Recap: 6th Annual Jacksonville Craft & Import Beer Fest

Preben Olsen dressed in his Aardwolf best!

The 6th Annual Jacksonville Craft & Import Beer Fest took place this past Saturday. This was my third year attending the event, and my first as a BUZZ Columnist. There were a total of 2500 tickets to the event with over 40 breweries and several restaurant vendors.

With a purchase of any ticket (there were three levels to choose from: General Admission, VIP, and Ultra VIP), beer lovers were spoiled with all-you-can-drink-and-eat samples.

The beef fest was, once again, held at the Veterans Memorial Arena, which is a great location for a beer fest of this caliber. Three levels of the arena were opened and filled with various breweries and food vendors. Of the three levels, I must admit there was one place I spent the majority of my time, just as I did last year, and the year before: the arena floor.

The bottom level of the arena housed the local breweries and homebrewers. This year, the arena floor included local favorites and usual suspects, such as Intuition Ale Works, Aardwolf, and Pinglehead; and there were a few newbies, too, like Veteran's United Craft Brewery (set to open their doors in the next month or two) and Big Storm Brewing (Odessa, FL).

As if the local craft breweries weren't enough, CASK was also there pouring some of their delicious homebrews. While I don't want to take anything away from all of the wonderful breweries that were here from around the country, I found it difficult to rationalize spending much time away from the arena floor. If nothing else, this beer event confirmed one thing: Jacksonville's beer scene is reaching a boiling point. It doesn't seem far-fetched to think that in a few years, there will be a need for more than just one floor for the local breweries. Jacksonville is definitely becoming a beer-destination! We're looking at you, Tampa!

Below are just a few of the pictures from the beer fest:

Chatting with Chris from Veterans United Craft Brewery

Some of the amazingly delicious sweet treats offered in the Ultra VIP section

 

Marc Wisdom (Jax Beer Guy) and me before the event

Local homebrewers from CASK pouring their unique concoctions

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

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!

Sourcing Suds: Mind Drive Imperial Porter

'Sourcing Suds' is a monthly column I write for Buzz Magazine which acknowledges a locally brewed beer being served at locally operated beer joints. The people and places pouring for us are what make the craft beer community what it is. I hope to capture some of that craft culture in this new series. Join me each month as I will highlight a different craft beer location and a local beer from their tap list!

Source: Brewer's Pizza

Steve Halford, Chief Beer Officer

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.

Speaking of the beer, Brewer's Pizza is also home to their daughter company, Pinglehead Brewing Co. Since 2011, Pinglehead has been serving Brewer's Pizza customers handcrafted beers with complex flavors and a variety of ingredients. It's "Beer with Attitude" as their slogan goes; According to Chief Beer Officer, Steve Halford, "Pinglehead beers are brewed for beer-lovers seeking aggressive beer flavors and styles." 

Simply put, there's nothing apologetic about the beers being served at Brewer's Pizza. People searching for pale yellow light lager, only drinkable at Rocky-Mountain-Cold temperatures, should just keep on looking.

Suds: Mind Drive Extreme Imperial Porter

Mind Drive is an "Extreme" Imperial Porter with an alcohol by volume level of nearly 14%. It's a two-time, medal-winning beer that has started to create a bit of a name for itself. Mind Drive has taken home a Gold and Bronze medal, respectively, in each of the past two years at the Best Florida Beer Championship. 

Mind Drive pours dark black with a thick mocha-colored head. The aroma is robust and slightly bitter on the nose. Bitter chocolates and coffee, followed by meaty spices.

Its stout-like appearance comes to life on the palate. Unlike the aroma, there is a nice malt sweetness to Mind Drive. Milk chocolate, raisins, and roasted grains are followed by coffee flavors, molasses, and vanilla. The finish is slightly bitter with a robust smokiness that is quite a surprise. This must be where the "meaty" aromas were coming from on the nose.

Mind Drive is a rich and boozy porter that provides bold and complex flavors. It's an aromatic beer that delivers on all levels. This full-bodied beer lives up to its name of being an extreme imperial porter, and is most certainly a "Beer with Attitude."

Sourcing Suds: Mind Drive Extreme Imperial Porter

'Sourcing Suds' is a monthly column I write for Buzz Magazine which acknowledges a locally brewed beer being served at locally operated beer joints. The people and places pouring for us are what make the craft beer community what it is. I hope to capture some of that craft culture in this new series. Join me each month as I will highlight a different craft beer location and a local beer from their tap list!

Source: Brewer's Pizza

Steve Halford, Chief Beer Officer

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.

Speaking of the beer, Brewer's Pizza is also home to their daughter company, Pinglehead Brewing Co. Since 2011, Pinglehead has been serving Brewer's Pizza customers handcrafted beers with complex flavors and a variety of ingredients. It's "Beer with Attitude" as their slogan goes; According to Chief Beer Officer, Steve Halford, "Pinglehead beers are brewed for beer-lovers seeking aggressive beer flavors and styles." 

Simply put, there's nothing apologetic about the beers being served at Brewer's Pizza. People searching for pale yellow light lager, only drinkable at Rocky-Mountain-Cold temperatures, should just keep on looking.

Suds: Mind Drive Extreme Imperial Porter

Mind Drive is an "Extreme" Imperial Porter with an alcohol by volume level of nearly 14%. It's a two-time, medal-winning beer that has started to create a bit of a name for itself. Mind Drive has taken home a Gold and Bronze medal, respectively, in each of the past two years at the Best Florida Beer Championship. 

Mind Drive pours dark black with a thick mocha-colored head. The aroma is robust and slightly bitter on the nose. Bitter chocolates and coffee, followed by meaty spices.

Its stout-like appearance comes to life on the palate. Unlike the aroma, there is a nice malt sweetness to Mind Drive. Milk chocolate, raisins, and roasted grains are followed by coffee flavors, molasses, and vanilla. The finish is slightly bitter with a robust smokiness that is quite a surprise. This must be where the "meaty" aromas were coming from on the nose.

Mind Drive is a rich and boozy porter that provides bold and complex flavors. It's an aromatic beer that delivers on all levels. This full-bodied beer lives up to its name of being an extreme imperial porter, and is most certainly a "Beer with Attitude."

Intution's Underdark (2014)

Brewery: Intuition Ale Works
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Style: Bourbon-Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.5%

Saturday marked the second annual release of Underdark, brewed by Intuition Ale Works. The release drew a crowd, and the brewery shut down King Street for the block-party-event.

Bottles of Underdark, a bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout, went on sale at noon and were sold out by 6pm. I was fortunate. Not only was I there before the bottles sold out, I also got to try Underdark on tap.

The annual release of Intuition's Underdark is something that beer lovers in North Florida should rejoice. Whether you were able to make the event or not, I believe this event shows the direction in which Jacksonville's beer scene is heading. I have mentioned many time before about the recent development of the craft beer crowd in Jax. In the last 24 months, this city has seen several craft beer spots open their doors. And let's not forget that a mere five years ago, Jacksonville's only brewery was the Budweiser plant that's located on the North side.

Since then, Jacksonville has seen a whopping five craft breweries open their doors. Throw in Pinglehead (located in Orange Park), Mile Marker (Saint Augustine), and Veterans United Craft Brewery (set to open in Jacksonville this Spring), and it's easy to see what is being foreshadowed for the North Florida beer scene.

Now back to the beer at hand: Underdark. Here are my tasting notes from the imperial stout:

Underdark pours a deep black with an off-white head. The nose is sweet: vanilla and chocolate with subtle notes of oak wood.

The taste is also sweet. Reminds me of some Southern Tier stouts. Vanilla, milk chocolate, mocha, and bourbon fill the flavor profile. The texture is smooth and creamy, very much like a milk stout. The bourbon is subtle and, if I didn't know what I was drinking, I probably wouldn't guess this is bourbon-barrel aged.

Overall, this is a tasty stout that I proudly welcome to Jacksonville. I like to see these special releases coming from Intuition, and I am excited to observe how this beer changes with each annual release. The bourbon isn't as pronounced as it could be; I would like to see them work to bring more of the bourbon complexities to this beer. But this is just the second release of Underdark and Intuition will undoubtedly seek to build upon their creation.

Locals Only Beer Fest: Saturday, January 25 (Jacksonville, FL)

What: LOCALS ONLY BEER FEST: Beer fest featuring North Florida's local breweries
Where: 3 Independent Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32202
When: Saturday, Jan. 25 2:00pm-6:00pm

For the first time, all of the local Jacksonville craft breweries will be gathered in one location for patrons to wet their palates. The beer fest is free (beer is not), and there will be savory and delicious food available for purchase, thanks to the trucks from Jax Truckies.

This fest is being hosted by some of the area's great organizations, like the Jax Chamber, One Spark, and The Players.

Here are the breweries that will be represented at the Locals Only Beer Fest:

• Pinglehead
• Intuition
• Bold City
• Green Room
• Aardwolf
• Engine 15

Click on the event link for more information.
 Cheers to Local Beer!

Favorite Red Ales

As I was sipping on a freshly canned Tocobaga, I started to think about how much I appreciate a good red ale, and then I realized that there aren't a ton of red ales that have blown me away. In fact, I would argue that when compared to other beer styles, the red ale genre is fairly lacking in superb beers. Let's face it, stouts and IPAs get all the glory in the craft world.

So, I thought it would be fun to give recognition to three of my favorite red ales, and then I would love to hear from you. Admittedly, my list is limited because I don't typically seek out red ales when I am looking for new beers to try. So please feel free to add to this list, dismiss the beers I've mentioned, or argue for your favorite red ales!

My list of favorite red ales:

1. Pinglehead (Pinglehead, Jacksonville, FL). Pinglehead is located inside Brewer's Pizza, and is a place I would consider "a gem" in North Florida. It's a small brewpub in Clay County that not only makes mean beer, but they also cook up some awesome pizzas too! Pinglehead's Imperial Red is a perfectly balanced red that blends the sweet malty backbone with a floral and semi-bitter hop presence. It has just the right amount of bitterness and sweetness to make this a highly enjoyable, very drinkable red ale that's packed with flavor. Whenever visitors come to Jacksonville, Pinglehead usually tops my list of beers they need to try.

 
2. Tocobaga (Cigar City, Tampa, FL). Tocobaga was the first red ale I ever tried that had true complexity and character. Before Tocobaga, I had limited experience with reds and probably thought of Fat Tire as the ceiling in terms of the style. Tocobaga is a rich red ale with a prominent malt backbone that is countered by a citrusly-sweet-bitter note that comes from the Citra hops with which Cigar City dry hops the beer. As I said on Twitter, when this beer is consumed fresh, it's a real treat!

3. Zoe (Maine Beer Co, Freeport, Maine). I purchased six bottles of Zoe to celebrate the birth of our second daughter, Zoe, in October 2012. A few weeks before my wife's due date, I searched Google for beers that might share the same name. I found this red ale from Maine and had it shipped to Florida so that I could properly toast and welcome my daughter to the world.

Zoe, like the first two on the list, has a nice hop bitterness that balances the malt profile of the red ale. In fact, I would say Zoe is the most "bitter" of the three on this list. Zoe drinks more like an IPA than a red. But Zoe and I are forever linked, and it has earned it's place on my top 3 red ales list. Before I close, I must mention some beers that I left off this list that I suspect might be on your list.

Honorable Mentions:

• Lagunitas Imperial Red
• Grasslands Leeroy the Red 
• He'Brew Genesis
• Terrapin Oaked Big Hoppy Monster
• Saint Arnold Amber Ale (This might have made my list 3 years ago when I lived in Houston)
• Bold City 1901 Red Ale

So, let's hear from you. What beers did I leave off? Where did I mess up? What are your favorite red ales?

Aardwolf Brewery: The Grand Opening

Aardwolf Brewery officially opened their doors for the first time on Friday March 22 and launched a grand opening celebration that was well received by the community. Hundreds packed the taproom to check out the newest addition to Jacksonville's expanding beer community. And yours truly was there to check 'em out as well!

Unfortunately, the beer list didn't actually include any exclusive brews from Aardwolf, but they did have three collaboration items to offer: Seawolf (Aardwolf/Green Room Brewery), Aard-Tuition (Aardwolf/Intuition), and Pingle Wolf (Aardolf/Pinglehead). The rest of their beer menu consisted of quality guest taps from breweries like Bell's, Stillwater, Stone, and St. Somewhere.

The whole vibe of Aardwolf is great and fits the San Marco-hipster culture that exists in that neighborhood. The building is full of exposed brick that's nicely accessorized by custom wood-work and industrial materials in the taproom.

The beers I had were nice. I tasted each of the collabs, and preferred the Seawolf and Aard-Tution over the Pingle Wolf, but I enjoyed all three.

For their grand opening, Aardwolf wisely chose to have a few food trucks park outside. I enjoyed a deliciously filling "Super Bowl" from Gourmet Aviator. This dish is a heaping pile of pulled pork over bourbon-glazed fries covered in slaw with spicy mayo. I literally couldn't eat anything else after that.

Like any opening, there were a few hiccups that I hope they figure out soon. First, the wait times were insane (I chalk this one up to the fact that people came in herds to check out the new kid on the block. I expect wait times to be more manageable once the excitement dies down a bit). Still, I waited at least 15 minutes just to reach the bar to order my beer. And by the time I was ready to close my tab, that wait time grew by another 10 minutes.

While the wait time was largely affected by the amount of people ordering beers, I did notice that a few of the bartenders were contributing to the poor service. It was quite obvious that many of the workers were new to bartending and beer pouring. In general, the bartenders weren't exactly moving at the pace you'd expect given the 60 or so people at the bar waiting to order. I also noticed that their system went down at some point and servers had to keep track of tabs by paper. And then a personal peeve--I saw several pints go out where half the glass was just head. Don't get me wrong, I am a man who likes head, but it's got to be proportionate and certainly shouldn't be half of the pint I am paying for.

Overall, my experience was positive and I am excited to come back when they've got some of their own beers ready to serve. I love the excitement that Aardwolf has brought which only confirms that Jax is truly becoming a beer-loving city. I really like the location they selected; with Riverside becoming the beer mecca for Jacksonville, it's nice to have a brewery open on the other side of the river. Not to mention it's a short two minute drive from my office downtown...so I might become a regular in no time.