In this episode, Ben Davis, founder of Intuition Ale Works joins the BeerWise Podcast to talk about Intuition’s facility in Jacksonville, what it’s like hosting a bottle release after COVID, the brewery’s new Ukraine relief beer called “Hey Putin, Go Fu** Yourself,” and more.
Jacksonville’s Intuition Ale Works is again releasing their barrel-aged imperial stout, dubbed Underdark, at their Jacksonville brewery. Underdark 2022 will be available in cans, and the release will begin at 10am. 2022 will mark the tenth anniversary of Intuition’s Underdark release, and the ninth year that the beer has been packaged in bottles and cans.
Like Cigar City Brewing’s Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout 2022, Intuition’s Underdark will be released in cans, except 12oz cans instead of 16oz cans. Unlike Hunahpu’s, Underdark’s flavor stems from its time in various types of barrels, and then those variants are blended together.
From Intuition Ale Works:
This Saturday…Underdark 2022 is upon us!!!
This year’s Underdark release will take place in the Bier Hall on Saturday, February 5th, beginning at 10am.And just like last year, Underdark will be packaged in 12oz CANS! Thick and rich, this year’s vintage packs roasted chocolate and maple flavors, with a long oaky finish and a warming alcohol sensation at 13% ABV.Underdark 2022 was aged to perfection and blended from 8+ year barrels of Elijah Craig bourbon, maple barrel, and rum barrel.Single-barrel Underdark variants will be available on draft in extremely limited quantities, including:– Maple– Rum– Port– Pineau des Charentes* 4-packs of 2022 Underdark will be available for $20 each (no limit)* Limited quantities of vintage bottles (2017-19) will be available for $10 each* The Kitchen will be serving Underdark chili all day, as well as several appetizers and vegetarian options* Cash or card accepted* Underdark ring toss all day* We encourage all game masters and role players to join us for an afternoon of drinking and merriment. All RPGs, tabletop games, card, and board games are welcome!
What happens when one of Jacksonville’s best craft breweries rubs elbows with Tallahassee’s brightest brewing stars? A collaboration beer, of course, and that is just what happened when the folks at Intuition Ale Works met the gents at Proof Brewing Company. The meeting of the minds that took place between the two brewers will soon be pouring forth into Tallahassee.
From Proof Brewing:
Perhaps you remember a while back we made a little something special with the fine folks of Intuition Ale Works out of Jacksonville? Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time. We are very happy to announce the release of our collaboration beer, Vandura – Oaked Black IPA!
Join us Friday, June 26 as we put this beer on for the first time in a very special commemorative glass…you get to keep!
The beer starts pouring at 6pm with the start of the Glassware Giveaway!
We’re seriously excited for you to try our creation with Intuition and we hope you’ll love as much as we do…see you then!
Proof Brewing Company at Railroad Square is located at 644 McDonnell Street in Tallahasee.
It is no secret that Intuition Ale Works is growing in leaps and bounds. The native Jacksonville brewery is working to keep up with demand and has been scouring Jacksonville looking for a new facility. One previously proposed facility came close, but now Intuition owner Ben Davis thinks he has found a brewery site close to downtown that will be big enough for his purposes and close enough to downtown to capture tourist business. One other minor detail: the space in question could quadruple Intuition’s production capacity.
According to an article from the Jacksonville Business Journal, Intuition has submitted the blueprints for a downtown brewery. The lot in question comprises 1.4 acres of land. “The plans submitted by Intuition call for a 4,230-square-foot rooftop biergarten and a small downstairs tap room. Most of the 36,000-square-foot first floor space will be taken up by the brewery itself.”
Davis’s vision, according to the same article is to make it easier for locals to celebrate a home team win. Rather than spend hours sitting in traffic waiting to leave downtown, maybe that time would be better spent in a rooftop biergarten talking with friends and waiting for traffic to die down.
Intuition goes before the Downtown Development Review Board on Thursday morning.
Before the weekend that ended Hunahpu Day, Cigar City owner and CEO Joey Redner and brewer Keegan Malone had an outing to Saint Petersburg’s Brewers’ Tasting Room (BTR) and were joined by Intuition Ale Works’ owner and brewer Ben Davis. What came next was a collaborative effort described by BTR owner Rick Wolfe as “what happens when you put really smart brewers together and let them go.”
Wolfe was impressed with the outcome: an imperial oatmeal rye India black ale with an original gravity of 10.8. It should take 2-3 weeks to ferment out, and then the beer (which has yet to be named) will start gracing the taps of Brewers’ Tasting Room.
The name of the game at Brewers’ Tasting Room is small batches and limited supply, as the small brewery has a one-barrel brewing system. Wolfe said that “it was great to be a part of brewing with these smart guys [being] creative in small batches… when they’re in their zone.”
Brewers’ Tasting Room is located at 11270 North 4th Street in Saint Petersburg.
Intuition Ale Works, Florida’s first canning brewery, is adding a familiar face to their can lineup.
King Street Stout, a regular member of Intuition’s Ale family, is set to join their can lineup “soon.”
According to Intuition:
“Coming soon… we’ll be offering King Street Stout cans in four packs.”
No word yet on when cans of King Street Stout will be available.
Intuition Ale Works has had a lot to celebrate recently. The brewery has been building up momentum towards the upcoming Underdark release and has had a cookbook, Cooking with Intuition, published to showcase their beer with local chefs. Now Intuition is expanding their distribution footprint to include sending draft beer further than they have before.
From the Intuition newsletter:
We’ve signed on with Brown Distributing to expand our distribution throughout the state of Florida! This week we shipped out kegs to be sent to select accounts in Gainesville, Tallahassee, Ormond, Deland, Daytona, Lake City and everything in between.
Our brews will only be available on draft in these new markets for now (sorry – no cans yet!).
We’re working on a calendar of tasting events in these new cities so keep your eye on our FB page for further details!