch of honey and a Zinfandel-like finish: dry and peppery. This is a big, wild saison true to the style and super funky.

Prepare for a hefty price tag for Miss Gillian, as much as $30, but in my opinion, she is worth every penny.  Bourbon County is a more affordable but ultra rare and disappears faster than a baseball in the ivy of the Friendly Confines. Best pick up a sixer of Endless IPA, sit back and enjoy the day.

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant - Gainesville

Follow me on Twitter @abcbeeradams