Press release:
Thirsty craft beer fans in Hernando County will soon have a brewery to call their own.
And because of the building’s previous tenant, it will boast a feature not seen too often – if ever – in the sandy soils of Florida: a real underground beer cellar.
This unusual feature is possible because the structure at 12147 Cortez Blvd. housed an auto mechanic shop, and the
1,200-square-foot space below floor level was the “oil-change pit,” where staffers could get underneath the cars to drain fluids and otherwise easily access the undercarriages of customers’ vehicles.
“We are going to turn it into our wood-barrel aging beer cellar,” says Marketing and Sales Manager Tina Ryman. “It’s going to be, hopefully, the perfect climate to age imperials and some really good beers that we have planned for the future.”
Co-owners Tina and Maurice Ryman signed the lease on Feb. 1, 2015, after seeing the potential in the vacant 4,600 square feet with its five overhead bay doors on one of Hernando County’s busiest highways. The Rymans, with the help of friends including future lead brewer John Myers, started the interior demolition of the future brewery, and have ordered a 7-barrel brewing system from Portland, Oregon-based Stout Tanks and Kettles. It is scheduled to be delivered in mid-May. Plans call for five core beers, and five to seven seasonals, specialty and guest beers on tap at all times.
The Rymans, longtime members of the local home brewing community, traveled for years visiting the nation’s breweries, first as fans of tasty handcrafted beers, then with an eye toward gathering ideas for opening their own place back home.
“We love the culture and the people, basically everything about the craft beer industry,” says Maurice, the operations manager.
Having been born and raised in the Hernando County community, Maurice and Tina envision Marker 48 as being a place for visitors and locals to gather and converse over pints of ales that were brewed just a few feet away.
“We don’t want it to be ‘our’ brewery,” Maurice said. “We want it to be the community’s brewery. That’s our No. 1 goal with our customers who walk through the door and with our staff who work here.”
The Rymans plan to have Marker 48 serving brews by mid-summer 2015.
Marker 48 Brewing is a 7-barrel craft brewery in Brooksville, Florida, with a planned opening in mid-summer 2015.
Marker 48 Brewing will be located at 12147 Cortez Boulevard in Brooksville.