Florida will soon become home of a new concept in beer brewing – a dedicated brewery for hire facility called Brew Hub. The model is not dissimilar to contract brewing, a practice in the brewing industry of brewing another brewery’s beer using excess capacity. This allows a brewer in another part of the country to break into a market without straining their existing facility to do so.

The new company was founded by a former Anheuser-Busch executive and is based in a western suburb of St. Louis. The first of the company’s planned breweries is planned for Lakeland, Fla. along the I-4 corridor perfectly positioned for easy distribution throughout Florida and the Southeast. The new facility will offer all the amenities of a large commercial brewery with the ability to brew beer to demanding specifications. The company has even hired a brewmaster of impressive pedigree to watch over the process, Paul Farnsworth.

According to the company’s website, the Lakeland brewery is already under construction, but now completion date is listed. It does provide that the plant will have an annual capacity of 75,000 barrels along with full packaging, laboratory, marketing and distribution support.

Related articles

• Brew Hub — a new idea in craft brewing (oregonlive.com)
• Brew Hub will offer first site for craft beermakers to use (jacksonville.com)
• Craft beer brewing company signs Lakeland lease (bizjournals.com)

Earlier, I had reported that voting would not take place until next week. That report turned out to be wrong because voting is open now and remain open until 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 10. The same rules apply as before, only one vote allowed per IP address. That means that if you access the Internet through a network only one person on that network is likely to be able to vote.

Charlie Papazian, the originator of the poll, had this to say today on his blog, “BeerCity USA poll highlights the spirit of support local, small town and big city Americans generate on behalf of their communities. BeerCity USA is not a measure of beer quality, number of breweries, volume of beer enjoyed nor any kind of “best-of-show” measurement.

“It’s an indicator of the coherent nature of beer communities. It celebrates and recognizes the importance of responsible enjoyment and social interaction. One could take a look at the numbers from many perspectives: economic impacts, breweries per capita, regulatory impact, beer consumption, comparative share of craft beer from craft brewers, blue versus red, winning baseball teams, stadium beer offerings, jobs created, big versus small, etc.”

The ballot includes cities that received 400 or more votes in the 2012 BeerCity USA poll or received 400 or more “nominating votes” in the recent (now closed) nomination poll.

Heres how the BeerCity USA 2013 ballot appears. Vote Here.  http://poll.fm/47pfz.

• Ann Arbor, MI
• Asheville, NC
• Bend, OR
• Chicago, IL
• Cleveland, OH
• Denver, CO
• Durango, CO
• Fort Collins, CO
• Grand Rapids, MI
• Jacksonville, FL
• Kalamazoo, MI
• Madison, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Missoula, MT
• Philadelphia, PA
• Phoenix-Tempe-Scottsdale, AZ
• Portland, OR
• Raleigh, NC
• Richmond, VA
• San Diego, CA
• St. Louis, MO
• Tampa, FL

Results will be announced Monday, May 13 at 12 noon, Mountain Time. Rules state that a tie will be called if there is a 3% or less difference between the number of votes for the top cities.

Voting statisitics will be Tweeted by @charliepapazian periodically as well as @sprbrewcrew.

Now, get online and vote!

I refer to, of course, the quest for getting Jacksonville on the ballot for BeerCity USA. At times it looked as though there was no way we would make it. Our goal was to obtain 400 nominations by the close of the poll. With an hour to go we were still short over 60 nominations. But, through persistence and the help of other Jacksonville beer-lovers, we managed to cross the magic number of 400 with 13 minutes of poll time to spare. In the end, Jacksonville received 411 nominations, second behind Richmond, Va. which received 517.

But, the quest for BeerCity USA does not end there. Next week, beginning on Monday, May 13, we will have to rally our forces again for the actual voting on which city will be bestowed with the prestigious title of BeerCity USA.  In the running with us is the perennial favorite Asheville, NC. This passionate beer city has managed to win – or tie – for first place all four of the years the poll has been in existence. Our sacred quest now is to unseat the reigning champions and claim the title for our own.

Are we up to it? You bet!

Rally your friends, have them friend Springfield Brew Crew on Facebook, SprBrewCrew on Twitter, or follow this blog for updates. Then get them to vote. The rules are the same as for the poll: one vote per IP address. The city with the most votes will be crowned BeerCIty USA at the close of the poll on Saturday. May 18.

Related articles

• Second chance to get Jax on BeerCity USA ballot (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Nominate Jacksonville for Beer City USA 2013 (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Nominations open soon for Beer City USA; Let’s get Jacksonville on the ballot (sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com)
• Road Trip: Asheville – Beer City USA (myfox8.com)

Cerveza Pacifico. Picture taken by me on the pacifican beach of Mexico easter 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Somehow, in the mists of time, the true reason for Cinco de Mayo has morphed from a minor Mexican holiday – it celebrates a little-known Mexican victory over France in the state of Puebla — to a major American beer bash. That is not a complaint, merely an observation of the power of the American beer industry. But, what most beer lovers do not know is
that many of the Mexican beers that feature red, white, and green color schemes, brightly smiling and beautiful Mexican women, and serene beach
scenes, are really German styles brought to our Latin neighbor by Bavarian immigrants as far back as the middle 1500’s.

Fermented beverages are nothing new to Mexico; history provides plenty of examples of beverages being made from such familiar ingredients as maize (corn), agave, and even cocoa beans. But, the first
evidence of beer comes from a short-lived brewery established by Alfonso de Herro in the 1940’s. This was well before the first breweries were established in either North America or Canada and establishes
Mexico as the home of the first home to beer in the Americas.

From there the history of beer in Mexico jumps ahead to the 1800’s. The influx of Bavarian immigrants saw the beginnings of the beer industry and the birth of many of the familiar brands we now consider Mexican beer. Brews such as Corona, Negra Modelo, Dos Equis, and Sol all owe their existence to German brewers, living in Mexico.

Indeed, all are recognizable European beer styles that, for one reason or another, fell out of favor in Europe, but found great approval south of the U.S. border.

Negra Modelo

A Munich Dunkel Lager, the name simply means dark lager. This smooth and sessionable brown lager displays subtle caramel character, a sweet and malty backbone, and very faint hops character. This beer pairs very
favorably with beef fajitas, enchiladas with a rich mole sauce, or other spicy Mexican fair.

Dos Equis

Long before the most interesting man in the world was born, Dos Equis began its life called as a Vienna Lager called Siglo XX. It was brewed to welcome the 20th century by German-born Wilhelm Hasse at his Moctezuma Brewery. The Ambar version of this brew is the more traditional and most closely resembles the Vienna Lager it is based on. It has a sweet, toasted malt nose with a similar, mid-palate sweet flavor. As with most brews of this style, hops are barely present and provide very little character to the beer. As a companion to Mexican
dishes, serve this with spicy salsa and chips or carnitas.

Cervaza Pacifico Clara

More commonly known as Pacífico, this Pilsner-style beer was first brewed in 1900 when three Germans opened the Cerveceria del Pacífico brewery in Mazatlán. Like its cousin Corona, Pacifico is characterized
by slightly skunky aroma and flavor that is enhanced by the addition of a lime. Though it may not score highly on many beer websites like Beer Advocate, this is one of the beers locals are most fond of. Drink this
one while sitting at the beach on the Mexican Riviera with a plump lime wedge and forget about the world for a while.

Related articles

• Fresher beers, a livelier Cinco de Mayo (utsandiego.com)
• Mexican beer cocktail (cheftoponkumer.wordpress.com)

The article, posted on Examiner.com yesterday goes on to say that several cities have already qualified. Unfortunately, Jacksonville is not among them. However, it is not too late. We can still get Jax on the ballot by voting through Saturday, May 4. The cites already nominated include:  Ann Arbor, MI; Asheville, NC; Bend, OR; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Durango, CO; Fort Collins, CO; Grand Rapids, MI; Kalamazoo, MI; Madison, WI; Milwaukee, WI; Missoula, MT; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix-Tempe-Scottsdale, AZ; Portland, OR; Raleigh, NC; San Diego, CA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa, FL.

This is our chance to rally and show the country that we have a vital beer scene here in Jacksonville. The implications of winning this contest run the gamut from increased national awareness of the quality brews we have here in town to increased tourism. Beer vacations are quickly becoming a popular activity. We can ensure that Jacksonville gets on the beer travel map by winning or showing well in this contest.

To vote follow this link https://polldaddy.com/poll/7075568/, scroll down and click in the circle next to Jacksonville. Then scroll down and click submit. You may only vote once per IP address, so be sure to pass this link on to your friends on Facebook and Twitter. I will provide a running total of votes we have over the next few days on my Facebook (Springfield Brew Crew and Jax Beer Guy) and Twitter (sprbrewcrew and JaxBeerGuy) feeds.

Let’s do this!

Every now and then a brewery comes along that seems to have built in buzz. These are the breweries that brew beers by their own rules and to please themselves first. Funny thing is, most of the time, those same breweries tend to please the beer-loving public, too. Funky Buddha Brewery of Oakland Park, Fla. is one of those breweries that has attained cult status.

In 2010 the brewery began as The Funky Buddha Lounge and Brewery in Boca Raton, Fla. The hip lounge features 40 loose leaf teas, 40 shisha flavors, small bites, dessert and over 110 craft beers including those brewed on site. The lounge and brewery proved so popular that just three years later head brewer and founder Ryan Sentz is nearing completion on a brand new, full production facility with a monstrous 30 barrel brew house. The behemoth brewhouse makes Funky Buddha the largest production brewery in South Florida with the capacity to pump out nearly 6,000 barrels of beer in its first year and room to brew five times that much in the future.

“We’re extremely excited that this brewery will allow us to share our passion for craft beer with a larger audience,” Sentz said. “We could not have gotten here without the support of the Funky Buddha family and the entire brewing community.”

In addition to the brewery, the new facility will feature over 30 tap lines, live music, brewery tours, growlers to-go, and much more. The tap room is practically a work of art featuring a 70’ bar top lined by tall windows looking into the brewery, and a 15’ tall, live-edged cherry wood back bar built by Asheville Mantle and Slab of North Carolina.

Funky Buddha is known for its offbeat special release beer flavors such as No Crusts Peanut Butter and Jelly Brown Ale and the highly sought after Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. But the brewery is equally known foryear-round brews Hop Gun IPA and Floridian Hefeweizen. Expect to see these in bottles as the new facility settles in and adds a planned bottling line. Distribution for the brews will be handled by Brown Distribution.

 The City of Oakland Park’s new Culinary Arts District, spearheaded by Redevelopment Management Associates of Delray Beach will feature the Funky Buddha as its cornerstone. The district will also feature restaurants, markets, a culinary school, and a hydroponic farm with horticultural classes. The district’s newly renovated walking plaza sits directly in front of the brewery, and will be publicly unveiled along with the Brewery’s Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting on June 1 from 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Since Anheuser-Busch purchased the popular Chicago brewery, the Goose has been loose at more and more high-visibility events like the Players. And, with bottles of the beer appearing in all 50 states, you are likely to see much more from the brand.

312 in particular is an exceedingly well-made brew that garnered a rating of 92 by Draft Magazine. “Lemony and acidic with playful sweetness, the aroma is not just pleasant, but perfect for the style.” The magazine said. “The first sip brings a rush of tart, wheat grain sweetness bolstered by a sturdy barley foundation. Beneath the sweet grains, a slow current of hops begins to surge, nudging pepper spice and bitterness through the swallow. 312 has all of the trappings of a well-made wheat beer, from its medium-light body and palate cleansing carbonation to its clean, dry finish.”

So, if you are heading to TPC next week to cheer on your favorite duffer, be sure to take a moment to pause for some refreshment Chicago style.

But, what do you really know about beer? Here are seven of the most common questions about our favorite adult beverage with answers that may surprise as much as they enlighten.

1.       What is in beer?

Simply speaking, beer consists of only four ingredients; barley malt, hops, yeast, and water. Over the centuries, these ingredients have been adjusted due to shortages or taste, but from these simple beginnings beer has sprung.

2.       How old is beer?

Beer, in one form or another, has been with us for a very long time. Archeological discoveries have found evidence that beer has been enjoyed for over 9,000 years and most likely started in what is now Iran.

3.       Did beer really play a role in the establishment of the United States?

There is a lot of disagreement and speculation on this topic. But, most historians agree that beer was definitely a staple on the Mayflower and that supplies were a serious source of concern to the sailors and passengers.

4.       Which beer has the highest amount of alcohol?

This distinction falls on Brewmeister’s Armegeddon, a brew that weighs in at 65% alcohol. The Scottish brewer of the beer describes it as, “malty, hoppy, slightly sweet and lots of yeast still in the beer.”

5.       How many beers are in a keg?

For most Americans, a keg refers to what is technically a half barrel. That being the case, a half keg is equal to 15.5 US gallons or 1,984 ounces. This works out to a little over 165, 12 ounce beers.

6.       Was beer invented by the Germans?

Hardly. Beer predates the Germanic people by more than 6,000 years. But, it could be argued that, while the Germans did not invent beer, they certainly made an indelible mark on its history and development.

7.       Which country drinks the most beer?

Most would likely answer Germany to this question. But, they would be wrong. On second guess the answer might be Ireland. But, again that would be wrong. This distinction falls to the Czech Republic where 132 liters (nearly 35 gallons) of beer are consumed annually per capita.

Questions still abound about beer but, at least now you know the answers to a few. The next time you are quaffing your favorite brew among friends at your neighborhood tap room you will have a few handy facts to add to the conversation.

Related articles

• Why Everyone Is Going Crazy For Craft Beer (businessinsider.com)

Bourdain made a name for himself with his best-selling books such as Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw. In them he reveals the shocking details of what really goes on behind the kitchen doors in hilarious and often sneeringly blunt style. His success has lead him to star in the Emmy Award-winning Travel Channel programs No Reservations and The Layover as well as host of The Taste, a cooking competion series on CBS. His writing has appeared in such luminous publications as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Times of London, as well as the Harvard Business Review.

But, lest you think food is Bourdain’s only love, you need only watch several episodes of his television programs. Beer is a staple on the tables Bourdain sits at and with the company he keeps. Episodes that highlight his love for all things malt and hops include No Reservations’ Prague episode and The Layover’s Dublin installment. Bourdain has even famously got into a little hot water when he commented on the pulling of Dogfish Head founder Sam Calgione’s Discovery Channel television show Brewmasters.

The popular and superb San Marco Dining District is proud to be the Official Restaurant Sponsor of Bourdain’s show and is providing a dazzling selection of appetizers for the sold-out VIP reception. In addition to the show, attendees can expect a slew of merchandise including copies of Bourdain’s books provided by The Bookmark, the show’s Official Bookstore Sponsor. The Omni Jacksonville serves as the show’s Official Hotel Sponsor.

Great seats are still available for the Guts& Glory tour ranging from $40.00-$75.00, at the Artist Series Box Office between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., at (904) 442-BWAY (2929) and online at http://www.artistseriesjax.org.