September 26, 2014                                                                                  

For 320 issues or over 12 years I have either written the entire newsletter or as of the last few years just the intro to the Fresh Beer Times. Over that time many people have come up to me and told me that they read the FB Times religiously and that it is their link to everything craft beer in South Florida. One of the funniest stories about this was the time a friend of mine met someone random who was really into beer and told him that you should really sign up for this beer newsletter and he said "I get this email from Adam and that is all I really need".

The FB Times started out as a simple email newsletter that was meant to keep South Florida Craft beer drinkers informed of new beers and events. Back when I started it was a text email with the most exciting graphics being colored fonts and colorful nicknames for the employees working the events. The list started with less than 100 readers. Now there are several issues for different portions of the state, there are graphics, and recipes, and beer and cheese pairings, and interesting articles, etc. Statewide the readership is in the THOUSANDS, hardly the New York Times but I like to believe that the readership is a bit more hardcore in terms of their interest in the beer content. 

 

My career in this industry began first as a home brewer then as a pro brewer with a dream of starting and owning my own brewery. That was 1996. I started Fresh Beer Inc. as a method to be able to sell my own craft beer and not rely on the established distribution network that existed and really didn't understand craft beer at all. What Fresh Beer wound up being was an alternative to that distribution network for many of the craft brands that are currently in South Florida. As craft beer grew in South Florida, so did Fresh Beer, Inc. For years we flew under the radar, converting drinkers to craft beer one at time. As time went on, people really started catching on and suddenly craft became "hot". And we kept trucking....selling some of the best beers in the country....doing some awesome events, meeting some great people, and building up a unique following for a distribution company. We have thousands of likes on Facebook for a distribution company!!

Eventually the big distributors did start paying attention and then they started knocking on my door suddenly wanting to jump into the craft beer business. The time had come to either put up or shut up because this was becoming big business. Enter Jason and Reid Brown and the Brown Distributing company. Two young men with vision on the growth of this industry and the future of craft beer in Florida. We reached a deal that allowed myself and my employees to continue to steward the growth of craft beer while having the capital to accomplish this at a much greater rate. And it grew and grew and grew.

 

Five years later, Brown is now a statewide distributor of craft beer. You can now find many of the brands that we represent not only in the awesome places that sell craft beer exclusively but in convenience stores, Publix, Winn Dixie and many other places that you would never think 10 years ago would ever have great craft beer. And the market continues to grow...with local craft breweries popping up all over Florida and brewing some great beers.

So the time has come for me to pass the torch on fully to those who can continue to steward this movement forward. Because this is a movement...a movement away from the widely known brands that we have been consuming en masse for years to more hand crafted interesting full flavored beers that are being brewed in small historical breweries in Europe, right here in the US and Florida. 

 

While I have enjoyed this distribution ride for the past 15 years, I am going to take the next step in my own personal evolution and put my stamp on the local beer community right here in South Florida with the Native Brewing Company. Native has been along for the ride since the beginning and it is now time for me to devote my full attention and take the brand to the next level. Hopefully, I will get to see all of you out there at my brewery in the future. I think you all will know where to find me. And who knows...maybe you will be reading the Native Brewing Company newsletter in the near future. 

 

Adam Fine

Director of Hoperations

UPCOMING EVENTS
(for more info click on the event title)
Monday, 09-01-2014 to Tuesday, 09-30-2014

Palm Beach County

 

Terrapin Tap Takeover @ World of Beer Clematis WEST PALM BEACH

Friday, 09-26-2014 ALL DAY LONG

 

First Responder's Day @ Due South Brewing BOYNTON BEACH

Saturday, 09-27-2014 12:00 PM

 

SaltWater Brewery Tap Takeover @ The Brass Tap BOYNTON BEACH

Sunday, 09-28-2014 7:00 PM 

 

Uptown Art Night @ The Blind Monk WEST PALM BEACH

Monday, 09-29-2014 5:00 PM

 

Monday, 09-29-2014 7:00 PM

 

Funky Buddha Tap Enlightenment @ TAP Global Beer Collection DELRAY BEACH Tuesday, 09-30-2014 7:00 PM

 

Due South Oktoberfest BOYNTON BEACH

Thursday, 10-09-2014 to Saturday, 10-11-2014

 

Saturday, 10-18-2014 7:00 PM
 
Broward County
 
Friday, 09-26-2014 10:00 PM

Sunday, 09-28-2014 12:00 PM

 

Wednesday, 10-01-2014 5:30 PM

 

Saturday, 10-04-2014 12:00 PM

 

Thursday, 10-09-2014 6:30 PM

 

Friday, 10-10-2014 6:00 PM

 

 

Miami-Dade County  


GOT Valar Morghulis Release Party @ OTC BRICKELL

Wednesday, 10-01-2014 7:00 PM


Grovetoberfest @ Peacock Park COCONUT GROVE

Saturday, 10-18-2014 2:30 PM

  
NEW AND RETURNING PRODUCTSBeerfinder
VISIT OUR BEERFINDER TO FIND THESE PRODUCTS  
Boulevard Brewing Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
Most breweries have at least one piece of equipment that's just a bit persnickity. Here at Boulevard we have fermenter number seven, the black sheep of our cellar family. Ironically, when our brewers were experimenting with variations on a traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ale, the perfect combination of elements came together in that very vessel. You could call it fate, but they called it Tank 7, and so it is. Beginning with a big surge of fruity aromatics and grapefruit-hoppy notes, the flavor of this complex, straw-colored ale tapers off to a peppery, dry finish. 8.5% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing 80-Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer
With roots in two of today's most popular brewing styles, 80-Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer is the result of careful cultivation by our brewers and cellarmen. Their efforts to craft a hybrid yielded a bumper crop of flavor; a delightfully distinctive ale with the aroma of an IPA and the refreshing taste of a wheat beer. 5.5% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Single-Wide I.P.A.
Boulevard Single-Wide I.P.A. is our take on a style that originated in 18th century Great Britain. This American version-inspired by our Smokestack Series Double-Wide I.P.A.-boasts a heady combination of six varieties of hops, some of which were employed for dry-hopping. 5.7% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Pop-Up Session I.P.A.
Boulevard Pop-Up Session IPA joins its big brothers Single-Wide and Double-Wide in our trailer park of hop-centric beers. This "session" model is built for the frequent excursions, with a very drinkable character and relatively low bitterness trucked behind a big, fruity hop aroma. 4.3% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Double-Wide I.P.A.
The classic India Pale Ale is a traveler's beer, aggressively hopped to withstand the long, hot ocean voyage to the British East Indies. Our Double-Wide I.P.A. also travels well, and is right at home in the most exotic ports of call of the Midwest. While this modern-day prairie schooner may not resemble a graceful sailing sloop, our liberal hopping regimen does make her virtually "twister-proof," with toffee and caramel notes balancing out the lingering bitterness. Enjoy this beer fresh to best appreciate the complex blending of hop aromas, ranging from minty to citrusy, with subtle hints of pine. 8.5% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Unfiltered Wheat Beer
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer is a lively, refreshing ale with a natural citrusy flavor and distinctive cloudy appearance. This easy drinking American-style wheat beer has become our most popular offering, and the best-selling craft beer in the Midwest. 4.4% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Dark Truth Stout
Throughout the ages, man has been fascinated by the quest for hidden knowledge, the search for the secret to transforming the elemental into the extraordinary, the simple into the sublime. Ladies and gentlemen, we present for your consideration this exotic, inky concoction, the almost magical creation of our modern day alchemists who have turned humble grains-barley, wheat, rye, and oats-into black, liquid gold. Layers of complex flavors slowly emerge from the glass: espresso, roasted fig, cr�me brul�e. Belgian yeast provides a plum-like fruitiness, noble German hops reveal spicy, herbal notes, while the rich, velvety mouthfeel mellows to a dry, smoky finish. 9.7% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing The Sixth Glass
"Do you know what dwells in a glass?" asks Ole, in Hans Christian Andersen's The Watchman of the Tower. Better known for stories such as The Little Mermaid, Andersen wrote this short, cautionary tale for a somewhat older audience. Our quadrupel ale, also meant for the mature connoisseur, is a deep and mysterious libation, dark auburn and full-bodied, its sweetness deceptive. As Ole describes the glasses in turn, their contents become more ominous until, in the sixth glass. 10.5% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Boulevard Brewing Long Strange Tripel
Lately it occurs to us that if, back in 1989, you planned on starting a brewery in the back of your carpentry shop, you'd been wise to seek out someone like Harold "Trip" Hogue. A collector of ancient Volvos, Trip was well qualified for the make-do engineering required to coax recalcitrant equipment out of retirement and into making the first Boulevard beers. Today, he is our longest-tenured employee. We offer this rich, golden Tripel in grateful tribute to dedication, everywhere. 9.2% ABV
AVAILABLE THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 6th 
Ommegang Game of Thrones Valar Morghulis
Valar Morghulis possesses a deep chestnut brown color with a persistent and creamy tan head. Rich aromas of caramel, toffee, ripe fruits and burnt sugar, with a hint of cloves. The taste is delicately balanced with rich malty sweetness, caramel and just enough bitterness to balance out its malty backbone. A surprisingly dry finish is light on the tongue, which belies the initial aroma. 8% ABV
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1st 
Founders Dark Penance Imperial Black IPA    
Dark Penance starts with a heavy malt foundation of Crystal malt for sweetness and just enough Midnight Wheat to push the color to black. The bitterness is huge (100 IBUs huge), but balanced by malt sweetness and alcohol burn. The hop flavors and aromas range from citrus to floral to pine-most everything that hops can be-thanks to a delicious blend of hand-selected Chinook and Centennial hops. 8.9% ABV.
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1st

Uinta Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin      
Jacked is brewed with fresh pumpkin and fall spices and has been aging in Oak barrels for 6 months. The oak barrels add subtle nuances of toasted vanilla and bourbon notes.  Jacked is a big, unique pumpkin ale. 10.31% ABV

Breckenridge Mountain Series Sampler Pack     
In addition to three favorite Breckenridge Brewery varieties, the Rocky Mountain Sampler will include a rotating, limited release Mountain Series beer, exclusive to the new package. Each beer in the series will offer a little something different based on the season, specially obtained ingredients, and whims of the brew staff. The Mountain Series celebrates the brewery's origin as a small, ski town brewpub passionate about crafting fun and adventurous beers.

Red Brick Thick Silky Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter   
All you suckas gather 'round, a brand new dude is coming to town! Thick Silky is a man with a plan and a Kung Fu backhand, you dig? He runs the chocolate game in this city, and when it comes to haters he shows no pity. With his fine, foxy ladies sitting pretty in a tricked out '73 Cadillac DeVille, he's down with the double chocolate oatmeal scene and keeping it real. So, if you crave satisfaction, Thick Silky is the man who's got that action! 7.7% ABV

Terrapin Midnight Monk  
Take off your robe and slip into the night to get one step closer to the Holy Grail of all beers.  "Midnight Monk" Belgian-Style Black IPA will have your senses juggling all the complex flavor and aroma this beer has to offer. 9.8% ABV

Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout 
This year's winner of our American Homebrewers Association-sanctioned homebrewing competition, Chris Banker, helped keep us grounded to our homebrewing roots by introducing flavors consistent with our regional palate. His chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, chile pepper and coffee-infused milk stout was built to mimic the flavors of Mexican hot chocolate, a beloved specialty from our neighbors to the south, as our callaborators from Baja California, Cervezer�a Insurgente, will attest. Layered with tiers of earthiness, spice and roast, this creamy, semisweet blue-ribbon beer confirms that the spirit of the American homebrewer is not only alive and kicking, but thriving at an all-time high. 8.1% ABV

Funky Buddha Nickolai Vorlauf Imperial Stout
We brewed this imperial stout to be big, bold and strong, like a bear-hugging Russian wrestler. A thick body using oats and lactose is complimented by plenty of complex chocolate, cocoa, and caramel undertones, before finishing on a balanced roasty note. 10.5%
Funky Buddha Nitro Latte Porter
Thick, black, and creamy - that's our Nitro Espresso Porter. We use real espresso beans in this porter for a flavor that can only be described as freshly brewed. 5.4%
Red Brick Hibiscuwit
Turn on, tune out, and drop into the groovy charms of this brew's flower power, murmuring words like "I dig it" with complete abandon. Drink in the essence of this creamy, light Belgian witbier with hibiscus and spices as you ponder the necessity of bathing and garments and the virtues of living in true brew harmony. 5.0% ABV
Red Brick Brother Leo
Rehearse your Gregorian chants, don your monastic habit and take your vows to the lost order of Brother Leo, devoted to the solitary contemplation of the ancient brew mysteries. Your new-found devotion to drink this heavenly combination of Belgian and American grains with its mild spiciness, moderate fruity esters, and boldly hoppy notes of citrus, pine, and lemon, encourages sacrifice from the worldly distractions of lesser beers to worship in unity with this inspired brew. 8.0% ABV
Ommegang Upside Down Brown Farmhouse Brown Ale
This beer starts with fruit-filled aromas dominated by pineapple and cherry, rounded out with a touch of farmyard funk. Sweet malt character is balanced by brett tartness with underlying flavors of cherry and dark fruits. Lively carbonation, dry and tart with a medium light body. This fine ale can also evolve - cellar fo a dryer and more pronounced brett presence. 7.0% ABV
Due South Hefeweizen
Brewed in the traditional style of Germany this wheat ale is light in body and color with notes of banana and clove. 4.9% ABV
Wynwood Right on 95
A collaboration with Funky Buddha Brewing this rauchbier is made with Mangoes, and has a smokey nose with a flavor that ends with a nice balance of sweet mango. 7.8% ABV
Funky Buddha Nelson Sauvin Crusher Session IPA
Nelson Sauvin is a hop from New Zealand with a definitive lemon rind and almost wine-like aroma. Citrusy, juicy, and refined. This is a GREAT batch and showcases how this unique hop tastes. 4.5% ABV
Other returning favorites:

        
Look out for returning hits such as: Tequesta Brewing Vantoberfest, Founders Breakfast Stout Package & Draft, Breckenridge Autumn Ale (Package & Draft), Peak Hop Harvest, Peak Hop Blanc, Peak Hop Noir, Ommegang Gift Pack with Glass, Red Brick A-Town Brown Ale, Avery The Beast, Cigar City Good Gourd, Cigar City Oktoberfest, Due South Bridgeport Scotch Ale, Due South Roasted Cocoa Stout Nitro, Funky Buddha Small Axe Big IPA, Boulder Dragonhosen, Southern Tier Harvest Ale, The Bruery Hottenroth, The Bruery Autumn Maple, The Bruery Oude Tart, The Bruery Tart of Darkness, The Bruery Smoking Wood, Shiner Oktoberfest, Victory Festbier.
*Check with your Brown sales representative for availability or products not available in certain areas 

BEER NEWS
7 Ways To Be a Better Beer Taster 
By: John Verive
 

Have you ever read a beer review, or perused the entries for a brew on Beer Advocate or Rate Beer, and when presented with a particularly florid description, thought to yourself "gooseberries, fig jam, and jasmine flowers'? This reviewer has got to just be making that up!"


Anyone who's developed an appreciation for craft beer has, at some point in their development as a taster, felt frustration at their seeming inability to discern the nuances and details of a beer. Beer is an acquired taste, and tasting beer is a skill that you can improve with a little conscious effort. Your palate is more than just the physical sensory organs responsible for detecting the tastes and aromas that make up flavor. The palate also includes the mental processes that go along with the beer's characteristics that help you decode all those signals being sent from your nose and your tastebuds. Everyone's palate is different and uniquely tuned, and while in some ways you're stuck with what you were born with, you can always hone your ability to taste. 


For full article

Kicking it with Brandon Fields, home-brewer and suburban mad scientist 
By: Carlos Frias
 

Off the field, the Miami Dolphins punter brews porters, IPAs and a few spicy blends.


Floral and pungent steam, redolent of hops, billowed in white vapor from the grown-up chemistry set.

 

Curious neighbors in the gated community slowed their dog walks to watch the 6-foot-5 guy in the ironically worn Budweiser T-shirt tinkering with bubbling cauldrons under the carport of his luxurious suburban home.

 

The mad scientist, Pro-Bowl Dolphins punter Brandon Fields, fidgeted with temperature gauges, nudged the dials on propane burners, and watched the aluminum kettles tremble.

 

It drew a crowd.

 

For full article

The 50 Best Craft Beers Every Man Must Try

By: William Bostwick

We asked the craft brew world's best palates to pick iconic beers in their respective realms of expertise. This is what they chose. Whether you're more of a dark beer guy, want something to cellar, or are just looking for a thirst quencher, we've got the right craft brews for you.


THE BEST IMPORTS
Our Expert: Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso of Evil Twin (@EvilTwinBrewing)
The U.S. still rules the beer world, but challengers to our craft crown are filling the wings. From Mexico to New Zealand, Japan to Scandinavia, international brewers bring their own regional and culinary twists, like Italy's foraged herbs or Belgium's Trappist tradition. Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergso is a veteran of the scene. His Copenhagen bottle shop and Danish cult hit Evil Twin brewing helped put Northern Europe on the craft beer map. Now, he brings the rarest and best to our shores at Torst, his new Scando-style beer bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
 

Starbucks is testing a beer-flavored latte
By: Gail Sullivan
 

At Starbucks, gimmicky drinks are all the rage. For example, people like the company's pumpkin spice latte.

 

But Starbucks is going beyond Halloween-themed beverages and offering lattes that taste like beer. Get ready, Ohio and Florida - you are the test market for beer-flavored drink called the "Dark Barrel Latte." Starbucks confirmed its plans with the Associated Press.

 

The drink's "savory toasty malt" flavor is meant to be reminiscent of a stout. But rather than the thick creamy head you'd get on a Guinness, the Starbucks drink comes with caramel and whipped cream on top. It also incorporates a "chocolatey stout flavored sauce," spokesman Linda Mills told the AP. However, it doesn't contain any alcohol.

 

For full article
VOLUME 320
Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterVisit our blogView our videos on YouTube
In This Issue:
Upcoming Events
7 Ways To Be a Better Beer Taster
Kicking it with Brandon Fields, home-brewer and suburban mad scientist
The 50 Best Craft Beers Every Man Must Try
Starbucks is testing a beer-flavored latte
Featured Recipe
Featured Article
______________ 
Featured Beer  
Cocktail  

The Crossing
 

 By: Pete Capella

 

 INGREDIENTS:


 2 oz Cazadores Blanco Tequila
0.5 Oz Luxardo Amaro Abano
1 oz Orange Juice
3 dashes Aztec Chocolate Bitters
3 oz Pumpkin Ale

 
 DIRECTIONS:


Shake the non-beer ingredients well with cracked ice. Pour into a rocks glass, add cold beer and stir. Garnish with cinnamon and candied ginger.
____________________
Featured Recipe 
Roasted Garlic and Potato Beer Cheese Soup

By: The Beeroness

INGREDIENTS:

1 head garlic
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs unsalted butter
� cup chopped carrots
� cup white onions, chopped
2 tbs flour
2 tbs cornstarch
2 cups chicken broth
12 ounces pale ale, wheat beer or pale lager
� tsp dried basil
� tsp chili powder
1 large russet potato (about � lbs), peeled and chopped into small cubes
� cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheddar
� cup shredded parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425.
Cut the top tip of the head garlic off, just enough to expose all of the cloves. Place garlic on a piece of tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil and seal the foil around the garlic.

Place garlic packet on a baking sheet or baking dish. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once it has cooled, squeeze the head to remove the cloves, chop/smash the garlic into a paste.

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the carrots and onions, cooking until softened. Sprinkle with flour and cornstarch, stir until thickened.

Add the broth, beer, basil, roasted garlic paste and chili powder, bring to a low simmer.
Add the potatoes and cook until softened, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the cream. About � cup at a time, add the cheese, stirring well between additions.
Salt and pepper to taste.
______________
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