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Rock Brothers Brewing Company releases “Ale for You” – collaboration beer with Sister Hazel

Always eager to try something new, platinum-selling band, Sister Hazel, and Rock Brothers Brewing of Tampa have collaborated on a new beer dubbed “Ale for You!” The collaboration beer was inspired by the band’s song “All for You” that topped the adult alternative charts during the summer of 1997 and propelled their album to platinum status. This Honey Blonde Ale will make its public debut on the 20th Annual Sold Out Rock Boat and is officially available on January 29th.

Sister Hazel Ale For You Can

As a true collaboration beer, Rock Brothers Brewmaster Eric Wannemacher and the band worked together at every step to ensure a remarkable flavor. “Much like the song “All For You,” we wanted the beer to have a mass appeal and be received well by pretty much everyone who tries it, both male and female,” Said Rock Brothers Brewing founder Kevin Lilly. “The song was a massive #1 hit on the charts, it’s immediately recognizable, immediately enjoyable and very easy to love… this beer is an everyday, year-round enjoyable ale – it’s Florida born, and centered around citrus… it truly is a perfect “Ale for you.” The band and beer are true Florida natives to the core… and we love that about this project.” 

Ale For You cans boast original, Florida beach artwork inspired by old Florida postcards showcasing sunshine, tangerines, and the Florida gator.

 

 

Sister Hazel logo

 

 

 

About Sister Hazel
Originating from Gainesville, FL, Sister Hazel is comprised of five gifted, seasoned musicians whose well-spring of natural talent has been called “one of the Top 100 Most Influential Independent Performers of the last 15 years” by Performing Songwriter Magazine. “All for You,” topped the adult alternative charts during the summer of 1997 and the success propelled their album to platinum status.  Since then, Sister Hazel most recently co-produced a cleverly themed EP compilation series entitled “Elements.” Living up to their fan-centered reputation, the band was a pioneer in the themed cruise industry by co-founding “The Rock Boat” and annually hosts focused on creating unique experiences and interacting with the fans. In addition to the events and touring, the band also gives back with “Lyrics For Life.” Founded by singer Ken Block, the charity unites musicians and celebrities for concerts and auctions to benefit cancer research and patient-care charities.

Rock Brothers Brewing Logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Rock Brothers Brewing Company
Rock Brothers unites craft beer and music to support great artists, great beer and even greater fans. In the ever-changing climate of the music industry, artists are looking for new revenue streams, while fans are looking for new ways to connect with their favorite musicians… We believe this authentic partnership of music and beer brings that home in a new and innovative way. From recipe inception, brand creation, artwork design and even the name of the product itself, the band is involved every step of the way.

Sister Hazel Ale For You released

Photo courtesy of Sister Hazel

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Rock Brothers Brewing sets opening date and festivities

Founders Tony Casoria and Kevin Lilly’s vision for Attic Records and Rock Brothers Brewing have finally come to fruition after years in the making with the opening of their new flagship location for both brands in Ybor City, Florida. The 8,000 square foot historic building will house the brewery where all of the Rock Brothers beers will be brewed. The building will also include The Attic concert venue, which originated in a warehouse in St. Petersburg that eventually evolved into Paper Crane and Bloom. Thirdly, and directly connecting the brewery and venue, the building will introduce “The Tasting Room”, which will serve Rock Brothers beers and craft cocktails. This is a reimagined concept for the Tampa Bay beer scene as Rock Brothers will be the only brewery in the bay area focusing heavily on being a professional craft cocktail bar as well.

Rock Brothers Exterior

Casoria, co-owner of the immensely successful Mandarin Hide in downtown St. Petersburg brought his experience renovating the cocktail culture in St. Pete and his passion for design and music to The Tasting Room at Rock Brothers. “The 125 year old building, with all its character and space allowed for a lot of exciting design elements, and the room to create an impressive back bar so that our talented staff could have all the tools necessary to produce an exceptional product,” Casoria said. The Tasting Room will blur the boundary between craft beer and spirits with an impressive array of beer-tails and the creation of a new genre of cocktails using hops from their beers to make their own hop bitters, syrups, reductions, and tinctures. “We are hoping to do for Ybor what Mandarin has been credited for doing in St. Pete; ushering in a wave of businesses that up the game for the craft cocktail scene,” said Casoria.

While both partners are directly involved on all aspects of the business, Casoria focused primarily downstairs on the bar during the buildout. Upstairs, Lilly took the reins when it came to his personal passion, the concert venue called “The Attic.” After 15 years grinding in the music industry as a full-time musician, tour manager, concert promoter, and artist manager, Lilly’s time spent is finally paying off. “I’ve spent years producing concerts in everyone else’s venues, and while I loved the work, I always knew the end goal was to have a place of my own. The first night I watched a concert in The Attic, I was so busy I couldn’t really soak it in… I couldn’t really grasp the gravity of what was happening,” Lilly said. That show was Grammy Winner, Shawn Mullins, on Dec. 10, 2016, followed by two sold out nights with JJ Grey on Dec. 16 and 17.

Lilly describes the room as an “audible art gallery,” as it will focus on singer/songwriter “Storyteller” sets and intimate evenings with some of the greatest touring acts of the last 20 years. “After spending so much time analyzing shows, we really did put an intense amount of thought into the sound, lights, and feel of the room in order to create the best atmosphere for anyone who experiences a show here,” said Lilly. “With our connections in the industry, and our partnerships with our Rock Brothers bands, this room should be a favorite of fans and the artists themselves in no time,” said Lilly.

While The Attic has been open for weeks now, The Tasting Room has been refining their product before and after the shows upstairs. “The idea was to come online slowly downstairs and properly prepare for our Grand Opening,” says Casoria.

The Grand Opening festivities for Rock Brothers are set for the weekend of January 13, 14, and 15. On Friday the 13th, Florida’s own Thomas Wynn & the Believers will be playing The Attic stage. On Saturday the 14th from noon – 7pm, Vagabond Gita Bohemian Market will be doing a pop-up market in the brewery warehouse space as well as a motorcycle show. The Attic will be open free of charge during this time, so everyone can experience the room. Performances from noon-7pm will include some of the best singer songwriters in Tampa Bay area including Will Quinlin, Shawn Kyle, Lauris Vidal, Geri X, Mountain Holler, and many more. Saturday night the celebration continues with Thomas and Olivia Wynn, JT Brown and Co., and the band that launched Rock Brothers Brewing, Have Gun, Will Travel. Each band will perform their original music plus covers of Rock Brothers partner artist bands such as 311, Rebelution, JJ Grey, and Hootie and the Blowfish.

Rock Brothers Mics

Rock Brothers Grand Opening Schedule & Events ::
January 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9th ::
Rock Brothers will be open 7pm to 2am in The Tasting Room to accommodate college football fans during the National Championship as well as host any locals who wish to stop by.

January 11, 12th :: VIP Friends & Family Events – Private and Closed to the Public
January 13th :: Concert :: Thomas Wynn & The Believers :: The Tasting Room and The Attic will open at 6pm and close at 2am.
Ticket Link :: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1406513?utm_medium=bks

January 14th :: Grand Opening Day and Concert
12pm :: The Tasting Room and Warehouse Art Market opens to the public.
12pm-6pm :: The Attic hosts a free of charge afternoon of music with some of Tampa Bay’s best songwriters. There will be limited space in the venue, so please arrive early if you plan to see the performances.

6pm :: Ticketed Concert ::
Have Gun, Will Travel, JT Brown & Co and Thomas and Olivia Wynn.
Ticket Link :: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1409367?utm_medium=bks

ROCK BROTHERS HOURS OF OPERATION (BEGINNING JANUARY 15th)
Tuesday – Thursday :: 12pm – 12am
Friday – Saturday :: 12pm – 2am
Sunday :: 12pm to 12am
Closed Mondays

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Rock Brothers brings Spin Doctors and Tonic to 2nd River Rock Festival

Press Release:

Voices for Children, Rock Brothers Brewing, and Cigar City Brewing will host the 2nd annual River Rock Craft Beer & Music Festival with co-headliners Spin Doctors and Tonic on Saturday, November 7th 2015. Doors will open at 2:00pm for the 2nd craft beer and music festival in Tampa’s new Waterworks Park.

“Following last years successful inaugural event, we are proud to host a larger event this year to bring further awareness to Voices for Children. Voices for Children is excited to be working with Rock Brothers, Cigar City, Spin Doctors, Tonic and all of our incredible community sponsors.”, said Betsy Smith, Voices for Children Board Member and Event Chair. “All proceeds of River Rock will benefit Voices for Children of Tampa Bay, making this a win-win for our community. Last year the event raised $42,000 in profit for the charity and we couldn’t be happier to make this year an even bigger showing.”, said Smith.

Community sponsors include: signature sponsor Quarles & Brady Law Firm, Cigar City Brewing, Rock Brothers Brewing, JJ Taylor, Vibe Media, Sykes, Inc., Warren Averett, CBIZ, Hale, Hale & Johnson, TransAmerica, Holland & Knight LLP, First Citrus Bank, Iberia Bank, Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union and Cooper Johnson Smith Architects.

River Rock Event Details
The festivities will begin on Saturday, November 7th, 2015 at Waterworks Park, located at 1719 N. Highland Avenue Tampa, Florida 33602. Doors open at 2:00pm with a lineup of local rock bands followed with back to back full concerts by Tonic and Spin Doctors. For more information, visit us on the web at www.riverrocktampa.com and or www.vfcgal.org.

About Voices for Children of Tampa Bay
Voices for Children of Tampa Bay advocates for the abused, abandoned, and neglected children in Hillsborough County. Voices for Children supports the Guardian ad Litem Program of Hillsborough County and Tibet—Florida’s first facility dog from The Courthouse Dog Project.

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More information on 311’s new Rock Brothers partnership

Press Release:

Multi-platinum rock band 311 has partnered with Rock Brothers Brewing to create and release an exciting custom craft beer in conjunction with the band’s 25th anniversary this summer. “Besides the obvious connection to the band’s hit song of the same name, 311 wanted a very drinkable amber ale with a craft beer twist,” said Rock Brothers co-founder Kevin Lilly.

“After several meetings and tasting sessions with 311, it became clear the band wanted great taste with a bit of complexity,” explained Lilly, who is intimately involved with the flavor-profile-process that occurs between band members and brew masters.

According to Lilly, 311 Amber Ale will “shine bright,” as roasted caramel malts will be blended with Equinox hops, resulting in subtle hints of tropical citrus and kush aromatics.

The craft beer’s blend of malted barleys and unique hops will set this beer apart from other amber ales.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said the band’s bassist Aaron “P-Nut” Wills, who explained a custom brew is something the band has been interested in for a while.

“We’ve explored the craft beer idea with several brewers over the years, but they were less inclined to do beers outside of their typical line,” said 311 co-manager Peter Raspler. “But Rock Brothers came along with an authentic model that made it possible for the band to make the beer they wanted.”

311 band members have been involved in each stage of development – from selecting the style, to influencing the taste, to creating the name and other branding elements.

“We appreciate that our beer is not a side-project for Rock Brothers,” Raspler said. “Creating custom brews for bands is their focus, and that is a big reason we feel this is a great partnership for the band.”

While Rock Brothers Brewing is based in Tampa, home to award-winning Cigar City Brewing with whom Rock Brothers partners on all its band brews, each of its band beers are created in collaboration with input from band members, and a local brew partner who additionally manufactures the beer – in this instance, with Paul Kavulak at Nebraska Brewing Company.

“311 has called Los Angeles home for many years, but Omaha is where the band is from,” said Tony Casoria, the other-brother at Rock Brothers Brewing. “Having Nebraska Brewing on-board is a natural fit and adds another level of authenticity we strive for with all our band partnerships.”

Fans will get their first tasting opportunity at 311’s special concerts in Las Vegas over 4th of July weekend, and at special events in Omaha & Los Angeles the following month, with details to come. 311 Amber Ale will then appear on tap in bars and restaurants in select cities, with package goods hitting the market in 2016.

“I don’t think this first Amber Ale will be our last beer with Rock Brothers” Wills added, hinting of additional specialty beers in the future.

311 is the first west-coast act on the Rock Brothers’ roster, whose other beers include JJ Grey’s Nare Sugar Brown available in Florida, Hootie & The Blowfish’s Homegrown Ale in South Carolina, and Umphrey’s McGee’s Nothing Too Fancy Everyday Ale in Chicago.

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Rock Brothers Brewing to build a brewery, adopt Joey Redner

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?”

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Rock Brothers Brewing collaborates with Umphrey’s McGee on Nothing Too Fancy

Press Release:

Music fans who follow Umphrey’s McGee will soon find a new way to connect with the band, with the release of a custom craft-beer called Nothing Too Fancy, Everyday Ale.

Much like the band’s music, the ale will be smooth and easy on the surface, yet complex and layered at its core. “We designed it to be drinkable all day, every day,” said the band’s guitarist and vocalist Brendan Bayliss. Nothing Too Fancy will become available in May in Atlanta, Florida, Chicago and South Bend (where the band members attended college at Notre Dame), and then in Colorado this July.

The team behind the beer is Rock Brothers Brewing, who have previously released custom craft beers with Hootie & The Blowfish, JJ Grey & Mofro, and Have Gun Will Travel. Kevin Lilly from Rock Brothers said the Umphrey’s McGee beer is a sessionable American Wheat with generous amounts of fruity hops, producing a big, juicy hop aroma and a flavor that will be truly unique. Rock Brothers routinely partners with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa on recipe development, but will also involve Boulder Beer Company in Colorado for the Umphrey’s McGee brew.

“We like the authenticity of the Umphrey’s McGee story,” said Tony Casoria, the other half of the Rock Brother’s team. “They’ve been making music on their terms for more than 16 years and they’re still going strong. That’s the type of hard work and passion we’re all about at Rock Brothers.”

The band members are looking forward to a beer that balances the rock and roll energy of an Umphrey’s live show with the chilled-attitude of a warm summer day and a six-pack on ice. Nothing Too Fancy will be brewed and packaged at Boulder Beer Company, Colorado’s first craft brewery. Established in 1979 in Boulder, CO, Boulder Beer was a pioneer in the craft beer movement and is known for brewing classic styles with an innovative twist.

“We are super stoked to be teaming up with Rock Brothers Brewing, Umphrey’s, and Cigar City Brewing to bring this special brew to several of our key markets,” said Jeff Brown, President of Boulder Beer Company. “When the Rock Brothers approached us with the idea of working together, we didn’t have to think twice. Culturally it is such a great fit for us and the entire brewery staff is very excited to launch this brand.”

The beer will be released in association with the following performances:

Summer Camp Music Festival Counterpoint Music Festival
May 22-23 Chillicothe, IL May 24 Atlanta, GA

Boulder Theatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre
July 2 Boulder, CO July 3 Morrison, CO

Cigar City Brewing Skyline

Cigar City releases Happening Now Session IPA

Just in time for IPA Day in Tampa, Cigar City is rolling a new session IPA off of their canning line and into the tasting room.

From Cigar City:

Check out what just came off the canning line! Happening Now Session IPA is a collaboration in conjunction with Rock Brothers Brewing Company and Kyle Hollingsworth of The String Cheese Incident. Kyle is a huge craft beer enthusiast and has brewed with Boulder Beer Company, Stone Brewing and now CCB. These cans will be on sale in our tasting room beginning tomorrow for National IPA Day!
Happening Now is a session IPA brewed with a blend of experimental hops

Happening Now is available in the Cigar City Tasting Room located at 3924 West Spruce Street in Tampa.