Bradenton’s Darwin Brewing Company has been a mainstay of the city since they opened their brewery and tasting room in 2014. The brewery has steadily grown both the beer lineup and distribution offerings. Darwin Brewing Company has recently announced the departure of their previous brewmaster and the arrival of new head brewer Blue Hellenga who will take over brewing responsibilities.
From Darwin Brewing Company:
Great beer knows no bounds. While we say a warm goodbye to our head Brewmaster Jorge, he has passed the Finch torch to our new head brewer BLUE HELLENGA. Stay tuned for more about Blue and our future plans to bring you new brews!
Meet our new Head Brewer- BLUE HELLENGA! Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Blue moved to Miami around age 20 to experience this side of the US. It was there that his love for craft beer was ignited. Starting off as a 5-gallon-batch home brewer, he quickly developed a love for brewing and took a special interest in IPAs. After moving from Miami back to Eugene, Oregon he began brewing at Steelhead Brewing (a.k.a. McKenzie Brewing). Blue went on to build and oversee their production facility before deciding to move back across the country to Florida and joining our team. He has a love for NW/West Coast IPAs + Russian Imperial Stouts and is excited to share some new flavors with us. We will be having a MEET THE BREWER event with Blue in January to personally introduce him to our community. For the full story and details about Blue, watch our FB events for the posting!
About Darwin Brewing Company
Born in 2012 out of a Latin American gastropub, Darwin Brewing Company calls Bradenton, Florida home. We proudly brew culinary-inspired ales and lagers evolved from native flavors of Florida and the Americas. Florida Beer. Evolved.