Tag Archives: awards

7venth sun brewery logo

7venth Sun Brewery awarded medal at World Beer Cup

Press Release: Results came in a little more than a week ago for the eleventh World Beer Cup, hosted every two years and known as the most prestigious beer competition in the world. Over 200 judges gathered to taste nearly 6600 entries from 1907 breweries. Among Florida’s five winning breweries, 7venth Sun Brewery of Dunedin (and soon to be Tampa), took a silver medal for their Saison, La Fete, in the Session category. This award was the capstone after accumulating several awards in recent months, including a bronze for Vultures From the Past, a barrel-aged barley wine, at the annual Chicago hosted Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers. 7venth Sun also received best small brewery two years running in Florida’s Best of Florida Beer Championships as well as winning a gold medal for La Fete, a silver for Headbanger IPA and a gold and best small batch beer for Vultures From the Past.

The brewery hopes to ride this wave of success into the opening of their second location in Tampa before the end of the year. The 18,000 square foot warehouse will offer the opportunity to produce more beer as well as a second and larger tasting room and event space. Demolition is currently underway with build-out soon to follow. The team plans to continue to brew the same type and styles of beers it currently offers in Dunedin – IPAs, Saisons, Farmhouse and Old World Style beers – as well as a large expansion of their barrel-aged program. Details to come as the project progresses.

Congratulations to 7venth Sun on this latest award!

Due South Brewing Logo

Due South Brewing brewer awarded John Doble Scholarship

Press Release: Joel Kodner, from Due South Brewing Co. in Boynton Beach, was awarded the John G Doble III Memorial Scholarship from the Florida Brewers Guild on March 5, 2016. Joel was the only recipient selected from a pool of qualified candidates from across the state who applied for this scholarship to attend the World Brewing Academy Concise Course in Brewing Technology at the Seibel Institute of Technology in Illinois. This is an annual scholarship awarded to one person each year.

Joel’s career at Due South began on its opening day in 2012 as a part time bartender with a full time accounting job elsewhere. Not long after, driven by his passion for the brewery business, he joined the brewing operations full time. His hard work and determination in the craft beer industry has earned him respect amongst his peers and advanced his position at Due South. He is now a brewer and the Brewhouse Manager at Due South, which produces approximately 15,000 gallons of beer each month to supply over 1,000 Florida retailers with locally made craft beer.

duesouthjoel1

“Joel has been an asset at Due South since the day he arrived,” said Mike Halker, founder and president of Due South. “His work ethic alone attracted our attention. The passion he has for the industry is the icing on the cake. We’re extremely proud to have him running the brewhouse here at Due South.”

Joel can be seen in action most weekdays (the tap room is closed Mondays) slinging grain and hops in the brewhouse at Due South.

About the John Doble Scholarship
John G. Doble III was an American hero, natural leader, tireless worker, and devoted father. His ashes were embedded in an artificial reef off the coast of Sarasota, FL. His passion for brewing beer lives on through the recipients of this scholarship.
The Florida Brewers Guild has partnered with the Siebel Institute of Technology to provide an annual scholarship for the World Brewing Academy Concise Course in Brewing Technology held each fall in Chicago. Scholarships are awarded based on the financial and technical needs of both the brewer and the brewery. The recipient is selected by the Scholarship Selection Committee, which is comprised of members of the Florida Brewers Guild. For more information, click here.

About Due South Brewing Co.
Due South Brewing Co. is a distributing brewery in Boynton Beach, FL. Due South beers are currently available on draft and in cans in hundreds of bars, restaurants, and stores in Florida from Jacksonville to Key West. The Due South Brewing Co. tasting room & brewery opens to the public daily at noon except Monday when it is closed. Weekends at the brewery include food trucks and tours. For more information, visit www.DueSouthBrewing.com.

Citrus Park Brewery wins BBQ honors, plans anniversary party

Citrus Park Brewery is one of Tampa Bay’s youngest craft breweries, but they keep gaining steam and attention in their corner of Odessa. Recently, the brewery (which is located inside the Citrus Park House of Beer) earned top honors in Soutology.com’s quest to find the best barbecue in Tampa Bay. In celebration, the brewery and beer bar has extended the hours it serves barbecue- every day except Monday.

In addition, the brewery has been working on their beer–with several upcoming events to show for it.

Russian Imperial Stout Day will take place on July 17th:

We are currently brewing a big classic Russian Imperial Stout…10% +, dark chocolate, roasty goodness & plenty of hoppy bitterness. This big brew will take over 3 months to finish!

The brewery’s first anniversary will feature a collaboration beer with Tangent Brewing Company:

Last we just brewed a Collab brew with Tangent Brewing that we are really excited about. It will be our first BA beer and will be released for our breweries one year anniversary. It is a Belgian Dubbel aged with Brettanomyces in a 3 year old Hungarian oak red wine for 6 months.

The beer will finish in time for the anniversary party on November 7th.

Citrus Park Brewery is located inside the House of Beer at 8552 Gunn Highway in Odessa.

Cigar City Brewing Skyline

Cigar City wins big at US Beer Tasting Championship

The United States Beer Tasting Championship (USBTC) is just that: an organization whose mission is to find the best beers brewed in America, and this year they have found many of those beers brewed by Cigar City Brewing in Tampa.

The USBTC gets entries from around the US and breaks them into regional subcategories in addition to an overall national judging. Out of 15 categories judged in the competition, Cigar City won 6 of the Best of the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast awards. In the national judging, Cigar City took home 4 national Grand Champion awards out of 15 categories.

Which Cigar City beers won?

Big Sound: Mid-Atlantic/SE and National Grand Champion in Scottish-style Ale
Warmer Winter Winter Warmer: Mid-Atlantic/SE and National Grand Champion in Barleywine
Leon: Mid-Atlantic/SE and National Grand Champion in Non-whiskey Barrel/Wood-aged Beer
Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout: Mid-Atlantic/SE and National Grand Champion in Bean Beer
Good Gourd: Mid-Atlantic/SE Champion in Spice Beer
Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout: Mid-Atlantic/SE Champion in Imperial Stout

To see a list of winners, see the USBTC’s website.

Beer Stock Photo

Florida breweries take home honors at U.S. Open Beer Championships

Florida residents have been in on the secret for a while now: craft beer in the Sunshine State has been improving, advancing, and expanding for a while now. This news has been pouring out of the Southernmost State and after this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship, Florida’s craft breweries have proven their mettle once again amidst national competition.

This year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship saw over 3,000 beers competing for honors in 81 different categories.

Who took home honors?

* Florida Beer Company of Titusville took home a bronze medal in the IPA category for Devil’s Triangle IPA.
* Brew Bus Brewing of Tampa took home a bronze medal in the porter category for Double Decker Porter.
* Cigar City Brewpub of Tampa took home a gold medal in the cream stout category for Brewers Brunch.
* Motorworks Brewing of Sarasota took home a bronze medal in the cream stout category for Sweet Stout.
*Cigar City Brewing of Tampa took home a gold medal in the imperial stout category for Marshall Zhukov’s Imperial Stout.
*Brew Bus Brewing of Tampa took home a silver medal in the Irish red category for Rollin’ Dirty.
*Rapp Brewing of Seminole took home a bronze medal in the Irish red category for Irish Red.
*Brewzzi City Place of West Palm Beach took home a gold medal in the marzen category for CityFest.
*Brewzzi City Place of West Palm Beach also took home a silver medal in the schwarzbier category for Black Duke.
*Big Top Brewing of Sarasota took home a bronze medal in vegetable beer for Honey Jalapeno Blonde Ale.
*Cigar City Brewing of Tampa took home a gold medal in coffee beer for Cubano Espresso Brown Ale.
*Green Bench Brewing of Saint Petersburg won a gold medal in Wood and Barrel Aged Pale Beer for Saison de Banc Vert.
*Green Bench Brewing of Saint Petersburg won a gold medal in Wood and Barrel Aged Sour Beer for French Oak Rye Sour Brown.
*Big Bear Brewing of Coral Springs won a bronze medal in Aged Beer for their Triple Lindy.
*Green Bench Brewing of Saint Petersburg won a bronze medal in Experimental Beer for their Spring Bloom IIPA.
*Cigar City Cider & Mead of Tampa tied for a gold medal in Specialty Cider and Perry for Homemade Apple Pie Cider.

But wait, there’s more:
Green Bench Brewing of Saint Petersburg also won so many medals that they qualified for national rankings in the competition and after winning two golds and a bronze medal, tied for the 9th highest ranked brewery in the United States.

Congratulations to all the winners and all the entrants in the U.S. Open Beer Championship. For a full list, click here.