BX Beer Depot Upcoming Events

The BX Beer Depot in Lake Worth has been a hotbed of events lately and it's not stopping anytime soon. They are the only homebrew store in South Florida so if you have ever wanted to brew more than the Mr. Beer Kit that you can buy at Target, this is the place to go. Not only do they carry the components to make your own beer, but they also carry some of the best and hardest to find beers from around the world. The fairly new addition of the Tiki Bar has also added a place for people to gather for some friendly beers on occasion. The Tiki Bar also has a draft system to try some of the best beers on tap. Here is some of what the BX Beer Depot has going on in the next few weeks.


Everybody Must Get Stoned- Friday, Sept. 18th 6:00pm-10:00pm

This Friday, BX Beer Depot will be hosting a very special tasting of some of Stone Brewings rarest beers. They will serving up Sublimely Self Righteous, 13th Anniversary, Cali- Belguique, Smoked Porter and Ruination. The Branch Floridians will also be playing as you enjoy these fine brews. Cost is $5 in advance and $8 at the door. You don't want to miss out on this rare beer event.

Pub Crawl- Saturday, Oct. 17th 10:45am-6:00pm
Join BX Beer Depot, the Lagerhead Brewers and Palm Beach Draughtsmen for a Miami Pub Crawl. They will be visiting Titanic, The Abbey and Gordon Biersch. The bus will pick up at the West Palm Beach Airport Hilton at 10:45pm and return around 6:00 pm. Tickets need to be purchased at BX Beer Depot(cash only) and must be paid in advance. There are limited seats so this is 1st come, 1st serve.

Open Mic Night and Beer Tasting- Every Friday
Every Friday from 6:00pm-10:00pm you can head over to the BX Beer Depot and unwind with some great beers and some good music.

NFL Football- Every Sunday 1:00pm-8:00pm
Every Sunday, during football season, you can sit under the Tiki hut and enjoy some good beers and some great football games. The BX Beer Depot has shelled out some clams to get the Direct TV Sunday Ticket package so you can enjoy ever game that is on anywhere in the country.

The BX Beer Depot always is announcing more and more events so be sure to checkout out events calender to stay up-to-date on all of their upcoming event.

Sunset Tavern Beer Tasting 2.0

Sunset Tavern/Deli Lane in South Miami will be hosting yet another beer tasting on Wednesday, September 23rd from 7-9pm. They looked to have added more food than just the chicken wings they had last time. You can read about how much fun the last tasting was here. You'll for sure want to signup before hand since the last one was quite packed. Check below for all the info.

WHO: Deli Lane Café & Tavern
WHAT: Sunset Tavern Beer Tasting - Sign up at http://www.delilane.com.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 23 from 7 to 9pm
WHERE: Deli Lane Café & Tavern - 7230 SW 59th Ave. South Miami, FL 33143
WHY: For $20, guests will be able to sample fried clams, ginger, chili and soy glazed boneless strips, conch fritters, and Cajun chicken egg rolls plus Sam Adams will be giving everyone a 7 oz collectable glass.

Also, the following beers will be tasted:

Sam Adams Oktoberfest
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
Falkensteiner
Falkensteiner Dark
Falkensteiner Dopplebock
Hobgoblin
Holy Grail
Lagunitas IPA
St Ambroise Wheat
Xingu Black Beer
Weihenstephan
Weihenstephan hefeweissen
AVB Poleeko Pale
Hofbrau Oktoberfest
Blackthorn Cider

World Beer Map

The people over at Pure Travel had put together this "World Beer Map" that features over 80 beers from around the world. Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.

Beer Tasting At Clark's TONIGHT

If you are looking for a good spot to get your Saturday night going then I suggest you head on over to South Beach and join Chris from Fresh Beer for a tasting at Clark's on South Beach. Clark's is located in the more laid back section of the South Point section. You don't have to deal with as much of the craziness that South Beach usually has in this area. The tasting starts at 6:00pm and goes till 7:30pm. It will run you only $10 to try out the new selection of microbrews that Clark's is now carrying along with some paired appetizers. And if that wasn't good enough the beers that you will be sampling will be half price from 7:30pm - 10:00pm for the participants. I have yet to go to Clark's but from the look of the beer selection and menu I will be hitting it up soon enough for a full review.

WHERE: Clark's
840 First St.
Miami, FL
(305)538-9885
WHEN: Saturday 9/12/09
6:00pm-7:30pm
COST: $10

The Burgie Awards

My good buddy, The Burger Beast, is hosting the first Burgie Awards at John Martin's Irish Pub this coming Monday, September 14th at 8:00pm. He was kind enough to ask me to present the award for Best Chicken Wings in South Florida. If you are a fan of burgers John Martin's will have great menu that will only be available the night of the awards. The last event The Burger Beast hosted at John Martin's had a similar menu and the burger I had was one of the best burgers I've ever had. I hope to see you for some burger AND beer fun. Here is what The Burger Best has to say about the event:

Since burgerbeast.com's inception we've glorified what Rick from South Florida Daily Blog has called "everyman food". These awards will occur to not only celebrate my blog's 1 year anniversary but to celebrate South Florida "everyman food" .

The categories will be:

Best Burger
Best Hot Dog
Best Side/Appetizer
Best Frita
Best Cuban Sandwich
Best Croqueta
and last but not least:
Best Burger - Reader's Choice

So who's going to decide the winners? Local bloggers who I've been in contact with along with the Cast of Characters will be allowed to place one vote for each category. The Reader's Choice will be via write in and that particular portion will start on Monday of next week(ed., the voting has ended already).

Will there be an event? Absolutely. The Burgies Award Show will take place at John Martin's in Coral Gables on Monday September 14th at 8pm. The Burger Beast menu will again be available that night as well as some new additions. If you attended our last event there, then you know we'll have some giveaways which will include Burger Beast T-shirts, Burger Beast Caps, Giftcards and a few other things. It should be a great night and I invite everyone to attend. Come by and join the fun. I look forward to seeing you all there.

The menu:

MILK SHAKES

VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, or STRAWBERRY (NON ALCOHOLIC)
IRISH COFFEE
Espresso, Baileys, Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Vanilla Ice Cream
STRAWBERRY BANANNA
Strawberries, Bananas, Strawberry Vodka, Banana liquor, Vanilla Ice Cream

APPETIZERS

SHEPHERDS WEDGES
House fries topped with our “shepherds pie” ground beef, jack cheese, and scallions, smothered in Guinness a jus
SOUTH WEST CHICKEN ROLLS
Served with spicy avocado cream
IRISH NACHOS
Fried potato slices with cheesy jalapeño sauce, bacon, scallions, and jack cheddar
Served with sour cream and ketchup
BUFFALO CHICKEN TENDERS
Chicken tenders tossed in buffalo sauce topped with blue cheese crumbles served with ranch dressing
BLACKENED FISH TACOS
Three soft corn tortillas with blackened dolphin, citrus coleslaw, mandarin oranges
And spicy avocado cream served with black beans and Mexican rice
BURGER FARM (FOUR MINI-BURGERS)
BISON: brie cheese, mushrooms, honey mustard
TURKEY: blackened pattie, blue cheese, crispy onions
LAMB: olive Tapanade, feta, red pepper
BEEF: bacon, onion, cheddar cheese, bbq sauce

BURGERS

BRUNCH BURGER
Bacon, fried sunny side up egg, American cheese and HP mayo
MEDTERRANEAN BURGER
Lamb Burger with olive tapenade, grilled red onion and pepper, feta cheese
Served with tzatziki sauce
SALMON BURGER (GRILLED OR BLACKENED)
Grilled red onion and cucumber with lemon, caper, and dill sour cream sauce
STUFFED, BLACKENED BISON BURGER
Blackened Bison Patti stuffed with stilton cheese, topped with bacon,
Mushrooms, provolone, crispy onions and HP mayo
GRILLED CHEESE-HAMBURGER
Beef Pattie between two grilled cheese and ham sandwiches
THE BURGER BEAST(TWO BURGER PATTIES, FOUR CHEESES)
Spicy 1,000 Island, pickles, pattie topped with cheddar and Swiss cheese, Spicy 1,000 Island,
Pickles, pattie, topped with American and pepper jack cheese served with cheesy jalapeño sauce
BLACKENED TURKEY CLUB
Blackened Turkey Burger with avocado, bacon, blue cheese, grilled onion and a sun dried tomato mayo
VEGETABLE BURGER
Olive tapenade, fried eggplant, grilled tomato and onion topped with goat cheese

DESSERT

HOT FUDGE OREO BROWNIE SUNDAE
Gooey walnut and chocolate chip brownie topped with hot fudge, oreo cookie crumbles, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream

Cheapest drinks in Miami

This past Saturday night I ventured over to the newly renamed Midtown Sports Bar on NW 36th St and NW 2nd Ave. This space used to be a hispanic dance club and has recently been turned over for a different clientele. Although the bar is not in one of the most desirable areas of town it is just on the edge of the up and coming Wynwood district. The guarded parking lot added some sense of security. The door guys checking women's purses and patting down the guys made me a little uneasy as to what I was going to find inside though. The room is certainly not the most glamorous place in Miami but it does have the homey corner bar feel that a lot of bars are missing. The L shaped bar in the corner had people from all walks at it. There were a couple of thug looking guys with gold teeth, an older guy who looked like his butt had been occupying that same stool for some time, and a bunch of younger artsy types from the neighboring Wynwood area. The best part of this mish mash of society was that there was absolutely no tension in the room whatsoever. The arty kid was playing pool with the thug. The old hispanic lady was picking out songs on the jukebox with the young punk kid. It was a nice place to be in Miami and not feel like you were being judged because you weren't wearing the newest Prada shoes. If this big pile of unity wasn't selling feature enough, the drinks were the cheapest I have seen in Miami. Domestic drafts were $1.75 and imports were $2.50. Let me repeat that. Domestic drafts were $1.75 and imports were $2.50. No, these weren't happy-hour-on-a-Wednesday prices only. This was a Saturday night at 11pm. My friend ordered a Jameson and that only ran $4.00. Now, I'm not going to go and say this is the mecca of craft beer just because of these prices but they did have Yuengling (which they don't consider an import like a lot of other places) and Stella, along with the usual Bud and Miller selections. If you are looking for a nice, laid back place with cheap drinks then you may want to check out the Midtown Sports Bar.

Best Beer Gift Ever

This weekend I was visiting with my best friend, Alex, and he told me that he had gotten me something. He had gotten me a present for my wedding. The wedding was in February but the wait was well worth it. Alex had ordered the world's strongest beer from Germany, Schorschbräu Schorschbock 31%. With an alcohol content of 31% this is more of a liquor than a beer. There are only 250 bottles of this in the world and I now have #20. Each bottle is hand numbered and signed by the brewer, and here is what the Schorschbräu brewery website (translated from German) has to say about the beer:

"The strongest beer in the world!
After the 'strongest lager beer in the world' and the 'strongest wheat beer in the world', both of which are caused by pure fermentation, there was only one last title win: the 'strongest beer in the world to brew' to.
With the help of traditional Sudhausarbeit, the rarely used Eisbockverfahrens and extremely long storage (at least 6 months) are at the end it became 31% alcohol, more than 3% above the previous world record."

I'm waiting for a very special occasion to crack this one open. At the moment, I can't even think of what would be special enough for this. When I do I'll be sure to let everyone know how it is.

Thanks again, Alex.

Beer Events This Week

Yet again another big week for beer events in South Florida. All the events are great so it is going to be hard to pick and choose which ones to attend so you should just try to go to them all.

TUESDAY
Abraxas, South Beach- Tonight at Abraxas they will be hosting a Pub Trivia Quiz. I'm not sure if that means you will have to know info about pubs or just random trivia but sounds like a good time to me either way. You'll have a chance to win free drinks with the first place prize being a $50 bar tab and second place prize being a $25 bar tab. Play starts at 8:00pm and ends at 10:00pm and is free to play.

Town Kitchen & Bar, South Miami- If you are in the South Miami area tonight and are looking for something to do head on over to Town Kitchen & Bar. Chris from Fresh Beer will be having a beer tasting of various Fall seasonal including Left Hand's Oktoberfest, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Stone 13th Anniversary Ale, Dogfish Head Theobroma and lots of other great surprises. Chris never dissapoints with his surprises either so make sure you check it out tonight. The fun is from 7:00pm-8:30pm and will run you $20.

THURSDAY
Mayfair Hotel, Coconut Grove- If you won't be able to make it over to Town tonight Chris will be doing another Fall beer tasting at the Mayfair Hotel on Thursday. Here is what Chris has to say about the event.

"Welcome back to Miami's premier bi-weekly beer tasting. This week we'll be doing a Fall Season Preview with Shipyard Pumpkinhead, Dogfish Punkin, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Left Hand Oktoberfest, Ayinger Oktoberfest, and Dogfish Head Theobroma. Not to mention my rotating cast of regular goodies...

I'll be there sampling over 30 different craft brewed beers (maybe over 40!) along with their choice of appetizers (typically chicken wings) from 7:00-9:00. This is an unlimited sampling meaning you can eat & drink to your heart's content. I know everyone's on a tight budget these days, but at $20 you really can't beat this. After tax and tip you'd end up paying $20 for a plate of wings and two beers anywhere else, but here not only will you get more than two beers, you'll be able to try over 20 different beers so that next time you're in the store you won't have to wonder whether to spend the money on that $12 six pack. Fun and educational, can't beat that! Hope to see you there.

Please make sure to say that you were referred by Chris!"

FRIDAY
The Lodge Beer & Grill, Boca Raton- The Lodge will be hosting the Newcastle Beer Girls this Friday night. they will be giving out free samples, draft specials, prizes, promo items and you'll even get a free pint of Newcastle just for coming down. It starts at 8:00pm so get there early to enjoy all the fun and prizes.

Abraxas, South Beach- If you came out to the Dogfish Head weekend that Abraxas hosted a few weeks ago you know what a great time it was. Once again Abraxas will be doing another weekend of special brews, this time from Stone Brewing. They will be featuring Ruination and Subliminally Self Righteous Ale on tap for the weekend as well as having specials on other great Stone beers like Arrogant Bastard Ale, Imperial Russian Stout, Levitation, IPA, Pale Ale, and of course the 13th Anniversary Ale. These are some of the highest rated beers in the world so you won't want to miss out.

SATURDAY
BX Beer Depot, Lake Worth- The BX Beer Depot will be hosting another great tasting with Amy from Shipyard for their Pumpkin Head beer. They will also be giving away glasses and tasting some great beer so be sure to swing by between 4:30pm and 6:00pm.

Cook's, Abacoa- Cook's will be doing a second round of their Beer vs. Wine Dinner on Saturday. There will be two seatings, one at 6:00pm and the other at 9:00pm. Ticket's are $58/ea. with $10 going to the Autism Project of Palm Beach County. Four Courses will be paired with wine and beer. The featured beers for the evening will be Avery Sixteenth Anniversary Ale, Brewzzi Bohemian Pils, Oskar Blues Old Chub and Rogue Shakespeare Stout. You can call Cooks at (561)429-8020 to make reservations.

Weekend Events

If you are going to be in the Broward/Palm Beach area this weekend there are a few events that you won't want to miss.

FRIDAY


BX Beer Depot- The weekly Friday beer tasting at the BX Beer Depot's Tiki Hut always has something new and exciting. From 6:00PM to 10:00PM they will be tasting Stone's Subliminally Self Righteous along with a bunch of other great beers. This will be one of the first places you will be able to try what is sure to be another great release from Stone. Don't miss out.

BX Beer Depot
2964 Second Ave North
Lake Worth, FL 33461
561-965-9494

The Lodge Beer & Grill- This Friday night at 8 p.m. Shipyard Brewing Company will be debuting it's Pumpkinhead Ale. Pumpkinhead Ale is a crisp and refreshing wheat ale with delightful aromatics and subtle spiced flavor. Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg make this fall brew a flavor sensation. Enjoy a free Shipyard Pint Glass with your first Pumpkinhead of the season. Shipyard Brewing Company will be at the Lodge with free beer samples, free keychain bottle openers and free t-shirts.

The Lodge Beer & Grill
200 South Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33432
561-392-5003


SATURDAY

Brewzzi/Boca Beer Lovers Meetup- The Boca Beer Lovers Meetup is holding a special meet up on Saturday at Brewzzi in Boca Raton. Fran Andrewlevich, the brewer, will be giving a tour of their facility and talking about the brewing process. You will have unlimited samplings of their house beers. As a special treat Fran will taste with us the special beers he has brewed for the Great American Beer Festival. Fran is a gold medal winner at this prestigious event. For more info on the meetup and all future meetups you can get all the info here.

Brewzzi
2222 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33431
561-392-BREW

Burger and Beer Joint- South Beach, Miami

Over the last few weeks I had been talking with my compatriot, The Burger Beast, about trying to do something together with our blogs. The perfect opportunity came up when we heard about the opening of the Burger and Beer Joint, where our two worlds meld into one. The Burger and Beer Joint is located in the less touristy area of South Beach, west of Alton Road, by the Venetian Causeway. It is located next to a cluster of restaurants (Sardinia, Joe Allen's, etc.) that have had some staying power, considering the area. The Burger and Beer Joint is actually three different venues in one. You have the Burger and Beer Joint which is the restaurant portion and right now, the only section you can actually order the burgers in. You then have the B&B Sports Bar which is attached to the Burger and Beer Joint and can be accessed by going through an internal hallway or by using the Sports Bar's private entrance. Located upstairs is the B&B Lounge. It is only open Thursday-Saturday from 9:00PM-5:00AM. The lounge will feature jazz and more loungy music until about midnight and will then change over to DJs. The whole Joint also has a happy hour Monday-Thursday from 5:00PM-7:00PM and then again from 12:00AM-2:00AM which offers half off all drinks. And for you foodies, looking for a midnight snack, they have plans to keep the kitchen open until 2:00AM on the weekends as well.


My wife and I got to the Burger and Beer Joint a little early, so we decided to checkout the Sports Bar first. It has a very different feel than the restaurant because well, the Sports Bar felt very much like a sports bar; numerous TVs playing different games all over the room, a pool table towards the back, and drunken musings all over the wall. The walls are made of chalkboard so that people can leave their mark with drawings, messages, and graffiti. The bartender was very friendly as were the other patrons at the bar. I was handed a pretty extensive beer list and immediately, it seemed to be missing some major staples for a bar that was claiming to have 99 bottles of beer(they also have a few on draft as well) to choose from. I would later find out that they were waiting for an order from a distributor that happens to carry lots of my favorite beers, which was great to hear. I attempted to order a few different beers before I was able to find a beer they actually had in stock. Since it was their first week I didn't see this as a flaw but was instead glad to see that people had been ordering good beers. I finally settled on a Full Sail Ltd #2 Pale Lager. My wife wasn't drinking that night and wanted a non-alcoholic beer but they unfortunately didn't have any. Perhaps, they'll offer some in the future. After I got my beer, we headed back over to the restaurant to wait for the Burger Beast to arrive. Since the Miami New Times had mentioned that the Burger Beast and I were going to be checking out the restaurant, a crowd of Burger Beast followers had already begun to gather. Carlos Miller from NBCMiami and Jim Winters from Nikon Miami were also there to document the visit.

When Burger Beast arrived, we sat down at a table to try out the burger portion of this operation. We decided to get crazy and ordered the biggest burger I have ever seen in my life. The patty weighed in at TEN POUNDS. That's right, a ten pound patty along with a four-pound bun, topped with cheese, two toppings, a sauce and accompanied by two sides. I will say that we didn't even come close to remotely finishing this monstrosity. It was quite the experience but to read more about the burger and other things we ordered, you should check out the Burger Beast's blog.


When it came time to ordering a beer with our meal, the Burger Beast gave me the task of picking a beer for him. Since he enjoys Killian's Red and wanted to try something new I ordered him the closest thing they had on the menu, Murphy's Irish Red, but it turns out they were also out of that. I decided we were both just going to stick with a Full Sail Ltd #2 Pale Lager and thankfully, the Burger Beast liked it. Again, I'm not going to fault the place for being low on inventory the first week. It's good to see a place like this doing so well on its first week out and I love the enthusiasm behind wanting 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Although the location has never held the same business very long I think the Burger and Beer Joint, sports bar and lounge will do really well. I was also told that they're already talking about doing some beer events there in the near future. I'm looking forward to checking back shortly to see how things are going. If you are in the area you should stop by for a burger and a beer. You won't be disappointed.


Burger and Beer Joint
Burger and Beer Joint Facebook Page
1766 Bay Road, Miami Beach, FL
305-672-EATS

Review: Oak Creek Brewing's Amber Ale and Hefeweizen

My parent's recently were out in Sedona, AZ for vacation and instead of getting me a shirt they know I probably will never wear they made a better decision, they brought me back beer. They were staying by the Oak Creek Brewery and dropped in to pick me up a couple of beers to check out. They picked up an amber ale and a hefeweizin to check out. I usually try to only review only beers that are available in South Florida but I made an exception for a present from my parent.


I started out with the amber ale. It pours a nice shiny amber. The head starts out at about an inch and then dissipates to just a ring. The gives off some aromas of citrus and bread. The taste is very similar with the bread coming a little more forward. Not very much carbonation. Slightly watery. It finishes with a hit of the hops at the back of your mouth as the last drops leave your mouth. I feel like it leaves my mouth a bit dry. Might be one of the tricks built into the beer to get me to drink more of it. Overall not a bad beer. Not something I would go searching out but if it was around I definitely wouldn't turn it away.


The hefeweizen was up next. It pour a very orange/brown color. If I didn't know what it was I would think from the looks of it that it was apple cider. It has a few bits of sediment in it and is very hazy in appearance. No visible head. Very strong aroma of banana. The banana is also there in the taste as well. Clove and citrus notes are there as well. The mouth feel on this beer is much thicker than the amber ale. I could see myself enjoying a bunch of these on a hot day in Sedona. Very enjoyable wheat beer.

Interview: Adam Fine of Fresh Beer Inc.

Dogfish Head. Rogue. Avery. Shipyard. If you've had a beer by anyone of these breweries in South Florida you have one man to thank, Adam Fine, of Fresh Beer Inc. Fresh Beer Inc. brought craft beer to South Florida before anybody else. What started off as a way for Adam to get his own beers into stores, has turned into one of the most respected craft beer distribution companies in the country. Fresh Beer has come a long away as a company and in helping the craft beer community in South Florida. I decided to ask Adam a few questions to see where this all started and where we can expect it going in the future. If you ever see Adam out you should buy the man a beer. Take a minute to thank him for bringing you all the beers that you love.

photo courtesy of the Sun Sentinel

South Florida Beer Blog- What is your position at Fresh Beer and what does that involve?

Adam Fine- President and General Manager. I oversee all the operations. I work with our sales manager and sales team to keep everything moving forward on the sales side. On the operations side, I work with coordinating everything that has to do with the beer getting ordered, shipped, and delivered to your favorite accounts. I am also constantly working with our vendors on new product releases as well as looking for new products to bring into the market.

SFBB- When and why did Fresh Beer start?

AF- I started Fresh Beer in 1999 as a way to get my beer to the market. We wanted to start a microbrewery down here in South Florida and we quickly realized that we had no distribution channels to work with because the big distributors weren't interested in working with small brands and local breweries. I literally started the business delivering kegs out of the back of my pickup truck and developing a clientele of interested customers. After sometime, we started meeting more people who were running craft breweries that faced the same challenge getting into the Florida market. Having a distibution license, I was able to begin distibuting their beers alongside my own.

SFBB- Had you worked in the beer industry before Fresh Beer? Do you think it prepared you for what you are doing now?

AF- I had not worked in the beer industry before. While I was developing my business plan I was brewing professionally at Hops but that was the extent of my experience. That only helped me on the beer brewing side. I had no previous sales or business experience. Safe to say...I have learned a lot along the way!

SFBB- What do you think of the beer scene in South Florida?

AF- I think the South Florida beer scene has improved dramatically in the past 5-7 years however we are still many years behind most of the country. That being said... it continues to grow and surprise me.

SFBB- What do you think is lacking in the beer scene here and what do you think we can do to improve it?

AF- I think the biggest thing lacking in the industry is knowledge within the industry at almost every level. It has improved dramatically as well but again we are still dealing with owners/managers who really don't understand these products. I think the biggest thing that we as a group can do to improve it is to continue to ask for quality craft brewed beers where ever you might be eating, drinking and purchasing beer. What the consumer/customer wants will dictate what the proprietors will bring in to satisfy the demand. We have seen a lot of success over the last few years for our accounts that cater to the craft beer consumer... in fact throughout this recession many of our accounts have shown a tremedous amount of resilency and have continued to stay busy which says a lot for their customers and the products that they enjoy.

SFBB- I’ve heard that Fresh Beer was recently purchased by Brown Distributing. Can you talk a little about how this is going to help Fresh Beer and how things have gone so far with the transition?

AF- Yes, recently Fresh Beer was purchased by Brown Distributing. With any small business it is a struggle to compete against bigger more established companies. Brown brought a lot to the table that made this deal ultimately a very positive thing. First off, they kept Fresh Beer whole and are allowing us to continue providing the great service our customers are used to. We have a strong team and have been successful in this market but have always been limited to expand by money. Brown recognized this and they are providing the necessary components to help us get to the next level. The combination of our passion and sales with their knowledge of distribution, access to their network and personnel makes the future look very exciting.

SFBB- Will you be distributing any new beer companies and if so when we can expect to see them?

AF-We have a lot of brands that we are going to be working with but I don't want to let these out of the bag just yet! Let's just say there are several very exciting companies that will be headed to Florida in the next 6 months. There are a few others that we are also in talks with right now. One thing that I can talk about though is Shelton Bros. Import company. Shelton Bros. have a great lineup of some really interesting beers from all over the world. We have just started a special order program with some of our more specialty intensive clients and in about one month you should start seeing beers from Mikeller, Nogne-O, Achel, and Jolly Pumpkin as well as Canitillon and Ridgeway. Really great stuff! (ed. you can find all the great beers Shelton Bros. carries here. If you see one you like be sure to ask at your local store to order it from Fresh Beer.)

SFBB- Do any of the companies you distribute to now have any new releases coming out that people should be looking out for?

AF- Well, Fall is here so it is Pumpkin and Oktoberfest season! We just received our first shipment of Shipyard Pumpkinhead and Oktoberfest beers from Penn and Left Hand should be hitting our dock within a week or two. Dogfish Punkin is just around the corner as well. Don't forget about Avery Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest which is absolutely fantastic and there is a new beer from Shipyard under the Pugsley Signature Series...Smashed Pumpkin.

SFBB- Do you remember what your first beer was?

AF- I think my first sip was probably a Bud... but I was drinking Heineken and Miller Genuine draft in well you know I was a bit young at that time. We had no craft here in Florida back in those days! My first craft beer was when I lived in Texas...I was drinking Shiner Bock, St. Arnolds and Celis which was available everywhere there..not to mention Sierra and Anchor Liberty. That is when I learned about the craft movement and really saw it developing.

SFBB- What is your beer of choice these days?

AF- Of course, I'm always gonna drink an Eleven but I'm all over the place. I love variety and my choice depends on what kind of mood I'm in.

SFBB- If you were trying to introduce someone to craft beers what beer, that you carry, would be a good place for them to start?

AF- I always try and figure out what beer they have been exposed to and go from there. Typically, most people are turned off by very hoppy beers and very dark roasted beers so something like a belgian wit or a brown or amber ale is a good place to start. Sometimes though you meet someone who doesn't drink beer but they love coffee so starting with a rich roasted stout is actually a good place to start. I also like to figure out what food they like because if someone has a very diverse pallet you can take more risks when choosing for them.

SFBB- If you weren’t working at Fresh Beer, what would you be doing?

AF- I'd probably be brewing beer somewhere or working for a biotech company or both!

Michy's Beer Dinner

The higher end culinary world is starting to see more and more pairing of food with beer and Michelle Bernstein from Michy's in Miami is the next to embrace the trend. The James Beard award winning chef will be hosting a five course food and beer pairing dinner on Tuesday, August 18th at 7:30pm. Michy's will be pairing five Latin-inspired dishes with five different Samuel Adams beers. The dinner will run you $60 per person. You can call Michy's and make a reservation for what I'm sure will be a great dinner.

MENU

Shrimp Cocktail "Vuelve a la Vida," Cilantro, and Chile Serrano

Samuel Adams Light

Crispy Chicken Chicharrones, Peanuts, and Watermelon

Samuel Adams Hefeweizen

Chupe de Pescado, Tomatoes, Hominy, and Lime

Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Sheperd's Pie, Braised Oxtail, Boniato, Toasted Garlic

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Churros with Spicy Chocolate

Samuel Adams Cream Stout

Tuesday, the 18h of August 2009

7:30pm promptly

For reservations call 305.759.2001

michy's

6927 Biscayne Blvd.

Miami, FL 33138

New Dogfish Head Beers Available Now!!!

After a bit of a wait South Florida will finally be getting three new beers from Dogfish Head today. These should be available at Total Wines, Sunset Corners, Whole Foods, Stop n Shop and Abraxas. If you don't see them at your local store ask for them to get it.



Sah'tea is a brand new beer that Dogfish Head just started brewing this year. As with most Dogfish Head beers this one is also very unique. This beer is based on a 9th century Finnish beer recipe. It is brewed with rye and uses white hot rocks dropped into the wort to make it boil. Then juniper berries and a tea of black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and black pepper are added. I have yet to try this beer but if it is like most other Dogfish Head beers it won't be disappointing. You can read more and see a few videos on the making of the beer here.



Theobroma was first brewed last year and is another of the very limited beers that Dogfish Head brews. It is based on recipe found in ancient clay jars that were found in Honduras. It is the first known alcoholic chocolate drink from 1200 B.C. You can read more about it here.



Shelter Pale Ale is actually one of the first beers that Dogfish Head ever brewed. It is not pasteurized so they hadn't shipped it out of the Mid Atlantic area until now. If you had found other Dogfish Head beers to be a bit wild for your taste this is a more subtle beer with a lower alcohol content than other DFH beers. You can read more about it here.