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