Hopped Up

While barrel-aging has established itself as a tried and true way for brewers to experiment in the brewery, sour beers are really having a moment right now. In recent years, many breweries across the state have expanded to include sour programs, which is no small feat considering the need to invest in isolated systems that guard against cross-contamination. But the people are demanding the funky stuff, and Florida brewers are delivering! For the second year in a row, Jacksonville will play host to the Florida Brewers Guild Barrel-Aged, Sour, and Cider Festival, a celebration of the biggest, wildest beers brewed …

“I’m excited just to blast ‘Duval!’ at the visiting team tailgaters across the street.” As mentioned last month, Intuition’s new 12,000 square foot brewery and taproom is now open. Despite running what now has to be Jacksonville’s most buzzworthy brewery, I was able to steal a few minutes from Founder, , and Taproom Manager, Riley Leuthold, to talk about their first couple weeks in the new location. Hopped Up: So now that you’ve been open just over a week and a half, how has the public reception been? Are people digging the new spot? Riley Leuthold: It’s been great! The …

Every year around this time, Jacksonville gears up for one of the most storied rivalries in all of college football history as the Florida Gators take on the Georgia Bulldogs at . Affectionately known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the event is the source for much revelry over the course of the week leading up to the big game and what better way to celebrate football and partying than a beer release? Now that even small college towns like Gainesville and Athens have experienced craft beer booms, it was only a matter of time before the century-old rivalry …

One of my personal favorite things about craft beer is the spirit of creative collaboration it seems to inspire. It happens a lot between breweries which is refreshing in its own right but it’s also pretty typical to see folks outside of the industry trying to get a piece of the action (worked for me). Possibly the most common collaboration outside of brewery to brewery you’re likely to find these days is between breweries and bands. It makes sense, after all. Bands like beer. Brewers like music and quite frankly who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to share your passion with …

I’m really passionate about three things: coffee, beer, and food. Music and sex are okay, too. When you get the opportunity to do something that involves combining two of your greatest passions, you jump at it. And no, I’m not talking about food fetishes. I’m talking about coffee beers. , I had the extreme privilege of teaming up with Intuition Ale Works’ experimental brewer, , to collaborate on a set of coffee beers that will be available exclusively at BREW Five Points during Jax Beer Week. See and  here. PART III – Coffee Tasting Today’s coffee beers aren’t quite as …

I’m really passionate about three things: coffee, beer, and food. Music and sex are okay, too. When you get the opportunity to do something that involves combining two of your greatest passions, you jump at it. And no, I’m not talking about food fetishes. I’m talking about coffee beers. , I had the extreme privilege of teaming up with Intuition Ale Works’ experimental brewer, , to collaborate on a set of coffee beers that will be available exclusively at BREW Five Points during Jax Beer Week. See and  here. PART II – Brew Day With the general idea for our homebrew …

I’m really passionate about three things: coffee, beer, and food. Music and sex are okay, too. When you get the opportunity to do something that involves combining two of your greatest passions, you jump at it. And no, I’m not talking about food fetishes. I’m talking about coffee beers. For my first homebrew experiment, I had the extreme privilege of teaming up with Intuition Ale Works’ experimental brewer, Nathan Fulton, to collaborate on a set of coffee beers that will be available exclusively at BREW Five Points during Jax Beer Week. See and  here. PART I – Plans, Plots, and …

Like all the best things in life, great beer is an ephemeral thing. Sure there are bottles worth aging (though fewer actually improve with age than you might think), but most are best fresh and in their season. These days it’s less about the availability of ingredients or limitations stemming from the weather – technology has enabled us to overcome those primitive constraints – and more about tradition and emotion. We drink seasonal beers because they root us in the moment, capturing the flavors, aromas and the essence of the season. So, here are some beers. Some of them are …

Germany’s history with beer is a storied one to be sure and the German style of beer-making is easily the most proliferated and widely accepted standard the world over. One could point to different moments throughout history as being the crucial point that led to Germany’s zymurgical ascension – the formation of the Hanseatic League, the Reinheitsgebot, etc. – but perhaps none seems as relevant to the modern imbiber as the marriage between Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, now known as . While those other tales of German beer lore are worth telling and I …

BY JACK TWACHTMAN A.K.A. JACK DIABLO Y’all didn’t think I was gone forever, did you? , I’m done writing about music. But I’m not done writing. From here on out, in Jacksonville right here in EU Magazine. Why, you ask? Let’s face it, craft beer is booming, and it’s here to stay. The $22.3B industry has more than doubled its share of the market since 2011 and continues to grow at double digit rates according to the Brewers Association’s latest report. If you thought it was just a fad, think again. Craft beer isn’t only booming, it’s changing at a …