Daily Loaf

Since I’ve been all over Cigar City Brewing’s happenings over the past few weeks, it seemed appropriate to broaden my local beer love and highlight another hometown superstar in the tiny Scottish heritage town of Dunedin.

With almost 13 years of local beer-making under their kilt, Dunedin Brewery consistently crafts award winning gems. In 2003, one of their flagship brews, Pipers Pale Ale, took top honors as the most stylistically perfect brew commercially produced in Florida at the Best Florida Beer Championships. At the 2009 BFBC, brewers Norman Dixon and Trace Caley did their thing, winning awards for the brewery like it was their job. Redhead American Red Ale was named the top beer in its category, with second place nods going to Pipers Pale Ale, Beach Tale Brown Ale, Nitro Stout, Brewmaster’s Reserve Rye Pale Ale, Brewmaster’s Reserve Belgian Tripel, Brewmaster’s Reserve Barleywine, and the seasonal Biere de Café. Read the rest of this entry »

Cigar City Brewing is relentless; they refuse to stop making ridiculously great beer. RateBeer recognizes their Hunaphus Imperial Stout as one of the world’s ten best Imperial Stouts, and Big Sound Scotch Ale ranks among the top ten of its style. Then there’s Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale, which ranks #1 in the brown ale category on RateBeer – it’s the best brown ale currently produced on the planet as judged by a massive group of very critical beer nerds. Yep, in our own backyard, folks. This is truly beer history in the making.

The side of Bolita bottles reads:

Bolita was a type of lottery popular with the working class citizens of the Ybor City district of Tampa. Bolita means, ‘little ball’ but profits from the illegal (and often rigged) game were anything but little. In the 1920’s Tampa native Charlie Wall was the undisputed kingpin of the Bolita racket.

Our Bolita is a Double Northern English-style brown ale that has a complex malt forward character with notes of chocolate, toffee and hints of roasted nuts in the finish. Bolita pairs well with Baklava, Big Band music, cool evenings and robust cigars.

Sounds great. Now check out this variation — Bourbon Barrel Bolita. It begins with Cigar City’s Bolita Double Nut Brown. After three weeks of fermentation, the brew is transferred to Maker’s Mark barrels. Three months later, it hits the bottling line, where each bottle is filled by hand and then individually numbered. Since this batch of Bourbon Bolita only yielded 221 bottles, it is a pricey beer, but it’s completely worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll go ahead and say it — Mr. Dunderbak’s pretty much owns the draught beer game in the Tampa Bay area. It takes me forever to choose a beer from among the 50 options. Rare brews, classic brews, hometown brews, casks, a Guinness surger. Every style is represented, and the finest examples of those styles at that. So, a very enthusiastic cheers to owner JB Ellis for being dedicated to good beer and consistently tapping the best kegs available in the local market.

But it’s impossible to enjoy a tasty brew among the kitschy décor without giving in to the intoxicating aromas of German food. So here’s a short guide to pairing this playground of beer with some of the choicest menu items. Since the taps rotate frequently, the beers used for pairing will come from the extensive bottle menu. Read the rest of this entry »

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Big Sound Scotch Ale, the latest seasonal release from Cigar City Brewing, can be purchased in 25 ounce bottles at Whole Foods, Leukens, Kingdom Liquors, World of Beer Clearwater, and several Total Wine locations. But get it soon; bottles are going fast, and once they’re gone, there’ll be no more until next year.

Luckily enough, I was able to persuade Wayne Wambles, the head brewer and man with the beer plan, to score a bottle that we could split. So we sat down at the Oldsmar Tap House and proceeded to geek the hell out on a really great beer. Read the rest of this entry »

May 22 – Free craft beer tasting at Mazzaro’s Italian Market in St. Petersburg. Craft brew specialists will be sampling beers from upstart sensation Cigar City Brewery, as well as the new Levitation (a sessionable brew) from Stone Brewing, and a selection of beers by Southampton Publick House. Event runs from 1-5pm. Free Southampton glassware with purchase.

May 23 – Spring Beer Fest at Tank’s Tap Room. Free tasting featuring yummy brews from Tampa’s own Cigar City Brewing, Gordon Biersch, Bell’s, and many, many others. They’ll also be unveiling a new food menu, raffling gear for The Little Patrick Foundation, doing giveaways, and hosting games. Live music performances and Romel from the Havana Cigar Factory offering live cigar rolling demonstrations and specials. Festivities kick off at 2pm and continue to close. Call (813) 961-BEER (2337) for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing Bethany Sherwin’s roundup of local beer store selection, we present Total Wine on Dale Mabry:

This location has the Dogfish Head seasonal and rarity motherload — Palo Santo Marron, Raison D’Extra, Red & White, Fort, Chicory Stout, Aprihop, World Wide Stout, and multiple cases of 120 Minute IPA priced at only $8.99 a bottle. For an intensely complex (and strong) potion, mix equal parts World Wide Stout and 120 Minute and then call a friend to help you drink it. The blend is called a Heaven & Hell, and word around the campfire is that Dogfish Head might produce wood aged batches of this diametrically opposed potion, as they did with Johnny Cask 75 Minute IPA, a barrel conditioned fusion of 60 and 90 Minute IPAs. Read the rest of this entry »

Break out your calendars, beer fans. Here’s the scoop on this week’s brew agenda –

Thursday, April 30th : Oldsmar Tap House welcomes Dan Gordon, co-founder and original brewmaster of Gordon Biersch Brewery. Come out for an evening of mingling – and drinking, of course. A variety of Gordon Biersch brews will be available on draught. 300 State Street East, Oldsmar

More after the break:

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If you love beer — or even moderatly enjoy it — and haven’t been to the Oldsmar Tap House, you’re doing yourself a massive disservice. The beer-intensive, yet laid back, environment and a constantly rotating tap list make OTH one of the local centers of the beer geek universe. Coming up on the event calendar – April 23rd is Chimay Night. Explore the palatable product line from one of the world’s seven beer producing trappist monasteries, where brewing is conducted or overseen by Cistercian monks. Get a free gold-rimmed Chimay goblet with your first Chimay Premiere, Cinq Cents, or Grande Reserve (while supplies last). You can also explore another 30+ taps along with a wide selection of craft and import bottles. Live music by OTH All Stars. 300 State Street East #107. Oldsmar (813) 855-9181

Tomorrow (Saturday the 11th) at Datz Deli — All Hail the Ale — a celebration of the world’s best beers matched with fine cheeses. $25 per person includes 5 ounce pours and commemorative glassware. 4 pm- 7pm. 2616 MacDill Ave. Call (813) 831-7000 or email dixon@datzdeli to reserve your spot. Here’s the pairing lineup :

Westmalle Trappist Tripel : Belgium : 9.5%
This Belgian offering hails from one of the world’s seven Trappist monasteries, where brewing is conducted or overseen by monks. The cloudy, golden brew sports fruity, floral aromas. A strong malt component results in toasty flavors; the slight honey citrus sweetness is balanced by a mild alcohol warmth and a dry finish. The sharp, smoky flavors of Grafton Village Smoked Cheddar compliment the maltiness of Westmalle Tripel.

Many more beers after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s free beer sampling is set for Thursday the 9th from 11am until 2pm. Stop by Datz Deli for lunch and enjoy free samples of Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider, Southampton India Pale Ale, and a variety of brews from Green’s Gluten Free Beer.

And don’t forget, this Saturday, Datz presents All Hail the Ale, a sampling featuring 8 of the world’s finest beers paried with cheese and charcuterie. $25 per person includes commemorative glassware. Starts at 7 pm. Reservations required. Call 813-831-7000 or contact dixon@datzdeli.com to reserve your spot.

Everyone knows Whole Foods on Dale Mabry is the place to be for high quality food and beverages. My favorite thing about the beer section, besides the fact that it’s located directly across from the massive cheese cooler, is the presentation. The way the beers are grouped together tells a story, and seeing all those cases of beer sitting out like that does something exciting for me. So cheers to Chris, the specialty department manager, for exercising serious beer wisdom and making this location a beer nerd’s playground.

Since this is a Whole Foods, it’s no wonder I found a slew of organic beer. Read the rest of this entry »

The excellent folks at Datz Deli in Tampa have invited me to conduct weekday beer tastings and special beer and food pairing events. So here’s the agenda:

March 30th : 11am-2pm. Free samples of Lindeman’s Framboise and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, with plenty of beer available to go. This is the first time Datz will be open on Monday.

April 1st : 6pm-7:30pm. Free beer and food samples hosted by Tampa Bay Metro.
Featuring Southampton Brewing’s Double White, Altbier, and IPA.

April 9th : 11am-2pm. Free beer samples. Specific brands coming soon.

April 11th : 4pm-7pm. Datz presents All Hail the Ale. Featuring 8 of the world’s best beers paired with gourmet food: Ayinger Dunkel Weiss, Westmalle Trappist Dubbel, Orval Trappist, Brooklyn Local 1, Brooklyn Local 2, Dogfish Head Fort, Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene. $35 per person includes beer, food, and commemorative glassware. Reservations required. (813) 831- 7000

Cigar City Brewing Launch Party
Oldsmar Tap House
Saturday, March 28. Starts at 2pm
I am really excited about this event, not only because I will be serving as a guest bartender for the day, but I will also be surrounded by a mountain of Cigar City’s brewed delights. I’ve sampled these joyous concoctions several times at trade shows and beer nerd events, but not a collection this extensive and drool-worthy.

As far as the beer lineup, 16 ounce pints of Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale and Jai Alai IPA will be available all day. Limited edition beers will be tapped on a schedule until the keg or cask runs dry.

Schedule and more info after the break:

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