Best of April 2014

Each month, I will provide a recap of the top Beer Apostle articles, posts, and reviews, based on your readership, comments, likes, and tweets! As always, I thank you for your readership and continued support of this blog. Cheers!

Here are the top three posts from this past month:

#3: Sourcing Suds: Mind Drive Extreme Imperial Porter (Pinglehead Brewing Co.)
Handcrafted pizza and beer, there may not be a better combination. Brewer's Pizza is Orange Park's only brewpub, providing a unique combination of locally made pies and brews. Their pizza is freshly made and starts with homemade beer-dough, flavorful sauce, and a healthy dose of ingredients and spices. The pizzas at Brewer's are hearty and satisfying, just like the beer they serve...

Continue reading...

#2: Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Fest 2014
The Beer Fest will include over 350 beers from over 45 breweries. The festival sold out last year (4500) tickets. This is important to know because this year, the event is limited to just 2500 tickets. That's 2000 fewer tickets than last year, for the same great selection of beer and breweries! But don't worry, I will be giving away free tickets every week leading up to the day of the event...

Continue reading...

#1: Senate Bill 1714: Why You Should Care
Senate Bill (SB) 1714 jeopardizes the growth and existence of current and future micro-breweries. It's an aggressive attack on the small businesses that, if successful, will help to put more money in the pockets of the mega national companies such as Anheuser-Busch...

Continue reading...

Thanks for reading the Beer Apostle and for supporting craft beer! Join in on the discussion by following me on Twitter and Facebook! Cheers!

The Silver Cow: Jacksonville's Newest Craft Beer Joint

King Street. A part of Jacksonville's Riverside area that has become known as "The Beer District." Intuition Ale, Kickbacks, Dahlia's Pour House, Beer:30, Pele's all call King Street home. And now you can add one more to the list of places within walking distance from each other: The Silver Cow.

Regina Heffington (Affectionately known as the Jax Brew Bitch by locals), opened the doors to The Silver Cow last week. The opening wasn't advertised other than a few tweets, posts, and word-of-mouth announcements. And as much as I hope The Silver Cow experiences great success, I selfishly want it to remain a secret gem.

The space is small but packs charm. The exposed brick walls, antique lamps, whiskey barrel table-tops, and dim lighting give a eloquent sophistication that's intriguing and welcoming.

And there's beer.

The Silver Cow has 25 rotating taps that provide something for everyone. Local brews from Intuition and Bold City are represented as well as in and out-of-state favorites like Cigar City Jai Alai and Founders Dirty Bastard. And there will be others. And after talking to Regina, I can confidently say that her patrons will soon be spoiled by some big-time beers she's planning to tap very soon.

Although The Silver Cow's 25 taps may be a modest comparison to Dahlia's and Kickbacks (both of which offer over 80 taps), craft beer lovers will appreciate the intentionality with which Regina selects her beer menu.

And if, after a few beers, you find yourself looking for some grub, The Silver Cow has that too! Each day, there is a different special that is offered that's sure to give your grandma's recipes a run for the money. On Tuesday, for example, the daily special was Olde School Beef Pot Roast prepared with rosemary, garlic and Dogfish Head's Olde School Barleywine topped with Italian parsley served with polenta and roasted carrots. Try finding that somewhere else.

There's charm, beer, food, and good company. Regina is one of the kindest and passionate people I know. She has a heart for the Jacksonville community, and I wish her and The Silver Cow all the success in the world.

The Silver Cow is located at 1506 King Street. They are closed on Monday, but open every other day at 3pm (1pm on Sundays).

Come check it out, drink some good beer, eat home-cooked food, and spread the word...but don't tell too many people. I like that this is a quiet watering hole for locals; although I can't imagine it's going to stay unknown for long. After all, it's only been open for a week and there have already been numerous articles and praises for the place. Deservingly so.

Grasslands Big Cypress IPA (Batch #1)

This is a recurring monthly series in which I taste and share my thoughts on a different beer from Grasslands Brewing Co. as they progress on their journey to open their doors to thirsty craft beer lovers (2014).  Grasslands is an up-and-coming brewery out of Tallahassee, Fl. that centers their philosophy on making quality "earth first ales." I will taste pilot batches and share my thoughts with the BeerApostle community. You can read past posts about Grasslands beer in thearchive section of this blog. 

Brewery:  Grasslands Brewery
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.5%

This is the first of two reviews I will be posting for Grasslands' Big Cypress IPA. This is Batch #1. According to Owner Gabe Grass, the intent with Big Cypress IPA is to brew a "unique and compelling IPA"  using East and West Coast influences to create a "smack-you-in-the-face IPA."  What an exciting and fun way to describe this beer and it only increased my excitement for trying it!

Grasslands has experimented with a couple variations of the recipe and were gracious enough to send me Batches #1 and #4. Tomorrow, I will be posting my review of #4 and will synthesize my notes from both tastings to give an overall recommendation on which of the two I prefer and why. This is an exciting two-part review, so check back tomorrow to see how Batch #4 compares and which comes out on top!

Now, let's check out Big Cypress IPA Batch #1 and see how it is!

Appearance: Cloudy tangerine color with a fairly serious head that sticks around, creating a nice lacing down the glass. The carbonation is visible and mobile at the base of the head (as seen in the picture below).

Aroma: Fresh hops and pine. There's also a nice sweetness that I can smell, but I can't exactly pinpoint what it might be. Malt and caramel? Either way, this is one of the best-smelling IPAs I have had. Very floral and fresh.

Taste: This IPA starts off with a sweet malt base and quickly moves on the palate towards a piney finish that bursts with hops, pine, and citrus notes. The presence of sugars right away brings a well-balanced flavor that moves nicely from malt to hops. Despite the piney finish, this beer isn't bitter at all. In fact, it's quite clean and leaves a pleasant, but minimal, aftertaste. This is a crisp IPA that has a palate-cleansing effect.

Mouthfeel: The body is on the lighter side, mostly due to how much carbonation there is. The IPA cuts across the tongue easily, rendering a clean, crisp, and zesty product.

Overall: This is a great brew! The taste was great, and as I mentioned earlier, the aroma was wonderful and added to the drinking experience.. The hops were so aromatic and pleasing that they brought a really nice contrast to the malt sweetness that first hits the palate. This is a well-constructed beer. Gabe Grass has done it again!

Don't forget to check my post tomorrow to read about Grassland's Batch #4 for this Big Cypress IPA.  

Interested in becoming a Grasshopper?

If you're interested in getting your hands on any of Grasslands' brews before they open, register for their Grasshoppers Club which is your ticket in to getting exclusive releases from the brewery before they open. As a Grasshopper, you'll be eligible to enter the monthly lottery drawings to sample beer and provide critical feedback that may contribute to the final product. You can also check out Grasslands on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

Cheers!