Jacksonville's First Mead and Cider Bar is Now Open

Jacksonville's first mead and cider bar is now open.

The Mazer, owned by Ed and Beth Stansel and Whit and Regina Heffington is located at 1508 King St. Jacksonville, FL 32204. The Mazer opened for the Jax By Jax literary festival a few weeks back on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The Mazer features mead, cider, boutique wines and champagnes, craft beers and light fare.

Once federal and state licensing has been obtained by its wholly owned production arm, East Florida Fermentology LLC, The Mazer will be serving meads and ciders brewed in the bar’s in-house winery, with production estimated to start by mid-2017.Until then, the folks at The Mazer will be pouring a variety of hand-crafted meads, ciders and beers from across the country and abroad.

Co-owner, Ed Stansel, posing in front of brewing kettles

Ed Stansel, an award-winning home brewer and mead-maker whose beer recipes have been commercially brewed by several Jacksonville craft breweries, will be the creative genius of production, concocting mead and cider to be served in The Mazer’s taproom. Beth, his wife, serves as his muse and motivator.

Regina and Whit have owned and operated the Silver Cow for almost three years, bringing tap house management experience to the group.

The Mazer team’s goal is to provide Jacksonville with new tasteadventures in adult libations. Although mead – or honey wine --is believed to be the most ancient of alcoholic beverages and is the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. craft beverage industry, Ed says many people are not familiar with it.

“The biggest misconception is that all mead is sweet,” he said. “Customers who come into the Mazer often are surprised to learn that mead can be dry, semi-sweet or sweet, still or sparkling, just like fine wine, and can be made with a variety of fruits, spices and herbs. There really are no limits to what you can do with mead.” He said some of his favorite meads are traditional – made only with raw honey, water and yeast. “Those really let the honey character shine through,” he said. Another favorite is cyser – a hybrid of honey wine and apple cider.

Meadmaking supports beekeepers, who in turn ensure a healthy population of these pollinators that are so essential to our food supply. The Mazer and East Florida Fermentology plan to partner with area beekeepers and source honey and other ingredients locally and regionally.

The Mazer gets its name from a Medieval drinking cuptraditionally used to serve honey wine and other alcoholic beverages, and also from the fact that meadmakers often are called mazers.

Hours of operation at The Mazer are:

Monday – Thursday: 5 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday:  4 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Closed Sundays

The Mazer will feature various events from tastings, food and dessert pairings; educational classes for mead, cider and wine;art classes; homebrew sharing events; and pollinatorconservation and awareness programs. 

The Mazer will be adding retail items to its menu featuring local honey, honey soap, candles, and bottled mead, cider and wine that will be available for purchase to go. Growler fills of select meads and ciders will be offered as well.

The Mazer's Happy Hour is daily until 7 pm with $4 wines by the glass and $1 off all meads, ciders and beers on tap and $2 off mead and cider flights.

Contact: info@mazerjax.com or the Mazer himself, Ed, at ed@mazerjax.com

You can also visit www.mazerjax.com or follow mazerjax onFacebook, Instagram and Twitter for all their upcoming events and classes.

Beersgiving: Pumpkin Beer and Charity Event

Tickets are now available for Beersgiving, a charity beer festival that includes a pumpkin beer contest, over 60 homebrew and craft beers,  live music, raffles, auctions, and more!

Beersgiving is more than just a beer festival, it’s an event to raise money for Jeannie’s Kidney Fund. Jeannie was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease, (Kidney Failure) and was on daily dialysis for 9 hours a day, every day. While waiting for a transplant donor, something that could take years and is never a given, her son Eric took matters into his own hands and bravely agreed to donate his kidney to another family in exchange for one given to Jeannie.

On March 4^th, 2015, Jeannie received a successful transplant and was on her way to a healthy recovery.

Eric and Jeannie accepting a "Kidney Trophy" at April's Homebrew and BBQ

Beersgiving exists to bring the beer community together to enjoy great locally brewed beer, and to raise awareness and funds to offset the costly medical bills the family has since incurred.

This is the follow-up festival to last April’s “Homebrew and BBQ” event that successfully brought in hundreds of craft beer fans, as well as local homebrewers and craft breweries. The event was one of the most enjoyable beer events I attended all last year. There was great beer, food, music, and there were several brewers on hand who were happy to talk about their craft. 

Beersgiving is expected to draw an even larger crowd, and will have plenty of local brewers on hand as they compete in the pumpkin beer contest. The competition is an exciting addition to the event and gives local brewers an extra incentive to bring some of their best pumpkin-inspired brews. The pumpkin beers will be tasted and critiqued by a panel of four judges, and I am honored to announce that I will be serving as one of the judges at the event.

 All proceeds of this event support Jeannie’s Kidney Fund. To purchase tickets, simply visit: http://jeannieskidneyfund.com/shop/beersgiving/

Ticket includes unlimited samples of over 60 homebrew and craft beers! A turkey dinner will be available as well for purchase. Pumpkin Beer Competition, Live Music, Raffles, Auctions...what's not to love?

Come have a great night out and support a great cause for one of our local residents!The event takes place at Pine St. Pub, Inverness, FL.

First Annual Beer:30 Homebrew Contest at GastroFest, Hosted by Beer Apostle!

Update (2/10/14): Registrations is closed. You may still submit a registration and enter the 'wait list' for the competition. In the event one of the current participants has to pullout of the competition, we will contact those on the wait list in the order they registered.

Registration is now open for the 2015 Homebrew Competition at GastroFest. The competition is open to the first 12 homebrewers who complete the registration (below). If you're interested in entering your beer, please review the Contest Rules and Regulations before submitting a registration. Cheers and Good Luck!

Homebrew Competition Rules and Regulations:

Who is Eligible to Enter?

The competition is open to the first 12 homebrewers who complete the registration form below. Once all spots are filled, any additional registrants will be notified that they have been placed on a wait-list. If more than one person helped brew the beer, everyone who assisted must be listed on your entry form. Team beers are acceptable, but the entrant must have been an active participant in the brewing process.  Only one entry is allowed per ticket holder.  Beers brewed in commercially licensed facilities are ineligible. The winning beer(s) will only receive one medal, even if there were more than one people who brewed the beer.

Entry Fees

Entry fee is complimentary.

Online Registration

Your entry MUST be registered via the form below no later than February 17, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact Brian at: Brian@thebeerapostle.com

Entry Requirements

Two bottles (22oz) of the same beer must be entered for the Judges Panel. Bottles must be labeled to include homebrewer's name, beer name, and beer style.

A minimum 2 gallons, maximum 5 gallons must be entered and available for sampling at GastroFest. Visitors will sample your beer and vote on the "People's Choice." for best homebrew.

Only beer, cider, or mead may be entered. No wine or liquor entries will be accepted.

The beer must be home brewed to enter.  No entries brewed at commercial facilities will be accepted.

You MUST be 21 to enter.

Event Schedule

• Competitors MUST be available to sample out their homebrew during BOTH hours listed below.
•  Hour #1: 2:45-3:45pm -- People's Choice Voting
•  Hour #2: 6:45-7:45pm -- People's Choice Voting; Judges Panel Critique

• (1) People's Choice Award and (1) Judges' Choice Award will be presented at 8:15pm.

Judging Information
There will be a panel of local "Beer Celebrities" to judge the entries. The Judges are:

• Brian Little, Beer Apostle
• Carolyn Graham, Brown Distributing
• Glen Wieger, Green Lion Festival
•  Kevin Burns, Beer:30
• Marc Wisdom, Jax Beer Guy
• Preben Olsen, Aardwolf Brewing Co.
• Regina Heffington, Silver Cow and Jax Brew Bitch
• Steve Halford, Pinglehead Brewing Co.  

Entries will be judged on aroma, appearance, taste, mouthfeel, and overall impression. The judges will taste, critique, and score the entries starting at 6:45pm at GastroFest. Winners of both the People's Choice and Judges' Choice will be presented at 8:15pm.




Register Now!

Green Lion Festival Home Brew Competition

What: Home Brew Competition @ Green Lion Festival 2014
When: October 4th 10am-4pm
Where: Aardwolf Brewery

Mark your calendars, because this is going to be one heck of an event. The Green Lion Festival is an annual event hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council and Aardwolf Brewing Co. The event if free for everyone and will include over 150 local businesses!

This year, the event is getting a pretty cool makeover. The Home Brew Competition will allow local brewers to get in on the action and share their home brew with people at the event. And like any competition, there will be winners and prizes.

The top three brewers (the winners will be chosen by popular-vote) will receive commemorative growlers, engraved for the event, and filled with 64oz of Aardworlf beer! If that's not the coolest trophy ever, then I don't know what is!

Home brewers can register for the competition by signing up below. Please note: registration is free, but brewers must be able to provide at least a 5 gallon batch to ensure there's enough beer for voters to sample. The beer does not need to be kegged; pouring from bottles is completely fine.

Registration ends September 15 and is limited to the first 20 home brewers who sign up.

Home Brew Competition Registration:

Thanks for reading the Beer Apostle and for supporting craft beer! Join in on the discussion by following me on Twitter and Facebook! Cheers! Subscribe to receive every post directly to your email and you'll automatically be entered into every drawing and giveaway we run. Cheers!

Ask a Homebrewer!

Anyone who has followed my posts in the last two months knows that I recently got into brewing. Due to the fact that I am a perfectionist, I had a great deal of anxiety around this new venture. I wanted to limit mistakes and go in with as much knowledge as I could. This led me to reach out to dozens of homebrewers. I sent emails, tweets, and text messages to anyone and everyone that I knew who was a brewer.

The responses I received were tremendously helpful, and it made me realize two key facts:

1. I am surrounded by people with a plethora of knowledge as it relates to brewing beer. 
2. Homebrewers are incredibly generous and willing to share the lessons they've learned along the way.

So, why not help everyone tap into this wealth of knowledge from various brewers? In preparation for this "Ask a Homebrewer" segment, I have reached out to some of the most knowledgeable homebrewers I know. Unsurprisingly, they have agreed to answer your questions!

Here's how it works:
Simply post your questions in the form below. The team of brewers will look over your questions and post responses. These responses will be posted on Friday. So, you'll want to check back!

Broken Arm Brewing: Ginger Snap Brown

I know what you're thinking. Spring is here, so why are you reviewing a beer that is made for the Winter? This answer is simple: beer never goes out of style...or season.

Boom. Mind blown. You're welcome.

Now back to the Ginger Snap Brown. This is actually a homebrewed ale that was given to me by Kevin of Broken Arm Brewing. Kevin has been brewing for a while, and now that I recently got into the hobby for myself, he was gracious enough to swap some of his brew for my best attempt at making something drinkable.

Here's the information Kevin provided regarding this brew:
Style: Brown
ABV: 6.5
Mash: 4 boxes of ginger cookies were included in the mash tun. FOUR BOXES!

This Ginger Brown pours more like an amber; it's hazy with visible amounts of carbonation that ascend to create a decent cream-colored head that fades, leaving a quarter-inch retention.

The aroma is nice and sweet. Definitely get the ginger cookies. Molasses, brown sugar, and nutmeg are strong on the nose.

The taste is not as sweet as I expected. Still, the ginger cookie is the dominating flavor. I don't get as much of the molasses or brown sugar. It gives a clean taste. The finish is dry and clean. Not much of a lingering aftertaste. The sweetness fades quickly on the palate.

Overall, this is not an overly complex beer. The flavor profile is pretty straight-forward. It's a brown ale that's been brewed with a healthy dose of delicious ginger snap cookies! In that regard, this is spot-on. My lone recommendation would be to improve the body and mouthfeel. This ale comes off lighter than I would like and, despite what I said at the top of this review, I do expect a heavier beer with this style--something that I can sit by the fire and warm with.

I want to thank Kevin for sharing his brew with me and being open to a review! You can keep up with all that Kevin is brewing at his Broken Arm Brewing Facebook page.

Cheers!

FeBREWary at Brewer's Pizza: Brewfest and Bottle Share

What: Homebrew and Bottle Share Event
When: February 23 Homebrewing starts at 9am; Bottle share at 2pm
Where: Brewer's Pizza 14-B Blanding BLVD

This is a great event for anyone who enjoys good hand-crafted beer! Head out to Brewer's Pizza to meet some of the local homebrewers and taste their concoctions. Feel free to bring your own gear to brew with them, or simply hang out and watch others work their magic!

Most of Jacksonville's coolest people (I am not biased at all) are a part of the craft beer community. This is a great opportunity to gather with fun folks, eat good food, and consume uniquely tasty beer!

Cheers to local beer!