Spring 2016 Craft Beer Blast

Craft Beer Blast

Spring 2016

From Larry...

Spring is in the air and the renewal it brings is evident all over. The dark winter days are gone and the longer brighter days of spring have arrived. Along with the seasonal change comes the beers of the season. Spring brews are lighter and are a refreshing change from the darker, stronger brews of winter. Beer festival season will arrive with many new breweries and beers to sample.

Here in South Florida, we are going to see three new breweries on the west side of town which will please those who live out that way.. None of these are open but will be within the year. As they open I will feature each in the new Florida Brewery section at the bottom right, below. This edition features Lincoln's Beard Brewing, which is located near Bird Road and SW 72 Avenue in the "Bird Road Arts District". Visible from Bird Road, it should become a local favorite watering hole. The 'soft' opening is Saturday April 23rd.. Tank Brewing and Spanish Marie Brewing Company will be featured closer to their openings. View the original article on the westward expansion from the Miami Herald.

The Brewery of the season is The Hourglass Brewery of Longwood, FL, which recently moved into a larger space near their original location. They have become quite popular in the central Florida area and continue to create small batch, artisanal specialty brews.

The "Style of the Season" is Session India Pale Ale. With all the flavor and hoppiness of full strength IPAs, these ales are perfect for spring and summers warmer days.

Spring 2016 is here; enjoy a few spring brews and support local breweries where ever you go this year. There is probably a new one opening near you.

Cheers,

Larry

Style of the Season Session IPA

Session Ales have an interesting history. Back in the late 1800's workers in England were allowed to drink on the job. They were allowed 2 sessions of 4 hours each workday. This called for a lighter brew than the ordinary stout or porter allowing workers to drink more without getting too drunk to work. This law was on the books until 1988! These session beers were from 3 to 4% ABV. Today 5% ABV would be the maximum. Modern IPAs are 6% to 7.5%, so a lower ABV with all of the taste was a great idea. Many breweries now have a session IPA and the style has become quite popular. The best examples will have all of the flavor of the stronger beer with the lower ABV. As the warmer months approach, this style would be good to seek out and try some different brewers 'interpretation of what is a 'new' style, with no official style guidelines yet.

Brewery of the
season

The spring brewery of the season is Hourglass Brewing of Longwood, FL. Originally located in a small building with a 3 BBL brewing system, they have grown and expanded since my first visit and review in March 2013.The brewery moved to a much larger venue just down the street and now is a 10 BBL brewery. There are 25 or more of their house brews on at any time. There are several guest brews as well. The new place is a club style space connected to a Mexican restaurant just next door. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon when I was there; I can see that it is a popular local watering hole as well as entertainment spot. The wide variety of artisanal ales and specialty beers mean that there is always something different available. There is a barrel aging program going with bomber bottle releases every few months. A cool feature is the 'live menu' which is updated daily with the beers that are currently on tap. When you hit the link look for the live menu link at the top of the page. When in the Orlando area be sure to put the Hourglass on your itinerary. Website: HourglassBrewing.com

Review Pages

I have a yearly review page which chronicles some of the breweries, brewpubs and festivals I visit each year. I also mention something about the state of the craft beer industry. This year's article features "Red is the New Black" referring to red beers that are being rediscovered by new and old beerdrinkers. See the 2016 page for the above article or the main review page with links to prior years.

New South Florida Breweries

The first of the three breweries opening in west Dade county is Lincoln's Beard Brewing Co. There are 6 partners including brewer John Falco. The goal is to create a friendly local watering hole where patrons will relax and enjoy a wide variety of brews. The brewery will be producing for on premises enjoyment only. They will stay with small batch brews so they can brew many different styles of beer from interesting Belgian styles to dark barrel aged stouts. There will be a core of flagship brews with different seasonal and special one off brews at any given time. There is a soft opening April 23rd see their website for details.

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