Lots of gators, snakes and sunshine, but sorry suds
Down here in the land of sunshine and 80-degree temperatures, I am still searching for a satisfying local beer.
Went to the Everglades the other day, saw plenty of dolphins, egrets, and eagles, and of course, many napping gators. Had lunch at the Oyster House in Everglades City, a friendly joint that a picture of Joe DiMaggio on one wall and a rattlesnake skin on another. Had a good grouper sandwich, and a mug of Key West, a brew made in Melbourne. It was okay, not much of a head, light body, a little metallic.
The next day I went up to Sarasota to see the circus museum. Had lunch at the Hyatt, where they served a beer called Tarpon Spoon. It was a pretty thin version of pilsner, made by that craft brewer, Anheuser-Busch, in Jacksonville. This beer, I read, is part of AB's effort to brew specialty beers crafted to local tastes.
Do we think this effort by big brewers to make local beers is a good idea, or a marketing ploy?
I don't care as long as the beer is good, and so far it has fallen short of expectations.
Comments
I visited Florida over the holidays and was just as disappointed as you... until I stopped at Knightly Spirits in Orlando, which has the second best selection of Belgian beers in the U.S., according to the owner. Thousands of single bottles line the shelves. Prices aren't bad. Worth a stop if you are near Orlando.
There was one Florida beer I wanted to try called Orange Blossom Pilsner by Orlando Brewing. I regret not buying any.
Posted by: Eric Trimmer | March 6, 2008 11:57 AM
I think it's a bad idea AND a marketing ploy for commercial brewers to try their hand at craft beer!!! I'd imagine that the only reason they produce the thin unimaginative beers that they do is because it costs too much to create the more complex beers. I know that when I brew big, complex beers, it hurts my pockets a bit ... and I don't have shareholders to please!!! Homebrew recipes can range anywhere from $20 up to over $100. If you consider mass producing the more complex recipes you'll go broke fast.
Posted by: brian | March 6, 2008 4:59 PM
Brian, if it "costs too much to create the more complex beers," then how do you think the brewpubs and micro-craft-breweries do it? They have the double curse of more overhead per bottle produced plus NO economies of scale! If someone truly wanted to make highly complex beer on a mass-market scale, and they could convince the public to buy it with Spuds McKenzie, the Swedish Bikini Team, fools screaming on the telephone, etc., they could most likely sell it for less than any craft brewery and make more profit on it while they do it. But industrial-scale breweries have spent the past several decades convincing Americans that beer should be as bland and cold as possible.
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | March 8, 2008 4:45 PM
The southeast in general does not have many microbrews, and fewer quality ones.
I lived on the Florida Panhandle and there was absolutely nothing local besides a local steakhouse that had in-house micros.
As far as regional brews that I found in the area, I suggest Terrapin and Sweewater. Terrapin is from Athens GA and Sweetwater is from Atlanta. The Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale is quite drinkable and is starting to get carried almost everywhere in the Panhandle. I assume its reach heads to points south as well.
The other macro micro regional is Abita from Abita Springs LA. They've got several different bottles, nothing too special and I'm not sure if they're carried heavily in South Florida since culturally that's a world away from Louisiana and the northern part of the state of Florida itself.
Posted by: Brian | March 13, 2008 2:51 PM