JDub’s Brewing to open The Dub Shack offsite taproom

January 20, 2017

Press Release: JDub’s Brewing Company is excited to announce the opening of our off-site taproom, “The Dub Shack at UTC”, which is tentatively scheduled to open the end of January.

The Dub Shack address is 8217 Tourist Center Drive, Bradenton, FL 34201, formerly a World Of Beer franchise location. The concept is similar to other breweries opening off-site taprooms, an experience that mimics the feel of the brewery itself. There will be a live video feed of brewing operations at JDub’s Brewing Company as well as similar art created by local artists on the walls. The Dub Shack at UTC will feature 40 draft lines, 20 of which devoted to JDub’s beers and the other 20 a variety of high quality craft beers made by other brewers.

JDub’s founder Jeremy Joerger, “This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. My brewery is slightly off the beaten path and this new location will allow us to show off our brand in a more populated location.”

About JDub’s Brewing
JDub’s Brewing began with a Soldier stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, along with one of his buddies and armed with Charlie Papazian’s “The Joy of Home Brewing”, brewed his first (horrible) batch of homebrew. Jeremy “JDub” fell in love with brewing immediately. Fast forward to 2016, and JDub’s is a rapidly growing Florida craft brewery, growing daily in the areas of sales, distribution, number of employees and scope. After nearly “maxing” our production at our facility in Sarasota in 2015, we have begun brewing at “The Brew Hub” in Lakeland, FL, where we make our flagship brands. Our beloved former head brewer, Tommy, is no longer with us (although we still brew Tommy’s “Damn Good Wee Heavy” in his honor). Head Brewer Matt Tucker is now running the brewery side of operations. Despite our bustling growth, we stay committed our our core values of Quality, Innovation and Culture. We hope you enjoy looking around the website and we hope to see you at the brewery soon. Cheers!

Update on Playalinda Brewing Brix Project – opening soon

July 18, 2016

Press Release: A year and a half after opening Titusville’s first craft brewery, the owners of Playalinda Brewing Company are expanding with the launch of the Brix Project. Slated to open in late summer at the site of a former lumberyard on U.S. 1 south of downtown Titusville, the Brix Project will feature a brewpub with 20 taps, a restaurant, and a beer garden.

The new 16,000-square-feet complex from the founders of Playalinda Brewing Company, Bryan and Donna Scott and Ron and Katie Raike, will also include a production brewery outfitted with a 1000-gallon stainless brew system. The state-of-the-art equipment paves the way to distribute Playalinda Brewing Company’s acclaimed beer to restaurants, bars and retailers across Florida.

“The people of Titusville have been incredibly supportive of Playalinda Brewing Company since day one,” said Brewmaster Ron Raike, who is one of only a few certified master cicerones in Florida. “The new Brix Project venue and production brewery makes it possible for us to expand our product line locally at both Titusville locations, while also opening the door for statewide distribution.”

The Brix Project name is in reference to the Brix degree scale, which is used in brewing and distilling to measure sugar content during the fermentation process. In addition to the production brewery, the Brix Project will also house a distillery that produces small batch vodka, rum and gin. The handcrafted spirits will debut in 2017.

“Everyone at Playalinda Brewing Company is very happy that all the pieces came together to allow us to open the Brix Project in Titusville,” said Bryan Scott, who along with wife Donna also own and operate Titusville-based Barn Light Electric Company, an award-winning lighting manufacturer. “We expect to create 25 new jobs by opening day and even more as the brand continues to grow.”

Several positions at the Brix Project have been filled, including the recent hire of Justin Medina, who will serve as the restaurant’s executive chef. Medina will lead all culinary efforts at the Brix Project, including developing a menu that will feature a variety of wood fired grilled dishes.

Ian Colston has also joined Playalinda Brewing Company as director of sales for the production brewery. Colston, who previously worked at Brown Distributing, brings more than a decade of Florida craft beer sales experience to the Brix Project, where he will work with restaurants, bars and retailers across the state to deliver Playalinda Brewing Company products.

Details regarding the hiring process for open positions at the Brix Project will be announced in the near future.

Playalinda Brewing Company’s original “Hardware Store” location in downtown Titusville will continue to brew house beers on site and offer daily food and drink service as well as live music nights and specialty beer events.

Playalinda brewer Ron Raike

Due South Brewing to nearly double in size

March 2, 2016

Press Release: Due South Brewing Co. has announced an expansion of their current facility, annexing 12,000 additional square feet of the adjacent bay. Combined, Due South will total over 27,000 square feet.

Open to the public since 2012, Due South has always had a production focus. The current tap room continues to shrink as the need for more brewing space grows. This expansion will allow for growth in both areas.

Due South owner Mike Halker standing in the new space.

“We knew we would need more space, it just wasn’t available” states Mike Halker, founder and president of Due South. “Finally the opportunity presented itself and we were able to acquire the bay next to us. We’re certainly excited about continuing our relationship with the folks in Boynton and eventually expanding our brewing operations enough that we can supply all of Florida. We’ve got some thirsty friends on the west coast we haven’t been able to take care of yet.”

The new space will be used for an indoor beer garden, a large air conditioned tap room, a dedicated area for barrel aging and additional offices. There will also be a separate area for expansion of the new ‘Due South Sour Project’.

The architects are currently working on the layout and the new facility is expected to be open in early fall.

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.

New Tampa Bay Brewing facility opens today

August 3, 2015

As reported several weeks ago, Tampa Bay Brewing Company’s Oldsmar facility was nearing completion in the month of July. now TBBC has announced an opening date. This date is set in digital stone, as they posted it on a billboard and on Instagram.

The production brewery and restaurant will feature some of the same features as the classic Tampa Bay Brewing Company pub in any or City with a few upgrades unique to the new facility. Most importantly, thenew facility will feature a production brewery that will help get beer out to the Tampa Bay Area and beyond; areas that have been thirsting for Reef Donkey and Old Elephant Foot.

For the most up-to-date information on the new Tampa Bay Brewing Company facility, please check the Tampa Bay Brewing Company Westchase Facebook page. Please note that this is a separate page from the Tampa Bay Brewing Company Ybor City page.

Tampa Bay Brewing Company Westchase is located at 13937 Monroe Business Park in the Oldsmar area of Tampa Bay.

A preview of the new Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Westchase

May 28, 2015

Exterior of new facility. Image courtesy of Tampa Bay Brewing Company.

Tampa Bay Brewing Company has been pushing their luck and their limits for a while now. As co-owner and brewer David Doble says, “it’s pretty amazing what we are getting from our ten-barrel brewpub system that was designed to crank out a lot less beer than it is.” That push has lead to a move offsite into a new facility in the Oldsmar area, right on the line of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The new facility will have many of the touches that folks have come to know and love about Tampa Bay Brewing Company with much needed brewing space.

The new Tampa Bay Brewing Company (TBBC) production brewery and brewpub will bring some changes to the company. Most importantly, the new TBBC facility will alleviate much of the market shortage in core brands Old Elephant Foot IPA and Reef Donkey American Pale Ale. The brewery construction will see TBBC quadruple production and increase from their current 3,000 barrels annually to a whopping 12,000 barrels annually. This process does not take place in a vacuum however, and the new brewery will have windows and an open door that will allow visitors to see the beer-making process even without taking the official tour. “Tours will be offered, but the place will be ‘open'” according to TBBC Marketing Manager Mike Doble.

The new TBBC will also provide a similar food and beer experience that has become the hallmark of the Ybor City brewpub. Adjacent to the brewery will be a 320-seat pub equipped with a wood-fired pizza oven, draft beer, and fully-equipped patio (much like the Ybor location).

The beginning of the pizza oven.

Beginning of TBBC outdoor bar.

With all of this beer, TBBC is looking to new horizons in addition to filling the accounts they already have. The brewery will be able to slake the thirsty Tampa Bay area as well as Orange county and some of its touristy neighbors. Doble says that they have been able to get beer to Disney World and some of its outposts, but they are keenly aware of the temporary beer shortage while the new place is being built.

Before opening day hits, the new pub is already set to make history. July 1st, the first day to legally pour a Florida 64(oz growler), will be a landmark around the state and TBBC is no exception. With the new growler bill passing into law, Rep. Dana Young is going to be on hand at the Westchase location to pour TBBC’s first 64oz growler. After that, the new place has committed to a summer 2015 opening timeframe with a soft opening date of July 6th. Once growler history has been made, the brewery doors will be open permanently for the verses of this next chapter in TBBC history to be written.

Rock Brothers Brewing to build a brewery, adopt Joey Redner

April 30, 2015

Press release

Rock Brothers Brewing has been creating craft beers for the past two years with rock bands including Have Gun, Will Travel, JJ Grey & Mofro, Hootie & the Blowfish, Umphrey’s McGee, 311 and Rebelution. They just received approval from the city council of Tampa for rezoning the historic King Greco Hardware building on the corner of 8th Ave and 15th Street in Ybor City for their new brewery, tasting room and live music venue.

“This building is a perfect place to brew craft beers and house a live music venue. We couldn’t have asked for a more serendipitous situation” said Rock Bros founder Kevin Lilly. “It was built in 1895 and was owned at one time by the Greco family when it was a hardware store. Today, it’s a designated historic site, and we are working very closely with the Ybor Historic district to retain as much authenticity within our remodel as humanly possible. We intend to rekindle the building’s proud history and take craft brewing and the live music experience in a new and innovative direction.”

Up to this point, Rock Brothers has been brewing their beers on site at Cigar City Brewing and with their out of state brewery partners. They will transition their brewing operation from Cigar City over to the new facility over the course of the remodel. Rock Brothers currently has beer across the country, depending on hometown locations of the artists. Only two of the beers in their portfolio are distributed in Florida. The Ybor facility will change that. “Our out of state brands like Hootie’s Home-grown Ale, 311’s Amber Ale and Umphrey’s McGee’s Nothing Too Fancy Pale Ale will be brewed and served in our tasting room. This will serve as the only location in the country to get this beer besides their native markets. It provides our entire unique, nationwide portfolio in one central location. We will also feature fun and creative seasonal twists on all of our flagship brands throughout the year” said Tony Casoria, co-founder of Rock Brothers.

“Brewing craft beers is a passion for us, but the live music portion is just as valued and respected. In addition to exploring new tastes for craft beer, we want the patrons to discover new music. Our brewery will serve both as a literal tasting room and a listening room” said Kevin Lilly. “We pride ourselves on authenticity and a genuine ability to take products to market that both the artists, brewers and fans can be proud of” added Tony Casoria.

This isn’t Kevin and Tony’s first walk in the park with music related ventures. They are the co-founders of Attic Records, a local record label which also produces the annual WhigFest Music & Arts Festival in downtown St. Petersburg. “Music has always been a major part of everything we do, at its core actually. It feels great to finally have a home for our concerts and a venue we completely direct and control” said Tony Casoria.

Newly added members of Rock Brothers Brewing include Dale Hunter and Joey Redner. Dale, a real estate broker and entrepreneur, is facilitating the real estate acquisition, the rezoning of the property and the overall construction of the facility. “It has been an interesting journey the last two years developing this concept. Building a brewery and music venue was always in the big picture for us. Dale came to the table with the real estate background, expertise and business acumen to bring our vision to a reality. We are more than grateful to have Dale on our team” said Kevin Lilly.

Joey Redner of Cigar City Brewing has played an integral role over the past two years for the company and is also now an official “Rock Brother.”“Words cannot express the excitement we all have in bringing Joey on board… not only is he a giant in the craft beer movement, but we have the privilege of now calling him our partner. He has done so much for us so far by letting us brew at CCB these past two years, which no doubt helped catapult our brand, to call him partner means the world to us” said Kevin Lilly.

When asked to comment about his new found partners at Rock Brothers, Joey stated, “Oh my God what are they up to now?”

Cigar City Cider and Mead is now pouring in Ybor City

December 8, 2014

While Florida’s craft breweries seem to be forever growing in number, counting the ranks of Florida’s mead producers and Florida’s cider makers would not event require the use of one’s toes. While few are looking to join the ranks of Florida’s honey wine and apple beverage makers, the crew of Cigar City Brewing has added another business to the family: Cigar City Cider and Mead.

Cigar City Cider and Mead has already been in production for a while- the cider was previously contracted out, but with the opening of the new facility and tasting room in Ybor City, the company has now taken direct control over production and the experimentation that Cigar City is known for. Every beverage from the fledgling company is made in Ybor City with employees working every day to keep up with demand, one 200-gallon batch at a time.

The exterior of Cigar City Cider and Mead’s new home in Ybor City.

The head of creativity at the cidery and meadery is Jared Gilbert, a winemaker whose vision for Cigar City Cider and Mead is one of both balance and experimentation. The goal with this new company and new home is to “bring enlightenment to the market, especially when it comes to meads.” Gilbert says that he believe balance is the key to both beverages and that the ideal is “not too sweet” and “not too dry” and he wants to bring these drinks to the forefront of the industry. Cigar City owner Joey Redner has long valued meads not only as unique drinks, but as the only alcoholic beverages that can be produced solely with native Floridian ingredients. Gilbert agrees with this vision and he wants to make meads with indigenous avocado honey and mangrove honey as well as expanding into a barrel program for barrel aging meads and ciders.

As of its opening, the new Cigar City Cider and Mead tasting room and production house has showcased some of Gilbert’s creations and pop culture knowledge with a spectrum of ciders like “There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand” banana cider, a strawberry banana cider, a dry-hopped mango cider, and a black currant cider along with a vanilla mead, a blackberry sourwood mead, and a strawberry shortcake demi-sec.

Cigar City Cider and Mead lives in a building that has already made history as one of Tampa Bay’s first brewpubs- 1812 North 15th Street in Ybor City first housed the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in its youth.

Since this cider and mead facility actually exists within the boundaries of Ybor City and in keeping with the Cigar City sense of humor, rumor has it that Redner and crew will erect a sister sign to the one that stands in front of the brewery reading “In Ybor Since 2014” (the sign in front of the brewery is a testament to the confusion many folks exhibit when they mistakenly believe that the Cigar City Brewing is housed in Ybor City, it reads “Not in Ybor Since 2009”).

Cigar City Cider and Mead’s talking heads, from left to right: Winemaker Jared Gilbert, Rep. Todd Strauss, Owner Joey Redner, and Vice President Justin Clark

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