AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
W HAT’S BREWIN G P.2
JDub’s Brew ing Comp a ny
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Beer Bucket List
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Darw in Brewin g Comp a ny
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Oskar Blu es Beer ito
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Lagunitas
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JDUB’S BREWING
MEGHAN GUARINO
You wouldn’t know by looking at Jeremy
good vibe. Everyone’s welcome there,”
The same can be said for JDub’s other
Joerger that his [very recent] former life
he said. “Except jerks.”
beers. Up Top! IPA is extremely approach-
had him leading a team of federal employ-
The beer the brewery produces is just
able with its hop profile and notes of
ees in five different states. You wouldn’t know it by his goofball demeanor. You wouldn’t know it by his cargo shorts and t-shirt. You wouldn’t know it by his relaxed personality. And you certainly wouldn’t know it by the fact that his current business is running a newly opened craft brewery in sunny Sarasota, Florida.
as welcoming. Four beers make up the core line at JDub’s and they’re each as approachable as the other: Up Top! IPA, Poolside Kölsch, Passion Wheat and Bell Cow Milk Chocolate Porter. These high quality brews are exactly what they say they are. “One thing we don’t do at
citrus, tropical fruits and toasted malt. Passion Wheat is a passion fruit and mango wheat ale that takes you to an island somewhere in the Caribbean—bright mango and juicy passion fruit flavors are abundant in this quaffable wheat ale. Then there’s Bell Cow, a milk chocolate
JDub’s is throw a bunch of crap into a
porter that, though it has a full body and
“It’s the story of the American dream,” he
beer just to say we threw a whole bunch
dark malt flavors, is reminiscent of Yoo-
said to me late one Friday afternoon as
of crap into a beer,” Jeremy said. “I’m not
hoo—which is probably why it is canned
he described leaving his secure job to do
saying there’s anything wrong with ex-
year-round. Creamy and rich with notes
tremely exotic recipes and flavor profiles
of sweet lactose and toasted oats, Bell
what he really wanted (hint: make beer). He relayed a story of moving around to Washington state, Germany and DC; he was in the army, worked for the government and was recruited by heads of departments. “I was on track to be a director and I was miserable,” he said. “I wished I was a tattooed brewer.” So, just before Christmas in 2012, he went for it. “I quit my government job and then on January 2, 2013, I sold almost everything I owned and I came down to Sarasota. I arrived at my in-laws’ house with all I had left towed behind me in a U-Haul trailer,” Jeremy said. One year later, JDub’s Brew-
grit,” he said. “And a vision.”
as long as it works and it’s true to your
Cow can be sipped any time of the year.
A vision for a community-minded craft
culture, but that’s not us.”
brewery that makes really, really
In addition to the core four, JDub’s brews
Take Poolside Kölsch for example. This
seasonal and special release beers avail-
good beer.
bright, refreshing beer is a clean, crisp,
able at various times throughout the year.
The brewery itself has what Jeremy
textbook example of the German style.
Jeremy told me that as he was doing his
described as “a harmonious balance
Subtle lemon flavors and lightness of
research before taking the plunge into the
and vibe between retirees and tattooed
body make it the perfect beer to drink
world of Florida craft beer, he knew this:
20-somethings and it doesn’t feel forced
poolside. “It’s not sexy,” Jeremy said at
“Wherever you put a craft brewery, as
or awkward.” Through community out-
one point during our conversation. But
long as the beer is good, it will
reach projects, events at the brewery,
that isn’t the point. The beer stands up for
be successful.”
yard games and a welcome atmosphere
what it is, and it does it well. There is no
for families, JDub’s has positioned itself
arguing what Poolside is. It’s a Kölsch. It’s
as Sarasota’s backyard brewery. “It’s a
beer. Because as Jeremy said, “At the end of the day, we’re brewers.”
To him we say congratulations, because this beer is really good.
August/September 2016 |
“It just comes down to a passion and
Page 3
ing was open for business.
Beer Bucket List H E AT H E R ROGERS, BEER C O NSULTANT – TAMPA @ ABC BE E RH EAT H ER
Everyone is making a bucket list these days for just about anything you could possibly imagine, from places to visit, foods to eat, and even things they would like to experience before they “kick the bucket.” Why should you have a bucket list for beer? Well, the real question is why wouldn’t you have a beer bucket list?! With millions of great brews available now, you would be crazy not to have a list of beers you have to experience at least once in your lifetime. Where does one even begin to make such an epic list? Start with figuring out exactly what you want your beer bucket list to consist of: readily available, rare, available seasonally, top-rated, best of breweries, best of Florida, best beer of every state/country, best of your favorite style… the possibilities are endless. Try to keep your list realistic. Don’t make it too long, don’t pick “retired” beers and try not to have too many
Once you have your list made, store it in a safe place, like your phone, email, computer or a good old fashioned notebook. Keep it near so
unattainable beers.
you can easily update your beer bucket list when
There are many resources currently available to
need to make an update—you never know when
help you on your quest for great beer. Here are just a few to guide you along the way: • Untappd - An app you can download to a smartphone or tablet to help you keep track of the beers you drink and rate them. The app can also help you find beer in your area, check out
you conquer one of your special beers or if you you’ll learn of a new brew! Below is my beer bucket list to help get you started! 1. Founders KBS
E E E
2. Sixpoint 4Beans 3. Prairie Bomb!
D
trending and top-rated beers and even see what
4. The Alchemist Heady Topper
your friends are enjoying.
5. Cantillon (any)
• Facebook - Join a state/local beer discussion
6. Civil Society Pulp
group to stay on top of new great beers, local
7. Russian River Pliny The Elder
beer events and even trade beer.
8. Cigar City Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout
• Twitter - Follow your favorite breweries to keep up with when new beers are being released. Follow your local ABC Beer Consultant to see when those beers are available in your store. Tweet us @abcbeercountry to find your consultant! • Beer Advocate and Rate Beer - Websites and apps to look up beer ratings, read user reviews and read/post beer forums. • Pinterest - Follow your favorite breweries, see what beers you should try and check out other beer lovers’ bucket lists to help guide yours. • People - Sounds scary but talking to actual
I
B
9. Funky Buddha Maple Bacon Coffee Porter 10. Firestone Walker Parabola 12. Tree House Julius
B
C 15. Samuel Adams Utopias E 14. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
E Available seasonally in FL C Available anytime in FL B
Brewery only
D
Not available in FL
I
Rare
talk great beer with you!
C
13. Wicked Weed Medora Berry Sour
than social media and the internet. They can help ABC store has a beer geek that would love to
D
11. Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue
people with similar interests will help you more find local beer shares, for example. Almost every
D
D
E E
DARWIN Brewing Company ALLIE SMALLWOOD
The Andes and Amazon might seem like ran-
wait to keep working on their specialties, Aya-
dom places to be considered regional stimuli
wasca and Charapa. “Ayahuasca is a root that
for craft beer but Darwin Brewing Company
native people will ingest to go on a spiritual
is setting out to prove that when you stay true
journey, and so one of the malts we use in
to your roots, you create a craft beer inspira-
that beer is derived from the same tree as the
tional mecca.
hallucinogenic, so that’s one way we get our
Matt Cornelius, Darwin’s general manager,
consumers to taste our heritage.” Charapa is
explained that they “kind of evolved from the very beginning. We started as a restaurant (Darwin’s on 4th), a South American restaurant that had an emphasis on brewing machines
made with Amazonian cacao for the bitter bite and Florida orange blossom honey for balancing sweetness, and then a defining ingredient of South American yellow pepper that provides
and the initial idea was to brew beers that
mellow heat on the back end.
would pair with our most popular entrees.”
All of their beers harken back to their mission:
The first beer they ever brewed was called
brewing beers that “stand on their own and
Ayawasca, a Belgian dubbel, made to be
go with world class cuisine.” All of their core
sipped next to their Malbec braised short ribs
beers (Summadayze IPA, Circa 1926 Tanger-
with truffled chive risotto. From there, Matt
ine Wheat, Pirata Pilsner and Llama Mama
said that the beers kind of just took on a life of
Milk Stout) are perfect for summer days,
their own; from beer festivals to competitions,
beach days and weekdays too.
the response was overwhelming.
When asked about their direction, Matt simply
And so, in 2013, the brewery was built; they
said, “The future of Darwin lies wherever our
expanded operations to the current 15-barrel
beer takes us. We’re proud to be a Florida
production facility, taproom and beer garden in
brewery and part of the Tampa beer scene,
Bradenton, Florida. Darwin’s Andean/Amazoni-
which is one of the best in the country, so
an company heritage and two specialty beers
we just want to go where our beer goes.”
August/September 2016 |
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were in tow of the new building. They couldn’t
OSKAR BLUES BEERITO ALLIE SMALLWOOD
Traveling to Bavaria for a brewing trip
toasted bread, plum, honey and cocoa—leave
breeders and local growers in Colorado. Sup-
might not churn out wild ideas for a dialed-up
some room for interpretation. “There are a lot
porting them and developing a barley variety
Mexican lager… for most breweries. But Oskar
of layers of really complex malt compounds,”
works quite well and is molded into a some-
Blues in Colorado is just the kind of brewery
Tim explained. “The way we designed this beer
thing for craft brewers, meaning it has flavor
that takes the classic and customary and turns
was looking at different stages in the malting
and performance. A lot of barley varieties have
the volume way up. Enter Beerito.
process and knowing through other people’s
been developed and designed for big breweries
research and our research that there are a lot
who just want to look at malt like an accoun-
“In terms of style, it’s gonna be a lager. We use
of really interesting things that happen in the
tant, and only want to get sugar from it, and
Augustiner lager yeast, which is a Munich style
malting process that creates different kinds of
don’t care too much about the flavor. But the
lager yeast. It’s clean and malty,” explained
color and also different kinds of starch profiles,
malthouse that we use is Troubadour and this
Tim Matthews, Director of Brewing Opera-
protein profiles, and we layered it all in there.
is based in Ft. Collins, 30 minutes north. It’s
tions at Oskar Blues. “It’s a mixture between
There is a very complex array of subtleties.”
definitely a boutique situation, meaning it’s
Vienna and Mexican lagers, [leaning towards]
As with all good brews, it’ll be different for
very expensive, but we found a nice incorpora-
a dark amber Mexican lager. I think a couple
every person; some will drink it and really taste
tion where it reflects upon the flavor and still is
of us have loved the style for a while and it’s
the cocoa, some will drink it notice the honey
managed cost wise.”
definitely a beer-drinking experience, having a
immediately. Another will taste a lot of
Negro Modelo or a Dos Equis, you know, with
toasted, nuttiness.
One thing Tim wasn’t absolutely sure of was the type of people who will enjoy Beerito: “It’s
your Mexican food, something we eat a lot of here, and it seemed like a [territory] that had
The focus of the beer is malt, though, and
tough to say, but I think it’s going to be a nice
unique flavor; especially if we took it and said,
in the last three years Oskar Blues has been
stepping stone for people who are looking
turn that flavor from 4 to 10, and turn this flavor
digging into the barley world, all the way from
to transition from light American lagers or
up from 5 to 8.”
research and development to barley breeding,
pilsners.” It might even be a totally different
both here and in Europe. Beerito, Tim said,
outlet for people who simply love malty beers,
was definitely a culmination of all of that.
but crave a more sessionable style. The beer
Beerito is a light-bodied, amber-colored Mexi-
is very easy to drink and pair with food (“not
can lager brewed with premium German and Colorado sourced craft malts and features a
To add a cherry on top of this thoroughly-
all beers are!” says Tim) but the flavors are
crisp accent from noble hops. The mouthfeel
researched recipe is the local aspect of Beerito.
smooth and the bitterness is low, making it an
is incredibly smooth with flavors of walnut,
“We’ve done some work here with local barley
easy match with starchy foods. Tim mentioned
that Beerito will “fit into your night.” It’s not going to wear you down with hop bomb after hop bomb, and it can even reset your palate. It can be a midday beer, it can be a Taco Tuesday beer, but everyone will experience it in a different way, Tim said. “People might even drink it and not think anything of it, but if someone drinks it and all of a sudden has that retro nasal effect, and breathes it in, they’re gonna notice something’s very unique about the beer.” If the beer is as well-versed as Tim’s brewing knowledge, we’re confident it’s going to be a hit. “Sorry, you got the geek here. We just wanted to do what we usually do and just turn the volume up on that style,” he said. Their rendition of this semi-hybrid style support craft malts and shows the complexities of malt. In a way that only well-done craft beer can, Beerito prompts its drinker: Want a taco
August/September 2014 | Page 7 August/September 2016 | Page 7
with your Vienna lager?
8 989 SOUT H OR ANGE AVE. OR LAND O, F LORID A 32824
LAGUNITAS 12th of NEVER ALE
They’ve finally done it. Lagunitas has entered the realm of canned beer with their first ever aluminum-cased brew delivered to shelves in August. Back in 2012, Lagunitas founder Tony Magee very publicly proclaimed— er, tweeted—his disdain for aluminum cans. “We’ll be the last brewery in the US to use aluminum cans,” he wrote. The series of 140-character messages sent in April 2012 left the craft beer world thinking they would never see a canned Lagunitas concoction. But times have changed and the 12th of Never has arrived. (Which begs the question: Do we now have a timestamp for “the 12th of never”? Do we finally have a conversion for the next time you hear the 12th of never in response to your request? Ponder this as you crack open the first can from this pack.) This year-round ale has all the body you want in a lighter beer. With notes of citrus, coconut and papaya, it’s tropical, crushable and totally hop-forward. Pair this beer with pizza. And probably anything else you want. Just serve it cold.