American Craft Beer Week Schedule

Ok folks this is the week you have all been waiting for.  The week where all the stops are pulled out and all the best events are thrown.  There are a TON of events going on next week in South Florida which is quite an amazing thing.  All the love that local businesses are showing craft beer is what lots of us have been waiting years for.  This is the time to go out to a bunch of these events and show these businesses that their support of craft beer is warranted and that people love it.  Check out all the events and hopefully I'll see you at at least one of them.

May 16th-19th
Grease Burger Bar (213 Clematis Street West Palm Beach, FL 33401)- American Craft Beer Week specials 2 for 1 on select breweries

Monday through Thursday.
Monday - Highland Brewery - Gaelic ale, Oatmeal Porter, and Cold Mountain
Tuesday - Avery beers - IPA (new on draft), White Rascal, and Karma
Wednesday - Stone Brewing - Levitation, Pale Ale, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard
Thursday - Oskar Blues - Dale's Pale Ale, Mama's Yella Pils, G'Knight, and Old Chub

Stop in for some amazing American Craft Beers and some delicious burgers all week... you have to love a happy hour that doesn't end!

May 16th-22nd
Laser Wolf (901 Progresso drive suite 101 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304)- To Celebrate the Week,  Laser Wolf will be featuring a local brewery every night of the week - Native, Inlet, Tequesta, and Cigar City to start. Then finishing up the week with a Victory night on Saturday with all the Downington favorites plus Braumeister Saaz on draft! Glass giveaways and good times to be had!


Monday, May 16th
Blind Monk (10 Evernia Street #107West Palm Beach, FL 33401)- will be hosting a beer tasting with Fresh Beer's own Kenny St. Cyr. It will consist of 6 beers from all over the country. There will be unique or limited release beers from breweries like Dogfish Head, Rogue, The Bruery, Oskar Blue's and some local favorites. As always the beers will be paired with select cheeses and meats. Space is limited so please reserve your spot. Starts at 7pm and is only $20. Contact the Blind Monk at 561-833-3605 or Reese@theblindmonk.com to reserve your spot!

World Of Beer (101 N. Clematis Street, Suite 100, West Palm Beach, FL 33401)- Join World of Beer on Clematis Street from 7-9pm for Brooklyn Brewery takeover. Enjoy any one of 6 Brooklyn Brewery brands on tap or grab one of the many varieties of bottles.


Shuck ‘N Dive (650 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304)- Enjoy week long specials on Abita Brewery products including the new Abita Andy Gator. Shuck ‘N Dive is the first bar in South Florida to have this product on draft – run over and try a pint.

Cervezas (5835 Sunset Drive Miami, FL 33143)-  To kick off a week of American Craft beer Cerzvezas will host the Night of 1000 IBUs. Starting at 7pm come in for 6 different beers on draft brewed to let the Hops be the star of the show. PLUS we'll have 2 RANDALLS serving up Avery IPA poured through two different types of hops (Centenniel and Warrior), a great experiment to show you what the variety of hops really brings to a beer. They'll have these two Avery IPAs, Dogfish Head Hellhound, Avery Maharaja, Stone IPA, and Southern Tier 2XIPA all on draft. You'll be able to get both pints of Avery as a packaged deal for $10 or a flight of both Avery IPAs, Stone IPA and Maharaja for $12. Hellhound only available by the glass and they'll have a deal of $1 off any bottle IPAs and $2 off large bottle IPAs... get your enamel ready for all of those Alpha Acids!

World of Beer (4437 Lyons Road Coconut Creek, FL 33073)- will be hosting an Avery Brewing Night. All their new cans will be available plus a delicious lineup on draft including White Rascal, Avery IPA, Samael's Ale (and in bottles), Maharaja IPA and Collaboration Not Litigation! Its a no joke night of great beer that would make Adam Avery proud, so stop on by from 6:30-8:30pm as we start ACBW off right!

The DRB (255 N.E. 14th Street Miami, FL 33132)- California and Colorado Tap Takeover. To pay homage to some of the most innovative craft beer states, The DRB is filling their taps up with brews from both states including Left Hand Milk Stout, Oskar Blues G'knight, Boulder Hazed and Infused, Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Ruination IPA and the cherry on top is a keg of Collaboration Not Litigation brewed by Avery and Russian River TOGETHER. $25 all you can drink of these draft beers (plus an order of chicken wings) from 6pm-10pm (Yea you read that right). They are starting the week off with a bang!

Tuesday, May 17th
Abraxas (407 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139)- Beer Trivia Night in honor of American Craft Beer Week. A night of beer trivia starting at 9pm. (it'll fill up pretty quick so you might want to get there by 8:45pm) with a special tapping of Avery's and Russian River's Collaboration Not Litigation Ale along with all of their taps of American Craft Beers. Come on out to see how much you really know about beer.

Swamp Grass Willy's (9910 Highway A1a Alt # 711 Palm Beach Gdns, FL 33410)- Taco Tuesday for American Craft Beer Week. Come by for a tasting of 8 beers and tacos for only $10. Starts at 6pm. 1st 20 people receive a free Oskar Blues Koozie. The American Beers you'll have a chance to drink are:

Left Hand Good Juju
Magic Hat Wacko
Oskar Blues Mama's Lil Yella Pils
Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale
Blue Point Hoptical Illusion IPA
Summit Horizon Red ale
Dogfish Head Aprihop
Stone Pale Ale

Whats better than Tacos and beer? Good question...

BX Beer Depot (2964 2nd Avenue North Lake Worth, FL 33461)- For the week, they will be featuring their favorite breweries one for each day. Expect to see special beer prices, and awesome swag give-aways! On Tuesday, they'll be featuring G'knight Imperial Red Ale on Tap in honor of their love for Oskar Blues Brewery.

World of Beer (101 N Clematis St West Palm Beach, FL 33401)- Shipyard Pint Night from 7-9pm! Order your first draft of Shipyard and keep the glass (while supplies last). They'll have some goodies available in honor of the week including Double Thumper, XXXX IPA, Imperial Porter and some other year round Shipyard offerings.

Lou's Beer Garden (7337 Harding Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33141)- The 5-Part Summer Beer Pairing series kicks off with the first beer pairing of the season in celebration of American Craft Beer Week. They will match Craft beers from Northern Breweries against Southern Breweries and ask the audience to rate the best one. They'll be serving 4 courses of North vs. South each with a paired appetizer from Lou's kitchen. Josh Brent of Fresh Beer will be the master of ceremonies for the evening.

The line up is as follows:
ROUND 1
Shipyard - Summer Ale VS Red Brick- Summer paired with a Summer Salad
ROUND 2
Victory - Helios Saison VS St. Somewhere - Saison Athene paired with Medallions of Sea Scallops
ROUND 3
Flying Dog - Doggie Style Pale Ale VS Terrapin - Rye Pale Ale Paired with Bitchin' Mini Crabcakes
FINAL ROUND
Avery - Ellie's Brown Ale VS Cigar City - Maduro Brown Ale Paired with Chocolate Mousse

Event starts at 7pm, $35.00, RSVP to ann@thenewhotelmiami.com Plus there will be Full Moon entertainment plus a Full Moon Fire Dance by Feiruz.

Beer N Burger Joint (900 S Miami Ave Ste 130 Miami, FL 33130)- Sea Dog Pint Night. Stop in from 9-11pm, where Ross will be pouring some samples of Sea Dog and Shipyard Beers. And of course it wouldn't be a pint night without a glass giveaway, so buy your first Sea Dog Pint and keep the glass! While supplies last of course... So come on, grab a burger, hang out with Ross and drink some Maine Brewed Beers. It may be pretty far North but its still AMERICA!

Wednesday, May 18th
The Filling Station (95 Southeast 2nd Street Miami, FL 33131)- Since it is both American Craft Beer Week and National Hamburger Month South Florida Beer Blog has teamed up with the Burger Beast for a Burger and Beer dinner .

1st Course: Monk and Cheese Soup our homemade cheddar cheese soup prepared with Monk in the Trunk and served with a sampling of it as well
2nd Course: Jerk Pork Taco paired with Bluepoint RastafaRye Ale
3rd Course: Blues Music Legend Robert Johnson's Mississippi Burger (ther great juicy burger topped with bleu cheese, peppered bacon and grilled onions) paired with Dogfish Head Hellhound On My Ale.
4th Course: Bread Pudding with a Jah*va Caramel Sauce paired with a serving of Southern Tier Jah*va Imperial Coffee Stout

$35 per person
$30 for Mug Club Members
RSVP quickly there is limited seating

Email adam@thefillingstationmiami.com or call (786)425-1990

First 10 people to send me(dave@southfloridabeerblog.com) their RSVP confirmation will receive any extra special tasting of a rare beer from my personal beer closet.

J-Bar (8283 West Broward Boulevard Plantation, FL 33324)- Pint Night and Poker in Plantation! Buy your first pint of Holy Mackerel between 8-11pm and keep the glass! (while supplies last)

Thursday, May 19th
Ales on the Avenue or if you want us to be a little clearer we have Delray Beach American Craft Beer Week Pub Crawl. It obviously doesn't have as good of a ring to it as the first one... but either way get ready for a great time.The crawl will begin at Tryst then continue on to The Office, Paddy McGee's, and Cut 432. The 'after-party' will be at Coffee District. Each stop will feature a different craft brewery and will be offering at least two beers at a special price. Participants are asked to come to Tryst for registration between 5:30pm and 6:30pm where they will receive a wristband which will indicate they are part of the group.

Tryst - Oskar Blues ($3.50 Dale's Pale Ale, Mama's Little Yella Pils, Old Chub)
The Office - Stone ($4 Arrogant Bastard & Pale Ale)
Paddy McGee's - Victory ($4 Golden Monkey & Hop Devil)
Cut 432 - Avery (White Rascal & Collaboration Not Litigation Ale)
Coffee District - Shipyard (Double Thumper & Imperial Porter)

It looks to be a great time for Craft Beer lovers so come on out!

Coffee District (325 Northeast 2nd Avenue # 104 Delray Beach, FL 33444)- Shipyard Raffle Night from 7-9pm. Buy a Shipyard or Sea Dog draft beer and get a raffle ticket to win some American Craft Beer Week Shwag... They'll have some special Shipyard Brews including XXXX IPA, Double Thumper and Imperial Porter all on draft!

Paragon Theater's Backlot Bar (3015 Grand Ave # 322 Coconut Grove, FL 33133)- Free viewing of BEER FEST at 7:30pm. Stop in to view one of the best beer movies ever for FREE on the big screen with special prices on appetizers and of course AMERICAN CRAFT BEERS! Come watch the movie with other beer lovers... "Do it for Landfill!"

Friday, May 20th
Hollywood Vine (2035 Harrison Street Hollywood, FL 33020)- BIG BEER Tasting in honor of ACBW. They'll be featuring Victory V-12, Rogue Double Mocha Porter, Avery the Reverend, and Cigar City Guava Grove. A great opportunity to sample and enjoy the great selection of craft beers Hollywood Vine has to offer! Stop in from 7-9pm for a taste... while they last.

The UM Wet Lab (4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149)- In honor of ACBW the folks over at one of the best kept secrets of Craft Beer in South Florida will be having an All American Craft BBQ! For only $6.50 you get just about ANY American Craft Beer (with the exception of Victory Golden Monkey) and a burger and chips. The party goes from 5pm - ?... It's a beautiful view, great beer and good company... so come on out!

The Abbey (1115 16th St, Miami Beach, FL)- Head on over to The Abbey where they will be tapping a special keg of Dogfish Head's Black N Blue.  This beer is only out once a year and making a special showing for American Craft Beer Week this year.

The BX Beer Depot (2964 2nd Avenue North Lake Worth, FL 33461)- Stop in to celebrate the week and  Tiki Bar's 2nd Anniversary Party, for those of you who haven't seen the Bx Beer Depot's Brewhaven Tiki Bar, they have a covered Tiki and live Bluegrass Music to accompany their excellent selection of draft beer and craft bottles. They'll be featuring two breweries on this night, as well as serving smoked BBQ. From 7pm-Midnight stop in for some music and brews. Featured kegs are Avery Maharaja and Tequesta Brewing Co.'s Special Mystery Kegs.

Stage 84 (9118 West State Road 84 Davie, FL 33324)- Night of beer and bites tastings with an array of mixes to make it a beer lovers treat starting at 8pm. Try one or try them ALL!

BEER FLIGHTS
4 (4oz) glass of beer with a small portion of pairings for $9.99

PAIRINGS
1. Holy Mackerel Golden ale w/ cheddar cheese & ham
2. Holy Mackerel Panic attack w/ chinese popstickers
3. The Eleven Brown Ale w/ bbq chicken wings
4. Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale w/ chocolate macaroons

PINTS
Specialty beer for those who attend event for $4.00

Stop on by for a delicious lineup of bites and craft beers.

Friday, May 20th and Saturday, 21st
Total Wine- For American Craft Beer Week Fresh Beer will be out in three locations (5050 Town Center Circle Boca Raton, FL 33486) (11221 Legacy Avenue Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410) (14750 Biscayne Boulevard North Miami, FL 33181) from 3-7pm on Friday and 3-5pm on Saturday. They will be sampling out a variety of different American Craft Beers from some of your favorite breweries like Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada, Victory, Stone, Blue Point, Shipyard, Magic Hat, Red Brick, Avery, Shiner and the list goes on... Why not stop by as you stock up for the weekend and get a taste of a variety of brews?

The Lodge (200 South Federal Highway Boca Raton, FL 33432)- Victory Beer Night. They'll have Helios, Braumeister Saaz Pils and Hop Devil ALL ON DRAFT. Plus if you buy your first pint, you get to keep the glass! (while supplies last). Starting at 8pm, come on out for some delicious limited draft brews.

Carlin Park (Jupiter, FL)- Coconut Groove has been created as a celebratory festival to bring together musicians, artists and vendors from around their hometown of Jupiter, Florida that have something in common, giving to the community. From face-painting and shell necklaces to healthy style burritos and homegrown beer, Coconut Groove will be sure to inspire everyone coming to join in on the festivities at Carlin Park on May 21. They'll have Monk in the Trunk available for your enjoyment. $10 entrance fee and all proceeds from the Coconut Groove Festival go towards the restoration of the Pineapple Packing House at Dubois Park. So come on out for a great event for a great cause. For more info visit their website.

Coffee District (325 Northeast 2nd Avenue # 104 Delray Beach, FL 33444)- Blue Point Brewing Night starting at 6pm, they'll be pouring all of the year round Blue Point Beers on draft PLUS some limited releases including their Imperial Sour Cherry Stout and No Apologies Imperial IPA both on DRAFT! Zach will be there to walk you through the lineup... you never know what type of Blue Point schwag might be available too...

Sunday, May 22nd
Smoke T (1450 South Dixie Highway Coral Gables, FL 33146)- Stone Brewing BRUNCH.  That's right you read that correctly. We will be pairing up some AMAZING dishes with Stone beers because nothing is better than beer early on a Sunday to help cure any pains from the night before. The menu is the following:

1st course: Ruination IPA Bloody Mary paired with a french toast bite; thick cut challah bread topped with berries, frosted almonds with a maple glaze

2nd course: Levitation Ale paired with eggs benedict; homemade biscuit, sausage patty, and poached egg topped with a chipotle hollandaise sauce

3rd course: Sublimely Self-Righteous paired with chicken mole and a side of scrambled eggs

4th course: Stone Smoked Porter poured through the Randall (filled with Bacon) creating Bacon-infused Smoked Porter paired with bacon pancake with chocolate-smoked porter-maple butter, topped with a piece of pork belly

Starts at brunch time... 10:30am. Early reservations will be $35 and $45 at the door (plus tax and tip).

Paragon Theater (3015 Grand Ave # 322 Coconut Grove, FL 33133)- To close a week of amazing American craft beer, food and events Paragon will be showing The Beer Wars Documentary in their Backlot Bar on the BIG SCREEN at 7:30pm. They've got specials on craft beer, appetizers and some comfy big leather chairs... I can't think of a better way to wind down your week of American Craft Beer than enjoying a movie dedicated to it in a setting like this and for FREE!

You can also find specials on various beers at The Bar, Barracuda, Taurus, Central Beer Garden, Sandbar and The Local.

Cigar City/Tequesta Brewing Takeover At Coffee District

Coffee District is pulling out all the stops for one of best showcase of Florida breweries ever.  Thursday, May 12th you can check out the amazing line up from Cigar City and Tequesta Brewing with lots of very rare beers on tap.  The beer starts flowing at 6pm so get here early to try some of these once in a lifetime beers.

Cigar City Brewing:
Hillsborough River Dry Stout
Jose Marti
East India Porter
White Oak IPA
Peach IPA
Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Zhukov's
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
White Oak Dry Stout
Jai Alai IPA
Maduro Oatmeal Brown

Tequesta Brewing Company:
Der Chancellor (Kolsch)
Gnarly Barley (American Pale)
Terminally Ale (American Brown Ale)
Julios Weizen (Belgian Wit with Passionfruit and Watermelon)
Finn McCool (Irish Red)
Hoppy American Amber
Tupelo Honey Bock
Oak Aged Black IPA

Thursday, May 12th 6:00pm-11:00pm

Coffee District
325 NE 2nd Avenue #104

Delray Beach, FL

Filling Station Burger And Beer Dinner

May is quite a busy month.  Not only is the week of May 16th-22nd American Craft Beer Week but May is also National Hamburger Month.  This seemed like the perfect chance for my pal Burger Beast and myself to team up and create a great event.  We talked to The Filling Station and made the event a reality.  The event will be taking place Wednesday, May 18th. We put together some great comfort food with some excellent and rare beers.  This will be one of your only chances to try the one-time-only beer from Dogfish Head, Hellhound On My Ale.  This special beer was made for blues legend Robert Johnson's 100th birthday.

Seating will be limited so call or email now and reserve yourself a spot, as they will fill up quickly.  Check out the menu and I hope to see you there.

MENU
1st Course- Monk and Cheese Soup- our homemade cheddar cheese soup prepared with Monk in the Trunk and served with a sampling of it as well

2nd Course- Jerk Pork Taco- paired with Blue Point Rastafarye

3rd Course- Blues Music Legend Robert Johnson's Mississippi Burger- our great juicy burger topped with bleu cheese, peppered bacon and grilled onions paired with the one time only brew from Dogfish Head, Hellhound On My Ale...you don't want to miss this beer.

4th Course- Bread Pudding- with a Java Caramel Sauce paired with a serving of Southern Tier's Jahva Imperial Coffee Stout.

$35 per person
$30 for Mug Club Members

Wednesday, May 18th 6:00pm

The Filling Station

95 SE 2nd St

Miami, FL 33131

(786) 425-1990

adam@thefillingstationmiami.com

Waxy O'Connor's Beer Dinner

If you haven't been into Waxy O'Connor's in Brickell for a while you should.  They have made a few nice addisions to their taps as well as bottle selection of craft beers.  To help get some notice of their new embrace of craft beers they will be holding the first of their beer dinners they will be having every other month.  I put this up a little late but if you RSVP by tonight the three course dinner will only run you $30.  Day of the dinner will only be $5 more.  Check out the menu below and I hope to see you there.

Welcome Drink
Left Hand Sawtooth Ale

First Course
Smoked Salmon over rye toast points, dill spread, and salsa
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale


Second Course
Marinated skirt steak with red ale au jus and a Wisconsin cheddar mac 'n cheese
Summit Horizon Red Ale

Third Course
Beer batters chocolate brownies with a raspberry gastric
Timmerman's Framboise

$30.00 in advance
$35.00 day of



Monday, May 2nd 7:00pm-10:00pm
Waxy O'Connor's
690 SW 1st Court
Miami, FL 33130
Phone (786) 871-7660

Big Brew Event At Lou's Beer Garden

Local Brewery Weekend

If you haven't noticed but lately local breweries have started to step out and finally get some notice for the great beers that they are.  With another great brewery hitting South Florida Abraxas has decided to host a Local Brewery Weekend this weekend.  This will also be the kickoff for Tequesta Brewing Company in the Miami area.  I went up and visited them when they were still just The Corner Cafe and Brewery a while ago and thought the beers were great back then.  It's great to see them stretching out and being available in other parts of South Florida now too.  Tequesta is only available on draft for now so you will have to head over to Abraxas to be the first in the area to try these great beers.  Abraxas will have their two year round beers, Gnarly Barley Pale Ale and The Chancellors Kolsch, along with a special keg of their black double IPA.  Cigar City's Jai Alai IPA will also be on tap with all the local draft beers going for only $5.  There will also be specials on all the other local bottled beers from Inlet, Native, Gordash, Cigar City and others.  Come on out and support your local breweries.

Friday, April 29th- Sunday, May 1st

Abraxas

407 Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida

Earth Day At UM's Wet Lab

With Earth Day upon us what better way to celebrate then sitting on the water drinking some beers and enjoying the great environment.  To do this, and get the best deals in town, you should head over to UM's RASMA Wet Lab bar on Key Biscayne.  So for 4/22 they will be have Southern Tier's 422 on sale for only $2.50!  Yeah, I know, that is crazy cheap but to make it even better they will also have pints of Southern Tier's 2XIPA for $2.50 as well!

Southern Tier 422 is made from 100% recycled stuff (minus the beer!) and is named to commemorate Earth Day. Hope to see you there.

Friday, April 22nd 5:00pm-12:00am

Wet Lab

4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, 

Key Biscayne, FL 33149

4/20 Celebrations

April 20th seems to have a special spot in some peoples hearts that enjoy the herbal mind altering fun that usually goes with the day.  For those people who do not partake in the cousin of hops may I suggest another way to celebrate the day with two other ways to get Stone'd.

The first is at Cervezas in South Miami.  They will be tapping the first keg of STONE CHIPOTLE PEPPER SMOKED PORTER to hit the state of Florida. In addition to the porter, STONE RUINATION will be on draft and will be running the Stone IPA through the Randall with FRUITY PEBBLES!
Also arriving from Stone Brewery's cellar are 2008 aged bottles of RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT and OLD GUARDIAN BARLEYWINE.

There will be $2 off bottles of Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Stone IPA, and Stone Pale.

The second is at Coffee District in Delray Beach.  They will be celebrating not only Stone but all cousins of cannabis with and IPA night. They will be featuring on draft: Stone IPA, Ruination, Arrogant Bastard. Great Divide 17th Anniverary Wood aged DIPA, Terrapin Rye Squared, Dogfish Head 60 min & 90 min IPA on ‘Randall the enamel animal”through Cascade hops, Southern Tier Oak aged Unearthly, Lost Coast Indica, Hazed n Infused & more.

Lots of ways to celebrate on 4/20.

Wednesday, April 20th 7:00-10:00pm

Cerevezas

5835 Sunset Dr

Miami, FL

Coffee District

325 NE 2nd Avenue
Delray Beach, FL

United Way's Brews & Bites

I know the people that read the blog love beer.  I also like to think that the people reading the blog also have good hearts and like to help out others not as fortunate as themselves.  Now what if I told you that you could enjoy beer while helping others.  

The people from the Untied Way have seen the rise of craft beer and have seen it as a great way to raise some money by offering this years Brews & Bites event being held Sunday, April 17th at Mary Brickell Village in Miami.  Guests will sample some craft brews from around the world at dozens of different tasting stations. Admission to the event includes a commemorative tasting cup, beer tasting, beer-friendly food from South Florida’s favorite establishments.  If that wasn't enough live music will be provided by one of Miami's best bands, The Spam Allstars.  The event will run you $55 for general admission and $75 for the hour long VIP tasting before the event.  You can buy tickets by clicking here.

The United Way is also hosting a bunch of other great events during the week with Brews & Bites being the closing event.  If are a fan of great food and enjoy some fine wines you should check out on their events pages here.  If you have some money to donate and would like to get some great food and drinks these are some premier events to attend.

Sunday, April 17th 1:00pm-4:00pm

Brews & Bites

Mary Brickell Village

Miami, FL

$55 general admission

$75 VIP

Abraxas IPA Weekend

Once again Abraxas will be bringing out a weekend of some of the best beers in the world.  This time they are focusing on IPAs and Double IPAs.  This will the first keg of Avery's Maharaja to be tapped in South Florida this year along side lots of other heavy hitters.  Check out the full list below and don't miss out on this great weekend..

On tap:
Bells Hop Slam $8
Bells Two Hearted Ale $6 *
Stone Ruination $7
Avery Maharaja $8
Thornbridge Jaipur $7
Wayerbacher Hops Infusion $5 *
Smuttynose IPA $5 *

* Poured in pint glasses, all others poured in 10 oz goblets.

Bottles: 12 oz, $2 off, 22 oz, $3 off

They currently offer IPA's and DIPA/IIPA from Anderson Valley, Boulder, Cigar City, Dogfish Head, Flying Dog, Harpoon, Clipper City, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Terrapin, Victory, Great Divide, Oskar Blues, Southern Tier, Avery, Lagunitas, Left Hand, and Rogue.

Friday, March 25th- Sunday, March 27th

Abraxas Lounge

407 Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 534-9005

Beer And Art Japan Fundraiser

If you are into beer and art and live in Ft. Lauderdale do I have an event for you.  The FAT Village art district   will be holding a weekly art beer garden every Friday starting at 8pm.  To get things started off the good folks from Miami and Tokyo Beer Tour will be hosting an fundraiser to help out the people in Japan.  It will be held at The Collide Factory this Friday and Saturday, March 25th and 26th starting at 7:00pm.  They will have some Japanese beers to enjoy while you are there.  The funds raised from the event will go to http://www.shelterboxusa.org/.  

Friday, March 25th and Saturday, March 26th at 7:00pm

Collide Factory
541 NW 1st Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 33301

Review: Route 9

Last weekend while the Carnaval Festival was raging on Miracle Mile, I decided to head away from the madness and check out a new little spot up the way on Ponce De Leon.  I had heard that Route 9 had quite a nice beer selection and thought I would check it out for myself.

Make sure you have the address when you are looking for Route 9 because they are missing a sign out front right now but the building number is clearly designated so I knew I was at the right place.  The decor inside is very minimalistic with wood floors and detail.  There's nothing much on the walls except the back wall that harbors a sitting area with a full-size chalkboard with drawings and a mission-statement-like Virginia Woolf quote.  The high ceilings make the small room seem much bigger.

The beer list, although not a 300 bottle selection, had a good range of all styles.  Here is a sampling of the beers:

Dogfish Head 60 Minute

Rogue Deadguy

Stone Pale Ale

Great Divide Hoss Rye

Left Hand Milk Stout

Delirium Tremens

Saison Dupont

Tripel Karmeliet

Scheider Weisse

Ayinger Celebrator

Penn Pils

Carib

Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale (on draft) 

One of the other great things about the beer menu is the price range from only $4.50-$7.00.

The menu had quite a few items that I wanted to try out.  We started with Marinara Braised Meatballs (served in a little crockpot) and Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Grannysmith Apples, and Blue Cheese.  The foccacia was the highlight of the appetizers.  The sweetness of the apples and the tangyness of the blue cheese works well together.

For my main course I decided to try the skirt steak with blue cheese vinaigrette poured over grilled hearts of romaine while my wife had the salmon with sweet potato puree.  I decided to have a Rogue Deadguy with my main course and my wife had a Stone Pale Ale.  The steak was brought out in a pile, pre-sliced.  The grilled hearts of romaine was a whole head of romaine that had been thrown on the grill (pretty self-explanatory).  It seemed to be missing the blue cheese vinaigrette but I didn't realize it until after I had already finished.  The manner in which it was served, sadly, really turned me off.  The steak, while tasty, was offset by the romaine that didn't do it for me at all.  The Deadguy with the steak was a nice combination.  My wife's salmon looked very appetizing and tasted great, and I would recommend trying it.

Some friends of ours joined us and had a few other appetizers.  They ordered the foccacia we recommended and they also chose the baked goat cheese and the sticky chicken wings. They enjoyed the wings although when they asked the waitress what the flavor was for the sticky chicken wings, prior to ordering them, they were told, "Sticky."  Sticky is not a flavor I'm familiar with but they decided to try the wings anyway and liked them.  The baked goat cheese was great along with the crusty bread that it was served with.

Overall, Route 9 seems to be a new restaurant with some great ideas. Maybe they could use a little tweaking but there were great highlights. I would definitely like to give another main course a try and see what else they have to offer. The beer selection was a definite high point in range and price. Everyone enjoyed the selection - friends specifically ordered Dale's Pale Ale on Tap, Dogfish Head 60 minute, and Great Divide Hoss Rye - and that alone makes it worth coming back.

Route 9
1915 Ponce De Leon
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(305)569-9009

Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday 11:00-10:00 (Lunch, Dinner)
Friday 11:00-11:00 (Lunch, Dinner)
Saturday 10:00-11:00 (Brunch, Dinner)
Sunday 10:00-3:00 (Brunch)

Dogfish Head Pulls Out Of Four States

Over the past few months you may have noticed that it seems to be harder and harder to find Dogfish Head's beers.  Some blame the distributor, although it's not their fault, they order lots of Dogfish Head but only get sent a fraction of it.  The real culprit(if you want to look at it that way) is Dogfish Head themselves.  They just can't keep up with the demand.  With the growth of craft beer and the success of the Brewmasters television show Dogfish Head is more in demand then ever.  They are the fastest growing brewery in the country but would like to slow down the growth a bit while being able to get the beer into the hands of people that love it.  In order to be able to get more beer to us down here in Florida they had to take some drastic actions.  The have pulled distribution from four states, Wisconsin, Indiana, Rhode Island and Tennessee.  They also stopped distribution to the UK and Canada.  You can read the reasoning behind the decisions from the man himself Sam Calagione below.  And thank your lucky stars that Florida is one of the lucky ones that gets to keep the great beers from Dogfish Head.

"Hello and happy almost Spring fellow off-centered beer enthusiasts. As we look back on last year from atop our uni-tanks here in Milton, Delaware we have much to be proud of and much to be thankful for.

We recently learned that, over the last five years, demand for Dogfish Head brands has made us the fastest growing brewery in America. We are proud of this growth and the opportunity weve had to turn so many more people on to our off-centered ales. The most important thing for us (and we hope for you as well) is that we produced and sold a greater variety of super-high-quality, super-unique off-centered ales than any other year in our 16 year existence. In 2010, we did more R&D batches and more one-off-freak-flag-waving brews than ever on our 5-barrel system from our Rehoboth pub. On the production side, we brewed several new and different bottled and draft beers. Our success has also pushed our production capacity to the absolute limit.

We are sorry that some of you have experienced frustrations when youve recently asked for your favorite Dogfish beer at your favorite craft beer joint. While Ive described our philosophy on balancing growth vs. the health of our company in a previous blog post, please know that I do recognize our choice to grow strong and smart instead of just growing fast, our choice to keep experimenting and pushing the envelope instead of allowing ourselves to be mutated into the 60 Minute brewing company, comes with its own challenges. We are up to the challenge and hope that you are too.

Recently, the most taxing component of this challenge is that having demand so far in front of our supply has gotten a point where we need to makes some changes, as we are not even close to meet the requests from our fantastic distributors. This is frustrating to them... and to our retailers and to you, the Dogfish drinker.

We know the message you want more Dogfish! Our InBox, our Facebook page, our Twitter feed and our website Forum posts are all littered with Please send more Dogfish to whatever-town or Please start selling Dogfish in my state. In order to get our supply closer to your demand, wed need to get a big, big pile of money and grow, grow, grow. We are not excited by that. We get excited by having fun, brewing a bunch of great beers and growing at a slower, steadier pace.

In the past few months, weve alerted our wholesale partners in both the U.K. and Canada that we do not expect to be able to support any export in 2011. We need all the beer were brewing right now for the U.S. market. But realistically, we werent sending much there anyway, so we need to make even more changes. It is tough to hear from retailers across the country that they arent getting all the Dogfish they think they could sell, but without drastically changing our company and the way we operate, we cannot satisfy that demand.

So it is bittersweet for us to announce that we are pulling out of, or limiting some of our core beers from, a number of states. Yes this sucks. The glass-half-full view is that we (and a handful of other U.S. craft breweries making similar moves) have to do this because your numbers the number of U.S. drinkers buying and enjoying craft beer - are growing so quickly! We sincerely apologize for any frustrations this may cause distributors, retailers, and beer lovers who are affected by our decision. This decision will allow us to still get many different, exotic, Dogfish specialty and seasonal beers into our slightly smaller footprint. It will also ensure that more cases and kegs of our core, year-round beers will be available closer to home. The distributors in the states we are pulling distribution from (Tennessee, Indiana, Wisconsin and Rhode Island) have already been notified of our decision. If your favorite pubs and beer outlets are no longer able to obtain Dogfish products, we are sorry that we are no longer able to supply them. Thanks for understanding and we are hopeful for your ongoing support.

Cheers.
Sam Calagione"

St. Patty's Day- Craft Beer Style

The biggest drinking holiday of the year is upon us.  Green beer is flowing and everyone thinks they are Irish.  Every year on March 17th St. Patrick's Day comes around and most people head out to their local bars and have the obligatory Guiness.  This year The Bar in Coral Gables is changing things up a bit.  They're decided to embrace craft beer, do away with the kegs of Guiness and pull out some great substitutes.   They will have Victory's Donnybrook Stout (first time you will probably see this draft only beer), Magic Hat #9, Narragansett, and of course, Strongbow cider.  They're starting things off at noon and will be going until 3am so come early or late, they will be there all day.  Great change of pace for St. Patty's Day. Plus you won't be pissing green the next day.


Thursday, March 17th 12:00pm-3:00am
The Bar
172 Giralda Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134

Abraxas To Reopen 7 Days A Week

Unlike most establishments that say they are only closing for a short period to never open again Abraxas will be reopening seven days a week starting tomorrow.  Not only will it be opening every day but will also be opening starting at 5pm every day with $4 rotating happy hour specials.

THE Dogfish Head Event

The hype around Dogfish Head recently has been insane.  The brewery can't make enough beer to keep up with the demand while leaving us here in South Florida just wanting it more and more.  If your hunt for Dogfish Head recently has led you to try some of these amazing beers then your journey should continue this Wednesday, March 2nd, to Cervezas in South Miami for their Dogfish Head night.  This is going to be one of the most talked about beer events in South Florida for some time to come.  The lineup is out of this world.  They will have on tap Red N White, Chateu Jiahu, Bitches Brew, and World Wide Stout that will be put through a Randall infusing it with fresh coffee beans and vanilla beans!!! Along with bottle of Raison D'Etre, Palo Santo Marron, Midas Touch, and Indian Brown Ale will be $2.00 off regular price, you are not going to want to miss this.  The event starts at 7pm and runs until 10pm (or the beer runs out). 

Wednesday, March 2nd 7pm-10pm
Cervezas
5835 Sunset Drive 
Miami, FL, 33143

Cheapest Craft Beer In Miami

It's Wednesday night and you're thinking you want to go grab a drink but want to keep it low key without spending very much.  I have the solution for you.  Head on over to Key Biscayne to the UM RSMAS campus and check out their bar, The Wet Lab.  The good folks over there have been stocking up on some great craft beers and keeping them dirt cheap.  Everything is under $3.  $3 Magic Hat #9 and Vinyl. $2.50 pints of Blue Point Rastafarye and Long Island Ice Teas(for those not indulging in beer this evening).  Sit on the water and enjoy some nice beers.

Imperial Stout Weekend At Abraxas

Abraxas will be hosting another of it's popular beer style weekends.  This weekend they will be focusing on Imperial Stouts.  Not only will they have an array of great imperial stouts in bottles but they will have some of the rarest and best imperial stouts on draft.  Check out the list below and hope to see you at the bar.


Draft:
Terrapin Wake 'n Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imp. Stout (8.1% abv)
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (18% abv)
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (10.5% abv)

Drafts: 10 oz pours
Wake n Bake $6 (* $7)
Ten Fidy $7 (* $9)
World Wide Stout $8 (* $10)

Drafts: 4 oz pours
Wake n Bake $3
Ten Fidy $3.50
World Wide Stout $4

Bottles:
Avery The Czar 22 oz $13 (* $15)
Bell's Java 12 oz $7 (* $8)
Brooklyn Black Chocolate 12 oz $7 (* $8)
Brooklyn Black Ops 24.9 oz $32 (* $35)
Cigar City Marshall Zukhov 750 ml $22 (* $25)
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 12 oz $12 (* $16)
Mikkeller Black Hole 375 ml $14 (* $16)
Nogne O Highland Edition 500 ml $16 (* $18) (this beer is EXTREMELY RARE)
North Coast Old Rasputin 12 oz $7 (* $8)
Southern Tier Choklat 22 oz $14 (* $16)
Southern Tier Oat 22 oz $13 (* $15)
Stone Russian 22 oz $13 (* $15)
Terrapin Side Proj #13 Big Daddy Vladdy 22 oz $14 (* $16)
Wayerbacher Fifteen 12 oz $8 (* $9)

* - regular price

February 11th-13th
Abraxas
407 Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 534-9005

Jupiter Craft Brewers Fest Recap

If you were unable to make it out to Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival you missed one of the best beers fests in the country.  The fest gave local brewers a chance to step out into the spotlight and show what they are made of.  While there were some great beers from the bigger craft brewers I'm going to have to say that the beers that really stood out to me came from the local breweries. Here are some of the highlights from the fest:

Shipyard Brewing's Double Old Thumper- This is the suped up version of Old Thumper.  It made me think of a slightly hoppier version of Shipyard's Prelude.  The 11.2% ABV was hidden by the nice malt bomb that this beer has.  It's a nice change for a high alcohol beer to not be super extreme in one way or another, and be very drinkable.

Inlet Brewing's Monk IPA-  The good folks that brought you Monk In The Trunk have brought their Belgian style IPA to the world.  If you are a fan of Flying Dog's Raging Bitch you will want to try this at your earliest opportunity.  They will be releasing a limited run of it on draft around South Florida so keep an eye out for it. 

Cigar City Brewing's Hunahpu 2011- I will have to admit that as much as some people love this beer I have never been that big of a fan of it in the past.  This year's batch of Hunapu has finally reached what I always hoped the beer would be -  stronger chocolate flavors, a creamier texture, and for chili flavors to not be the main focus  - in comparison to what it was in past batches.  If you were lucky enough to have this quite rare beer before and thought it was lacking something, give it another try. It is great this year.

Bold City Brewery's Rosemary IPA- I heard some mixed reviews on this beer as some aren't fans of rosemary but I thought the infusion of rosemary was very nice.  I've had some other rosemary-infused beers before that were quite overwhelming but this one had the rosemary aroma with only a slight rosemary taste. It didn't totally overpower the hops.  This would be amazing paired with a nice roast.  It was the only beer I got to try from Bold City but I can't wait to try more.

The Funky Buddha- The Funky Buddha was the most talked about brewery of the fest.  They had listed the times they were tapping their specialty kegs and had quite a line every time.  The Maple Bacon Coffee Porter was the first beer from the Buddha that I got to try.  I had been waiting a while to try this beer and wasn't disappointed.  The maple sweetness is the first thing to hit you with the roasted coffee taste right behind it.  Not overly coffee-flavored though.  I didn't pick up too much of the bacon but overall I wish I had more than just this little taste.  I headed back over again for the Coconut Rum Oaked Red Ale - the pina colada of beers.  Don't be scared though, it's not overly sweet.  It's almost like you have a nice layer of coconut at the front with a nice oak and nuttyness on the finish.


The fest, overall, was a whirlwind of great beers.  I highly recommend you make the journey to Jupiter next year for this fest.  And make sure to get your tickets early as this event sells out every year.  See you there.

Abraxas Barley Wine Weekend

Long day today so sorry if this is some last minute info but if you aren't heading up to the sold out Field Of Beers tonight in Jupiter you should head over to Abraxas for their Barley Wine Fest.  This will be a great chance to try some of the most extreme beers around without breaking the bank.  They'll be pouring the following Barley wines in 4 oz and 10 oz pours:

Avery Hog Heaven (CO) 9.2% abv
Bells Third Coast Old Ale (MI) 10.2% abv
Cigar City Warmer Winter (FL) 10% abv
Dieu de Ciel Solstice D'Hiver (Canada) 9.8% abv
Dogfish Head Old School (DE) 15% abv
Flying Dog Horn Dog (MD) 10.2% abv
Heavy Seas Below Decks (MD) 10% abv
Rogue XS Series Old Crustacean (OR) 11.5% abv
Shipyard Pugsley's Signature (ME) 9% abv
Stone Old Guardian (CA) 11.3% abv
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2010 * (CA) 9.6% abv
Sierra Nevada 30th Ann. Jack and Ken's Ale * (CA) 10.2 % abv
Brooklyn Monster Ale (NY) 9.8% abv
* - on draft

The prices will be $3 for the 4 oz pours (any bottle or draft), $7 for the Sierra Nevada 10 oz draft pours, and $2 off any full bottle (12 oz, 22 oz, or 750 ml).

The Filling Station Mug Club

With the rise in people moving to the Downtown Miami area and with Brickell just a short hop on the Metromover away, Downtown Miami's best kept secret, The Filling Station and Garage Bar, is moving out of just being a lunch spot into your very affordable local hangout/happy hour/dinner spot.  As a way to thank their loyal customers The Filling Station has started the Garage Bar Mug Club.  The kick off for the mug club is February 1st but you need to sign up now to join.  The club is limited to only 50 people and will run you $75.  They have already sold over 20 of the mugs in just a couple of days so you will need to get on it quick if you want to be part of it.  Here is what you get as a member of the club.

-YOUR OWN MUG. The mugs are individually numbered and hang above the bar. You must show the beer tender your GARAGE BAR MUG CLUB KEY in order to use your mug.
-MORE BEER. The mugs hold 20 ounces and you pay the same price as the regular folk pay for their 16 ounce pints. So members always get more beer for the same price.  (with that price only being $4 all the time)
-MEMBERS ONLY BASEBALL CAPS. You get a special GARAGE BAR MUG CLUB MEMBER baseball cap.
-NAME ON THE WALL. Your name on the wall with just 49 other lucky people.
-SPECIAL BEER BLASTS. You will get our monthly Beer Blast which keeps you up-to-date on all GARAGE BAR events and contains special coupons for members only.
-MUG CLUB APPRECIATION DAYS. Once a month we will have a special day with special menu prices for members only.
-MUG CLUB MONDAYS. Every Monday members will receive a free beverage with their lunch purchase (soda or tea included).
-FIRST DRAFT FRIDAYS. Each member will receive a free beer on the first Friday of every month.
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEER. Bring your party (10 or more) to GARAGE BAR and we’ll fill your mug for free the whole night (please drink responsibly).
-SECRET MUG REFILL TRICK. If you want a refill, just turn the handle towards your beer tender.
-KEEP IN TOUCH. Find out your friends’ mug numbers and leave them messages or buy them drinks.
-THE BEST PART. You also gain an exclusive opportunity to re-new your membership each year!

Email adam@thefillingstationmiami.com now for the mug club application.

The Filling Station and Garage Bar
95 SE 2nd Street 
Miami, FL, 33131
Mon - Wed:11:30 am - 3:00 pm
Thurs - Fri:11:30 am - 9:00 pm
Sat:12:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Jupiter Craft Brewers Fest

For the last four years the Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival has been THE beer festival in South Florida.  This is the festival you want to go to if you are craft beer lover.  With over 100 craft beers from some of the best breweries in the country this is the fest they pull the stops out for.  If you are hoping to go to a beer fest and find rare or one of a kind beers this is the one you want to go to.  The fest is being held this Saturday, January 29th from 1:00pm-5:30pm at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.  Online tickets are sold out so you'll want to get there early to get one of the 1600 tickets that will be available the day of.  You won't want to miss out on this.  Hope to see you there.

January 29th 1:00pm-5:30pm
Roger Dean Stadium
4751 Main Street
Jupiter, FL 33458-5203

Abraxas Makes Some Changes

Abraxas, everyone's favorite south of 5th beer bar on Miami Beach, will be making some changes for the next couple weeks.  Unfortunately, this means that they will be closing for the next week (1/19-1/27) and opening only Thursday -Saturday when they return for a short period of time.  Here is the letter from the man himself, Diego Escobar, about all the details of why this is happening.

"hello friends of Abraxas Lounge!

just wanted to pass on some news about the bar so that you get them directly from the source! :-)

first, the bar is doing well as more and more people come to know about and appreciate what we do! despite the uneven economy we continue to hold steady and even grow. we will be celebrating our 4th year in business in April!

as the sole owner of the business every once in a while I have to make some tough decisions and I have to take some time to reshuffle priorities a bit and take care of my personal issues.

to that end, I will be closing the bar for business starting Wednesday the 19th of January until Thursday the 27th of January. I will taking a trip to visit family in Colombia during that time and... yes, rest a bit!

thereafter, and let me make clear that this is a TEMPORARY CHANGE, we will only be open for business, Thursday through Saturday.

our now legendary Trivial Tuesdays will move (temporarily again...) to Thursdays and become... Trivial Thursdays!

it is obvious we could never survive if this were a permanent change, and I promise I will try to make this period as short as possible!

we will come back full-time soon, no doubt, and that is also a promise!

there will be small but significant improvements and we will continue to host great beer events and be your favorite SoBe beer-centric neighborhood bar!

on that note, I want to THANK YOU all for your continued support and wish you all a great 2011!!!"

When Abraxas does reopen, the weekend of 1/28, they will be hosting a barley wine weekend.  The lineup is being finalized but it looks great so far.

3rd Annual Coral Gables Block Party

As the beerfest season starts one of the highlights of it every year is the Coral Gables Block Party.  It is being held this Saturday from 5:00-9:00pm on Ponce de Leon Blvd between Miracle Mile and Aragon Avenue.  This is a chance to try some great beers and wines along with some amazing food.  In past years the food has been top notch and the beers on hand have been as well.  With a ticket price of $40 in advance/$50 at door it is worth the price of admission.  This is also a fundraiser for The Miami Chapter of The Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis so $25 of the ticket can been written of as a donation.  You can check out this great event by buying tickets in advance by clicking here. 

Happy New Year!!!

I just wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year. I hope that 2011 brings great things for all of us and in honor of that, I'd like to share a video that blew my mind. Now this is progress at work.

GrinOn Industries has designed and fabricated what they call the Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System. While slow crafting, small and often limited releases from small breweries is what we celebrate here, getting a cold beer quickly and perfectly poured is a slice of heaven we all look forward to. Happy drinking (responsibly).

Review: Samuel Adams/Weihenstephan's Infinium

New Year's Eve is tomorrow so I wanted to quickly write down my thoughts on Infinium. After my last post I talked to a few of you and there have been some mixed reviews. Obviously, I was excited to try this beer and the fact that a limited beer had made it into public discussion intrigued be further. Perhaps we can blame a little bit on all the hype but my taste buds aren't easily fooled - it was pretty underwhelming. Right away when looking at the bottle I noticed it didn't have quite the bubbles I expected from a beer described for its effervescence and the mouth feel confirmed it. It is darker than other champagne beers that I've had and has a great smell. The beer taste was closer to a Triple with more dark fruit and roasted malts than other beers of this type. It does, however, have the doughy aspect that's typical in champagne beers. Don't get me wrong, overall it was not a bad beer. It's tasty so you should try a bottle while it's available, however, if you're looking for celebratory beer I would recommend some others instead. Go for Deus or if you can find it and can afford it, Scaldis Prestige. Deus can be found at Total Wine.

Samuel Adams Infinium

While watching the Today Show this morning, Hoda and Kathie Lee showcased Samuel Adams' Infinium Ale as a suggested replacement to champagne for beer lovers. This beer has many of the characteristics of champagne. It has a pale golden color, sparkling fine bubbles, and from the look of the bottle you'll notice its champagne-like shape and the foil around the bottles' cork. I've been meaning to try it and now with this reminder, I will do so this weekend to send you guys a quick review before your Christmas and New Years celebrations. In the meantime, here's where you can find it now -

All Whole Food stores should have it by now. One of our readers confirmed via twitter that it is most definitely available in their South Beach store. We've also spotted it at the Stop n Shop on 5885 Ponce de Leon and at Total Wine. It should run you $20.

It's available on limited holiday release 2010 so make sure to get it in time. I've heard great things about this beer already and it's no surprise considering it was made with such love. The Boston Beer Company worked for two years with the world's oldest continuously running brewery, Germany's Weihenstephan, to create this unique new beer style. I'll leave you with some stats, review coming soon -

Original Gravity: 20.5° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 10.3%ABV - 8.1%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 257
Malt Varieties: Custom blend of two-row malted barley, malted spring white wheat, and malted oats
Hop Varieties: Hallertau Mittlefrueh, Spalt Spalter, Tettnang Tettnanger and Hersbrucker Noble Hops
Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast, Belgian yeast
First Brewed: 2010


For those of you that have tried it please share your comments here.  We'd love to hear what you think about this great alternative to bubbly. I know that my wife cannot wait. 

Stone Brewing Week

Starting tonight is the first of week long events centered around the fine beers of Stone Brewing.  I'm being lazy on this one and just copying the events from the Fresh Beer newsletter.  There are some great events going on and some rare beers.  I would urge you to at least make one of these events.

December 10th
Pint Night at Abraxas (407 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139). Stop by for a pint of Stone's Vertical Epic 10.10.10. on draft... plus specials on all other Stone bottled beer. Not to mention that you get to keep the glass when you buy your first pint, from 8pm until close. Bethany "My next tat is a gargoyle" Sherwin will be there to share a beer with you and graciously answer any questions you may have.

December 11th
Everyone Must Get Stone(ed) at BX Beer Depot (2964 2nd ave N. Lake worth, FL 33461) from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Join Bethany from Stone Brewing as she leads us in a class on the great Beers of Stone. Brewing process, ingredient selection, and many more interesting facts about the beers of Stone will be shared by this great brewery that caters to homebrewers and beer lovers alike.

Included in this event is a Commemorative Stone Brewing Snifter, and a tasting of the following beers:

Vertical Epic 10-10-10
Ruination IPA
Smoked Porter
Lucky Bastartd Ale
Imperial Russian Stout
Depending on turnout, the Bx may break out a surprise beer!After the class, a 20% discount on all Stone Brewing Draft Pours will be available to guest as well. Guest will be welcome to stick around at our Beerhaven Tiki for music and great beer afterward!

Cost is $25.00 in advance and $30.00 on the day of the event.
Please call (561)965-9494 to make your reservation today!

December 13th
Bastard Night at World of Beer (4401 Lyons Road Coconut Creek, FL 33073) from 7-9pm. Stop by where Bethany will be handing out arrogance as they will have a keg of Lucky Bastard, Double Bastard, Oaked Bastard and Arrogant Bastard all on draft...plus some other stone beers available on draft and a bunch in the bottles. Your not worthy.

December 14th
Bethany from Stone Brewing will be stopping by Gratify Gastro Pub (125 Datura St West Palm Beach, FL 33401) to host a Stone beer dinner on December 14th starting at 7pm. Call 561 833-5300 to make reservations. For $50 dollars the delicious lineup will include:

Course 1:
Roasted Beet Salad with Candied Walnuts, Goat Cheese and Pear
Paired with Stone Pale Ale

Course 2:
Curry Mussels
Paired with Stone IPA

Course 3:
BBQ Porter Braised Short Rib with Buttermilk Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
Paired with Stone Smoked Porter

Course 4:
Pine nut Salmon with Spinach and a Warm Bacon Glaze
Paired with Arrogant Bastard Ale

Dessert
Flourless Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Stout Whipped Cream
Paired with Stone Imperial Russian Stout

December 15th
Stone Pint Night at Coffee District (325 NE 2nd Ave. Delray Beach, FL 33444) They will have Sublimely Self-Righteous, Vertical Epic 10.10.10. and some other Stone brews on draft. Bethany will be in attendance to answer any questions you may have about this West Coast brewery. Buy your first pint of Stone and keep the pint glass as a memento.

December 16th
In honor of Stone Week, Lauren "Go ahead and try and spell my last name without looking" Cifizzari will be serving up some samples of Arrogant Bastard Ale and Stone Smoked Porter (plus some others) at Milam's (2969 McDonald Street FL 33133) from 6-8pm.

Ethiopian Beer Night At The D.R.B.

Today, December 8th, The D.R.B. will be starting a new around the world program to focus on a different country every month or so(details are still being confirmed).  The are trying to turn people on to beers from countries other then the usual beers people know from Germany, Belgium, UK and the US.  They will be starting the trek in Ethiopia where they will have specials on beers from there (Bedele and St. George).  You will also find some native Ethiopian food items you can pair with the beers as well.  The trek would not be complete without some music from the country being played as well.  Stop by and check out what is sure to be a new experience for some.


Wednesday, December 8th
The D.R.B.
255 NE 14th St.
Miami, FL

Brooklyn Blast! Now On Tap At The Abbey

This week in Miami is Art Basel.  It is one of the biggest art fairs in the world. With all of the works of art heading to Miami The Abbey decided to bring their own work of art in for a special treat.  The Abbey has two of the only kegs of Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster's Reserve Blast! Double IPA in Florida.  This beer is usually only served at Brooklyn's own taproom.  The first keg was tapped last night and is sure not to last long.  Here is some more info on the beer. 

"Here in Brooklyn, we're half-way between the hop country of
Yakima Valley, Washington and the hop country of Kent in
England. So we use the bright citrusy American hops to bring
the noise and the earthy English hops to build the foundation of
a hop monster brandishing five pounds of hops per barrel with
considerable finesse. The varieties are half American, half English:
Ahtanum, Simcoe, Willamette, Centennial, Palisade, East
Kent Golding, Northdown, Challenger, and Fuggle. Maris Otter
and German Pilsner malts bring solidity, balance and beautiful
flavors to a golden beer that's ludicrously hoppy, strangely quaffable
and oddly compelling. You won't even know what hit you."

The Abbey
1115 16th St
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Discovery Moves Brew Masters To Monday

After only two weeks Discovery has decided to move the new Brew Masters from Sunday nights at 10pm to Monday nights at 10pm starting tonight.  Not sure what prompted the move but be sure to tune in and keep supporting the first show to focus solely on craft beer.

Brew Masters Premier Watch Parties

This Sunday is the day a lot of craft beer drinkers have been waiting for, the day that craft beer gets it's own television show.  Sure, there have been glimpses of Stone beers on Top Chef and Weeds,  Monk In The Trunk on Dexter, and Shiner and Abita on True Blood but it has never been front and center like Brew Masters.

If you don't know by now Brew Masters follows Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione around the world finding the world's most interesting ingredients for it's beers.  The premier episode follows Sam on his quest to brew a beer in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album.  The show starts at 10pm on the Discovery Channel but get the party started early with one of the many watch parties going on around South Florida that night.

Funky Buddha Lounge and Brewery (2621 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL) – Funky Buddha will be the only spot in South Florida with Bitches Brew on tap.  They will also have 90 Minute IPA and Olde School Barleywine on tap.  You'll also be able to find bottles of 60 Minute IPA, Raison D’etre, Indian Brown Ale, Sah’tea, Theobroma and Midas Touch for you to take down while enjoying the show..

8oz. Burger Bar (1080 Alton Rd, Miami Beach, Florida 33139)- 8oz will be hosting a Dogfish Head Sunday.  That means $5 Bottles of Indian Brown Ale, Raison D’etre, 60 Minute IPA and $5 Drafts of Palo Santo(yes, a 12% for only $5), Chicory Stout and 90 Minute IPA ALL DAY!!!. They also will have bottles of Bitches Brew to buy while you watch the show.

Cerveza’s (5835 Sunset Drive Miami, FL 33143) From 9-11pm, Cereveza's will be offering some serious specials on Dogfish Head including $2 off Pangaea draft, $2 off bottles of 90-Minute IPA, 60-Minute IPA, Indian Brown Ale and Theobroma! And of course they will be broadcasting the premier for your enjoyment.

Abraxas (407 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139) Will be showing Brew Masters live and offering deals on their Dogfish products.

The Falls Ale House (13603 South Dixie Highway Miami, FL 33176) and The Joint (9559 S Dixie Hwy Miami, FL 33156) will be dedicating two TV's for the premiere. No sound, but captions will be on. If you are in the area you can have some Dogfish Head beer and grab a front row seat at the bar.

Sierra Nevada Celebrates 30 Years

This week will mark the 30th anniversary of one of America's original craft brewers, Sierra Nevada.  Sierra Nevada has been putting out amazing beers for years and this year to mark the anniversary Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada, got together with some other luminaries in the craft beer movement and brewed four special beers.  Now with the anniversary year coming to an end Abraxas will be throwing a big blowout for the occasion.  Starting this Friday at 8:00pm and running through the weekend Diego, owner of Abraxas, has pulled out all the stops.  They will be tapping kegs of 30th Ann. Series Barleywine (Jack & Ken's Ale) and Brewers Reserve Oak Aged Ale (a blend of oak-aged Bigfoot, Celebration Ale and Pale Ale... generously dry hopped), Estate Homegrown Ale, Northern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, Celebration Ale and Bigfoot 2010 kegs!!!  All of these great beers along with all other Sierra bottles will be on special all weekend long.

Friday, November 19th- Sunday, November 21st
Abraxas Lounge
407 Meridian Ave
Miami Beach
305-534-9005

Brooklyn Brewery Event At World Of Beer Tonight

Tonight, from 7-9pm, World Of Beer in Coconut Creek will be hosting a very special offering from Brooklyn Brewery.  It will have quite a selection of it's beers on tap.  Some of the usual Brooklyn beers as well as the very special and limited Brewmasters Reserve: Cuvee Noir.  Here is some info about the beer:
“They said the Belgian yeast was too spicy. Too…unpredictable. But he didn’t care. Didn’t care that black ales with German, British and American malts didn’t normally go out with Belgians. The Brewmaster threw caution to the wind and went ahead and joined them anyway. The result is Brooklyn Cuvée Noire.”

Tap list:
Brooklyn Lager
Brooklyn Brown Ale
Brooklyn IPA
Brooklyn Winter Ale
Brewmaster's Reserve Series: Brooklyn Cuvée Noir

Wednesday, November 10th 7-9pm
World Of Beer
4437 Lyons Road
Ste E-101
Coconut Creek, FL 33073

Dogfish Head Olde School Keg Tapped At The Abbey

The Abbey has pulled out another great keg this weekend.  They have just tapped a slim keg of Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine.  This is a great one and very limited on tap.  This will go fast so if you can I would head over to The Abbey tonight.  This is the only keg of it on South Beach so get it quick.

Brickell Pub Crawl Tomorrow

The people over at What Miami have put together the first Brickell Pub Crawl. This is looks to be quite a deal with a bunch of the local "pubs" giving some nice discounts.  Here is the schedule:

5:30pm - 6:30pm: Gordon Biersch (1201 Brickell Ave) - $3 Marzen pints ("Silver Medal" at Great American Beer Festival) and $3 seasoned fries.

6:35pm - 7:30pm: Brickell Irish Pub (1451 S. Miami Ave) - 2 for 1 on all drinks! This includes beers and alcohol.

7:40pm - 8:45pm: Burger & Beer Joint (900 S. Miami Ave, Ste 130) - $4 draft beers (excludes Chimay) and $5 Jameson shots.

9:00pm - Late Night: Waxy's Irish Pub on the River (690 SW 1st Court) - $4 pints of Guinness and Smithwick's and $6 Margarita flatbread (pizza).

8oz Burger Bar Starts Beer Club

click on the picture to check out the full list of beers.

Now is the time to become a founding member of 8oz Burger Bar's Burger N Beer Club.  8oz has taken the frequent buyer concept and expanded it a bit.  They will be breaking their beer menu up into sections and once you get through one of those sections you get a prize.  Drink all of the draft beers and you get a t shirt and a free beer.  Drink all of the Craft Bombers and Imports and you get a  $25 gift certificate and a free beer.  Drink all of the Craft 12oz Bottles and you'll receive another $25 gift certificate and a free beer.

Once you have completed all of those sections you will then be a member of the Burger N Beer Club which gives you even more goodies.  You will receive a monogrammed stein used only by you.  You'll also receive 20% off all beer, monthly food discounts, invitations to private beer tastings and a bunch of other stuff they haven't thought up yet.  To get started you'll just have to go to 8oz Burger Bar and ask the bartender for the application, posted above, to fill out and get started drinking.  They will keep the application on file so whenever you come in after just tell them your name and they will keep checking beers of the list.

8oz Burger Bar
1080 Alton Rd.
Miami Beach, FL

Brew Masters Premiers Nov. 21st

The new Discovery series, Brew Masters, will be hitting your television on Sunday, November 21st at 10pm.  This is the show that follows around Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head as he searches the globe looking for new and exciting ingredients to add to his beers.  You can check out the first commericial from the show by clicking here. 

Brooklyn Brewery's Detonation Ale Now Available At The Abbey

 

Sorry I got to posting this a little late but over the last two days I've work 15 hours at my job followed by getting 2 1/2 hours of sleep before having to get up at 3:30am to get to the American Heart Association Heartwalk to help volunteer for the day.  So after a nap I am finally getting around to posting.  The Abbey, in South Beach, received only two kegs of Brooklyn Brewery's Detonation Ale.  This a very limited beer from Brooklyn's Brewmaster Series.  Ringing in at a 9.2% ABV, this is Double IPA is packing a nice punch.  Here is more info on the beer.

“For about eight years now, we’ve brewed a Brooklyn-style hop monster called BLAST! It’s a robust IPA using both British and Pacific Northwest hops. We haven’t had enough space to brew much of it, but we hear that people really enjoy BLAST! when it shows up. And it’s one of our favorite beers here at the brewery. Well, now we’d like more of you to see our hoppier side. Meet BLAST!’s big brother, Brooklyn Detonation Ale.

It’s a copper-colored pale ale with British malt character, American hop ebullience, Brooklyn attitude and disturbing drinkability. British caramel malts lend richness and depth, while a blend of American hops give the beer a minerally backbone and explosive aromatics (with a special guest appearance by our pal East Kent Golding as ‘The English Aristocrat’).

Brooklyn Detonation Ale is mighty tasty. It probably even gives you fresher breath and whiter teeth, but we can’t prove that part. Nor can we support the claim that it concentrates the mind on life’s better aspects. However, we can guarantee that it’s terrific with pork tacos, Thai food, Indian dishes, burgers, and sharp cheeses. So have yourself some Brooklyn Detonation Ale – after all, isn’t it about time you blew up?”

These two kegs are going to go fast so get down to The Abbey before you miss out.

The Abbey
1115 16th St.
Miami Beach, FL

Review: Samuel Adam's Latitude 48 IPA

I must admit it's been a while since I was actually intrigued by a new beer from Sam Adams.  I actually was kind of surprised it took Sam Adams this long to make an IPA.  The Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA is the IPA that Sam Adams has finally released to the world.  This was worth the wait. Latitude 48 is a good transition IPA for people who are new to the style.  It is hoppy while not being overly so with a malty base to cut the bitterness.  If IPAs are your bag I would say this one is at least worth a try.  For sure not the most groundbreaking beer but a good submission into the IPA category.

8oz Burger Bar Starts Monthly Beer Tasting

If you missed out on the beer tasting held last month at 8oz Burger Bar then you, well...missed out.  If you were there then you know how much fun it was and with such a great response 8oz has decided to make the beer tasting a monthly event.  Starting this Friday, October 22nd, Chris Montelius will be bringing you an assortment of 50+ beers to sample from along with chef selected appetizers for only $20.  Chris is getting the first tasting started with some very rare and limited beers like Left Hand Oxymoron, Terrapin So Fresh & So Green Green, and many others from Wells, Timmermans, Breckenridge, Oskar Blues, Dogfish, Flying Dog, Shiner, Rogue, Avery, and more.  The tasting runs from 7:00pm-9:00pm so be make sure to get there early. 

Friday, October 22nd, 7:00pm-9:00pm
8oz Burger Bar
1080 Alton Rd
Miami Beach, FL

Cigar CIty Makes Appearances In South Florida

Cigar City is a brewery that has been making great waves in the beer world these days.  They are showing people outside of Florida what the beer community down here is capable of.  Now you will have a chance to meet the men themselves as they make two appearances in South Florida this week.

Tonight, Thursday, October 7th, Joey Redner, founder and owner of Cigar City will be heading over to The Coffee District in Delray Beach and tapping some rare beers.  They will have kegs of Puppy's Breath Porter, Tocobaga Red, Jai Alai IPA, Maduro Brown, and Seabass.  Seabass is a wild/sour ale that they brewed in collaboration with St. Somewhere Brewery and will only be available tonight at Coffee District.  This the first time and maybe the only time you see some of these beers.  Bottles of various other Cigar City beers will also be available.

Then Friday night Joey Redner will be heading over to Abraxas in South Beach for another epic lineup.  On draft they will have Puppy's Breath Porter, Tocobaga Red, Jai Alai IPA, and White Oak IPA.  The White Oak IPA is the Jai Alai IPA aged in white oak barrels and will only be available at Abraxas that night.

Two great nights of beer in South Florida that you don't want to miss out on.

Thursday, October 7th 6:30-10:00pm
Coffee District
325 NE 2nd Ave
Delray Beach, FL

Friday, October 8th 8:00-12:00pm
Abraxas
407 Meridian Ave
Miami Beach, FL

The Funky Buddha Brewery Grand Opening

The new Funky Buddha in Boca Raton has been open for a few months now.  As anyone that has been there will know is that attached to the lounge is full scale brew pub that will be producing a whole array of different beers.  With only a 40 gallon all grain brewing system this will help them to be able to stretch outside of the safe zone that most brewpubs have to stay in with larger operations.  They brewery will open with 10 beers on tap.  The beers included will be Hop Gun IPA, the Floridian, a hefeweizen made with Florida orange peels, honey, and vanilla, a dark ale called Piiti Porter, brewed with milk sugars. There will also be another version of the porter with espresso. Double rye IPA, light ale, and a big imperial amber ale will also be available.  The beers will only be $4-$5. The festivities kick off Saturday at 7pm.

Saturday, September 24th 7pm
The Funky Buddha Brewery and Lounge
2621 N. Federal Hwy., 
Boca Raton, FL
561-368-4643