WHAT’S BREWING

P.2 Funky Buddha

P.4 The Flagship

P.6 Beer and Lovers and Lovers of Beer

P.7 What to Do with Winter Seasonals

P.8 NOLA Brewing

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015

Off Tap. is a bimonthly publication of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. Copyright 2015 ABC Liquors, Inc. All rights reserved. Not all products are available in all stores. If the product you’re looking for isn’t available, ask us to order it for you! Meghan Guarino Editor Allie Smallwood Contributing Editor Lorena Streeter Contributing Editor

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Let me start off by saying that I really enjoy craft beer and over the years it has become one of my favorite hobbies. One of the reasons I enjoy the craft scene is the local breweries. My favorite is Funky Buddha, which is located in the heart of Oakland Park, a mere five-minute drive from my home ABC on North Federal Highway.

Funky Buddha first started off as a lounge and small brewery in Boca Raton, Florida. Their main focus was—and still is—to use natural ingredients to make beers that possess big and bold flavors. As their beers gained popularity, the brewery moved into a 40,000 square foot building in Oakland Park, powered by a 30-barrel, 3-piece brewhouse that delivers 1,000 gallons of beer per batch into two 120-barrel and four 60-gallon fermenters. In other words, it’s South Florida’s largest microbrewery.

And as South Florida’s largest microbrewery, Funky Buddha put Ft. Lauderdale on the map in the world of beer. With only five short years of operating, they’ve effortlessly ascended into craft beer fame. They’ve already been recognized by RateBeer.com, Beer Advocate and a number of newspapers and craft beer magazines as a must-try. This is largely due to their ability to create beers that taste exactly the way they’re promised to taste—if you’re handed a peanut butter and jelly beer, you will taste the jelly and peanut butter swirled together on fluffy bread. You will taste every flavor that you would taste in the actual sandwich. And it will absolutely blow your mind.

A few of their flagship beers are Hop Gun IPA and Floridian Hefeweizen. Hop Gun IPA is a full-flavored IPA that delivers notes of citrus, pineapple and grapefruit. Made with caramel malts and an extra dose of American hops, this Florida favorite is balanced and hop-forward. On the other hand, Floridian is a hefeweizen that shows nice notes of clove and banana. Pair this golden, German-style ale with anything from goat cheese to ultra-sweet

and sticky baklava. You can find both Hop Gun and Floridian in 6-packs at your local ABC from Miami to Orlando.

Funky Buddha also does a great job of special releases, like Last Snow, a porter brewed with coconut, coffee and white chocolate. This is a stunning, lip-smacking dark beer—you won’t be disappointed. And finally, the beer that started it all in the original lounge in Boca: Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. It actually tastes like breakfast in a bottle. This beer recently received rave reviews from all craft publications; Draft Magazine named this beer one of the top 25 beers in 2014. This highly anticipated release has become so big that they have a festival for it in January, which brings out people in droves, anxiously waiting and counting down each newly tapped keg.

This place is the total package. The staff and the locals that work and go there are very friendly, reinforcing what the craft beer community is all about. A lot of camaraderie keeps Funky Buddha as a favorite among locals and the entire craft beer world. I encourage you to stop in next time you’re in town and get a taste of this truly unique and brazen brewery. You won’t be disappointed.

JAMAL JACKSON, BEER CONSULTANT – FT. LAUDERDALE@ABCBEERJAMALJ

Funky

Buddha

Hop Gun If you’re looking for hops, we’ve got your tail. Hop Gun IPA delivers a payload of good ol’ American hops straight to your palate, bursting forth with the flavors of grapefruit and pineapple. A careful dose of smooth caramel malts swoop in to balance out the finish — just like any good wingman should. – Brewery Notes

Floridian Our unfiltered and refreshing German-style wheat beer is full-on flavor yet light on the palate. Authentic hefeweizen yeast creates the compelling aromas of bananas, citrus and cloves, while the all-wheat and malt body perfectly captures the brilliance of a golden Florida sunset. – Brewery Notes

More Moro Blood Orange IPA – Seasonal Juice, son. This beer’s got it—and then some. As you might know, we’re all about bold flavors here at Funky Buddha Brewery. So when we say we put “loads of blood orange juice” in our delectable More Moro Blood Orange IPA, what we mean precisely is that we infuse an already citrusy, hop-forward IPA with enough real blood orange juice to eliminate scurvy in a small country. – Brewery Notes

Blueberry Cobbler Ale – Seasonal Summertime, you’ve met your match. Blueberry Cobbler Ale is a copiously blueberried glass of goodness, generously dosed with real vanilla beans, quality imported cinnamon and blueberries. It’s purple, not because we add coloring, but because we use blueberries. Imagine that. A sip is akin to a bite of fresh baked blueberry pie, calling your name ever-so-gently as it cools on the window. Well, this time you can sneak a glass. Go ahead. We won’t tell. – Brewery Notes

ADAM SHUGAN, BEER CONSULTANT – GAINESVILLE@ABCBEERADAMS

THE FLAGSHIPThe flagship beer. This is a beer that every brewer has. It is the beer that, when you hear about it or see it on draft or at the store, you recognize it and the brewery right away. It is the beer (or sometimes beers) that the brewer takes pride in. Many times, it is the beer that generates the most sales for the brewery. It is not necessarily the best the brewery has to offer, but it is the style or name that people identify with the most. Some people only know the brewery by that one particular beer. I have had customers ask for “Fat Tire beer,” and when I inform them that it is an amber ale brewed by New Belgium Brewery, they had no idea that New Belgium produces a whole line of other beers and styles—it’s the same with Magic Hat #9.

But back to flagship beers being plural: Swamp Head Brewery of Gainesville has five (Midnight Oil oatmeal coffee stout, Stump Knocker pale ale, Wild Night honey cream ale, Big Nose India pale ale and Cottonmouth Belgian witbier). It may seem like a lot, but some breweries consider their core, year-round brews their flagships. These beers are readily available and the brewer always has the ingredients for them on hand. Swamp Head isn’t the only one, however. Victory Brewing has four (Head Waters pale ale, Hop Devil India pale ale, Golden Monkey Belgian-style tripel and Prima Pils German pilsner), and Cigar City Brewing comes in with six (Jai Alai India pale ale, Invasion pale ale, Florida Cracker Belgian white ale, Maduro brown ale, Hotter Than Helles lager and Tocobaga red ale). Adam Avery, president and brewmaster of Avery Brewing, took several years to perfect his three flagship beers, Redpoint amber ale, Ellie’s brown ale

and Out of Bounds stout. These year-round releases are tried and true, their recipes are never tweaked, and they have been brewed since the breweries opened their doors.

On the other hand, Anchor Brewing has a single beer with a cool backstory that is really special to the brewery—and that’s their flagship. The brewery created a whole beer style, the California Common, with the first brewing of Anchor Steam Beer in 1896. At the time, beer brewed on the West Coast of the United States was nicknamed “steam beer” for its brewing technique of fermenting the beer on the rooftops during the cool winter nights in California, while steam rose from the warm wort. Anchor Brewing’s flagship brew, Anchor Steam Beer, combines pale and caramel malts for a smooth amber beer with a thick creamy head. And they aren’t the only brewery to consider a beer with a backstory their flagship. Here are a few others:

Erie Brewing’s Railbender Ale is a Scottish-style ale named for the laborers who laid track to build the important transportation hub in Pennsylvania in the 19th century.

Full Sail Brewing has Amber Ale, which was the first of that style in Oregon as well as the first craft beer to be bottled in the state in 1989.

The beer that started the American craft beer movement, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, was actually Sierra Nevada Brewery owner and brewmaster Ken Grossman’s second beer he ever brewed, the first

FAT TIRE Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company Ft. Collins, Colorado 72 IBUs, 5.2% ABV Pair with flank steak or smoked chicken

RAILBENDER ALE Brewed by Erie Brewing Co. Erie, Pennsylvania 26 IBUs, 6.8% ABV Pair with smoked chicken and pork, mild cheese or crème brûlée

SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico, California 38 IBUs, 5.6% ABV Pair with grilled meats and roasted vegetables

THE FLAGSHIPbeing an American stout. His use of fresh, whole cone hops introduced West Coast hop strains to beer-loving Americans.

Co-founder of New Belgium Brewery Jeff Lebesch brewed Fat Tire amber ale in his basement after coming up with the recipe on a mountain bike tour of Europe through some world famous beer- making villages.

Magic Hat’s #9 Elixir turned into the best-selling beer for the brewery after 1-8 turned out to be duds; #2 was a bamboo wit, #5 was a grape dubbel, and #8 was a rainforest nut lager.

Jim Koch, the founder of Samuel Adams, debuted Samuel Adams Boston Lager in 1985 in Boston. He named the iconic lager after the patriot Samuel Adams because he was a leader of the American Revolution and was a brewer himself.

Rock Brothers Brewing cans one of their flagships, Nare Sugar brown ale. It is inspired by musician JJ Grey’s grandfather who used to drink his coffee unsweetened, requesting, “cream but nare sugar.”

Sam Calagione, founder and president of Dogfish Head, opened the smallest commercial brewery in America at the time and the first brewpub in Delaware in its original location of Rehoboth Beach. Dogfish Head’s very first beer, Shelter pale ale, was brewed in a tiny 12-gallon system consisting of three kegs on propane burners.

Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, the founders of Stone Brewing Company, share a beer-loving history together on their way to developing their flagships Stone Pale Ale and Arrogant Bastard Ale. They met in Los Angeles in 1989. Steve had a band and was one of the first to use Greg’s music rehearsal studio. They reunited a few years later at a “Sensory Evaluation of Beer” class at the University of California, Davis. They realized their mutual love of beer and set out to find investors for their brewing company.

These flagship beers are where breweries got their start and are the pride of the brewers. Whether it be a few year-round releases or a single best-seller, when you are scouring the shelves of your home ABC, do not forget those quality flagships because if it were not for them, you would not have your favorite brands today.

MAGIC HAT #9 Brewed by Magic Hat Brewing Company South Burlington, Vermont 20 IBUs, 5.1% ABV Pair with Tex-Mex or spicy Chinese cuisine

STONE PALE ALE Brewed by Stone Brewing Co. Escondido, California 50 IBUs, 5.4% ABV Pair with nutty cheeses or barbecue

ARROGANT BASTARD ALE Brewed by Stone Brewing Co. Escondido, California 7.2% ABV Pair with lamb and mushrooms

MAKENZIE LADD, BEER CONSULTANT – SARASOTA@ABCBEERMAKENZIE

BEER and Lovers and Lovers of BEER

Scouring the world for someone to share both your life and your passion for beer with can be a trying and tumultuous endeavor, and once you have found them, the question remains: How do two beer lovebirds celebrate the gushiest day of the year? The standard boxed candy and flowers format cannot possibly convey the tribulations the two of you endured: bad beers, awkward dates, grungy bar scenes, all in the name of finding love. What do you get your significant other when the two of you would rather sip on a dessert-inspired porter than stuff your face with fattening candy, or try a beer made from flowers rather than looking a vase of dead ones a week later? While there is no beer that can possibly satisfy your heart more than finding your beer geek soulmate, there are some delicious beers whose ingredients seem pulled straight from a cheesy date night love scene on Valentine’s Day.

If your Valentine’s Day is symbolized by chocolates, cupcakes and cookies, there are plenty of beers out there that are liquid dessert. Beers like Red Brick

Brewing’s Thick Silky Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter is a mouthful of both words and wonderful, bittersweet chocolate and coffee. It tends to be on the drier side of chocolate beers. Southern Tier’s Choklat is a great chocolate beer if you are looking for something that is a bit more candy bar-tasting and goes wonderfully when mixed with bright fruit beers like Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic or Cherry Kriek. Brewed with wild, airborne yeast and fruit juice, these beers are brewed in the romantic heart of Europe in the Senne River Valley of Belgium. If you prefer a dark fruity beer that you do not have to mix yourself to get that chocolate raspberry or cherry-covered flavor, Bell’s Cherry Stout packs a punch of chocolate and tart cherry all in one sip.

Looking for a bouquet? New Belgium Brewing loves to get creative with flowers and fruits in their Lips of Faith series. Their collaboration with Brasserie Dieu du Ciel yielded the Heavenly Feijoa Tripel, an ale brewed with the hibiscus flower and feijoa—a small fruit native to South America that tastes like a mixture

of pineapple, apple and mint. Another brewery known for their out-of-the-box thinking is Dogfish Head Brewing, who is known for recreating old-world recipes with interesting plants and fruits. Their Birra Etrusca is an ancient ale inspired by ingredients found in ancient jars from archeologist digs in Etruscan warrior tombs along the coast of Tuscany. The beer is made from honey, hazelnut flour, heirloom wheat, myrrh, gentian root, raisins and pomegranate juice. If you are looking for something new and exciting to explore, these breweries make many beers that use flowers, herbs and fruits to spice their beers.

Whether you are looking to create a unique mixed draught of fruit and dark chocolate, or spice up your romantic night with exciting ancient recipes, beer is the magnetic force that brought you together and the sticky glue that will keep you exploring the world with the one you love. As the great “common unifier,” beer has the ability to connect minds and hearts and maybe even spark a great romance. Give the gift of beer this Valentine’s Day and fall in love all over again.

STEPHEN SCHMITT, BEER CONSULTANT – TAMPA@ABCBEERSTEPHENS

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WHAT TO DO WITH WINTER SEASONALS ( W H E N W I N T E R I S G O N E )

Summertime is fast-approaching. And while it may seem like the cool weather is

here to stay, the increasing heat and humidity will soon have most of us shifting from

our cool-weather diets of porters and barleywines to the lighter fare of cream ales and

hefeweizens. But don’t go tossing your dark beers in the trash just yet, though you’re

likely left asking, “Now that I’ve brought my case of Erie Derailed home for the summer

what do I do with all of my remaining wintery brew?” Aside from donating it all to me

(your local store will make sure it finds me safely!), I have a few ideas that may help

clear some space.

COOKING Anderson Valley Winter Solstice, Sam Adams Winter Lager or Old Fezziwig, Leinenkugel’s Snowdrift Vanilla Porter.

AGING Great Divide Hibernation, Anchor Christmas, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, most Belgian Christmas beers like Petrus, Corsendonk, Delirium and St. Bernardus are even better next winter.

GIVING Anything you don’t like. I don’t want to single out any particular beer here, but if your dad leaves a bunch of beer you don’t like in the fridge (like mine did to me last year), finding them an appreciative home is better than saving them for him to drink next year.

Age it. Not all beer is meant to age, but some age

wonderfully. Generally speaking, flavors mellow

and even out over time. Subtle nuances come out,

prominent flavors dissipate, added flavors disappear,

and alcohol heat cools. Live yeast adds more

complexity, though bottle-conditioning is not always

necessary. If there is a beer hanging around because

you weren’t a huge fan of some aspect of it, just

wait it out.

Failing those suggestions I remind you that your

local store can send it to me at Store 97.

Cook with it. Roasts, barbecues and marinades

can be greatly improved with a bottle of dark beer.

For a barbecue I would stick with something either

sweet or smoky, like a smoked porter or milk stout.

Roasts and marinades could use something robust,

perhaps with coffee added.

Give it away. A special occasion isn’t required

for re-gifting. I have a brother that would be more

than happy to relieve me of excess alcohol,

regardless of seasonal appropriateness. If you’re

having a party, sneak a couple in with the rest of

the beer. It may even turn someone on to craft

that wouldn’t normally be interested.

Suggested beers for…

8989 South Orange Ave.Orlando, Florida 32824

CHRIS LARUE, ABC FINE WINE & SPIRITS PURCHASING TEAM

NOLA BrewingSpending my first 25 years in New Orleans, I am, of course, very fond of the city. The food, the culture and the people make it truly unique. So I was very excited to see NOLA Brewing come to Florida. What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras away from my beloved city than with a beer born there?

No “go cups” needed for these beers, as they all are canned—glass containers are not allowed on the streets in New Orleans. Besides, cans are exponentially better for the beer and are environmentally better for the city since New Orleans doesn’t recycle glass. The brewery’s many beers celebrate the city and its culture. Hopitoulas IPA is named after the famous street, Tchoupitoulas, that

no non-local can ever pronounce and no New Orleanian can ever forget. Tchoupitoulas is the street that follows the river from uptown to downtown.

Their brews epitomize the uniqueness of the city and not only celebrate it, but remember the difficulties that people went through to get to where they are now—hence the brews Hurricane saison, and Rebirth pale ale. New Orleans and its people have had many struggles, but entrepreneurs like the people at NOLA, who have committed themselves to helping rebuild the city and culture, are what make New Orleans truly one of a kind. And finally, after years of me begging, NOLA Brewing brings a taste of this iconic city to Florida.

NOLA BLONDE NOLA Blonde ale was the very first ale created by the NOLA Brewing team. Originally released in March 2009, this is our most popular and widely distributed beer. NOLA Blonde is a medium-bodied traditional American blonde ale, golden in color with floral and citrus hop aromas. – Brewery Notes

HOPITOULAS This 6.5% ABV ale is a West Coast style IPA that combines six malts and six hops with additional dry hopping for three weeks. It takes about a month and a half to make each batch and we think it is worth the wait. Hints of pine and citrus with a powerful, yet balanced, hoppy flavor, allow Hopitoulas to pack a punch that you won’t forget. – Brewery Notes

Throw Me Something Mista!