State of the Beer Union Address - Tallahassee

Times... they are a-changin'.

2011 has most definitely been an interesting year for the beer scene in Tallahassee. Two new breweries are open, operational, and pumping out brews. Several new breweries are on the horizon, and rumors point to even more in the future. More and more people are embracing craft beer, homebrewing, and locally made brews. Tallahassee might not be the next Portland, but I have to say - things are looking up.

I'd like to begin with a re-cap of the breweries that are operational today. The first brewery to release beers was Golden Horn Brewing Company housed inside Fermentation Lounge. The last operating brewery in Tallahassee was Buckhead, which closed in 2003... wow. No fresh beer in Tallahassee for 8 years... Needless to say, everyone was thrilled when Fermentation Lounge opened their doors that first Wednesday to serve Golden Horn beers, and I was no different.

As you may remember me posting, they got off to a bit of a rocky start. I had plenty to say about how things were going... I have to say now, though, that Golden Horn has really started stepping it up. I still hate getting served 10oz pours in wine glasses for 4-5 dollars, but the beers have been getting better and better. Just yesterday I was lucky to hit their most recent release and try a tasty chocolate oatmeal imperial stout and a chipotle ale. These were hands down two of my favorite brews that they've made, and I've had a good time over the past few months getting to know the brewing team. They seem to be good people doing the best with what they have available to them. However, I do still wish the prices weren't so high, and I just can't wrap my mind around why they would ever open a brewpub that only brews 10 and 20 gallon batches. Regardless, they were the first to open up in town, and we're all very glad they're around. Even if they just keep making 10 gallon batches of weird brews, I'll still be there every time.

Market Street Brewpub, housed inside Momo's Pizza (Market Street location - get it?), was the second brewpub in town to start serving fresh, locally made beer. They boast a 3-barrel system (at least - I think they may have a 7-barrel fermenter or tank), which means they have beers on all the time and for longer periods of time than Golden Horn. They also have a much different philosophy - putting out classic styles that are drinkable. I could barely believe my eyes (and mouth!) the first time I sat in a Tallahassee brewpub drinking a locally made IPA. Wow, now that's a feeling. I've since had every beer they've released, and I continue to bask in the glory that is sipping on a fresh pale ale while devouring a slice of pizza the size of a small aircraft.

If I had to make a complaint or two, and I do, I have to say I'm annoyed by their marketing... or should I say lack of marketing. They never say anything when they tap a new beer. So far I've gathered that it always happens on a Sunday, but the timing so far has been erratic. Every time I've learned about a beer on tap, it has been because a friend or co-worker sends me a text, or I simply call them and ask. Also, though I enjoy them thoroughly, I have yet to be blown away by one of their brews. They are classic, drinkable, and go well with pizza, but I'm a beer nerd. I want them to put out an IPA that is dripping with so much hop character I sink away into a blissful hop coma until drool froths from my mouth and someone has to slap me back into reality. Until then, though, I will remain happy to go every couple of Sundays to enjoy a fresh, classic brew with 10,000 calories of pizza.

"I wanna know who's gonna pay for this - I spilt beer all over it when that car smashed into me."

So what does the future hold for Tallahassee beer?

Well... a lot of things, I hope. We know for sure that Proof is going to be opening a brewery downstairs, probably early next year, which will be awesome. Other than that... we mainly have rumors. Mike's Stone Baked Pizza was supposedly going to start brewing, but it's taken longer than expected, and my sources tell me it's probably not going to happen. There are also rumors of a couple of other homebrewers in town joining forces with local business owners to open brewpubs in or around the Midtown area, but nothing is 100% yet, of course.

Other than that, there are also rumors flying that Pensacola Bay will be either starting another location in Tallahassee or possibly moving here completely. I, for one, would be completely happy without them. Every single beer I've had by them has been awful, and though I don't have personal experience, many sources tell me the brewers are... shall we say... giant d-bags. I'd be completely okay with them not moving into town, though I hate to turn away fresh local beer. If you've ever had their brews or talked to them - you know what I'm talking about.

"But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.

That's the project the American people want us to work on. Together."

Cheers!

Exclusive Interview with Stephen from Phat Hound Brewing

I was extremely lucky to be invited into Stephen Albanese's house this Saturday afternoon to sample his beers and interview him for the blog. For those of you that don't know Stephen, he is a local homebrewer that is on the brink of taking his brewing to the next level, with the help of his friendly basset hound Buddy. He currently works for Mike's Stone Baked Pizza and may be brewing a bit there, but also has plans to move back to his hometown and open his own brewpub and pizzeria in the future. When this happens, I hope to be one of the first people there enjoying his brews!

He shared several awesome brews with me including standards like a double IPA, as well as his real passion - some experimental brews such as a rum and oak aged Belgian pale ale, a vanilla porter, a black IPA, and even a smoked stout with Scotch in it! All of the beers were quite tasty, probably some of the best I've had in town, and my favorite was the vanilla porter. I have a feeling that once Stephen gets his business going he will have no trouble pleasing thirsty drinkers!

What will the name of your brewing company be?
I like Phat Hound Brewing Company. I had it as Bastard Hound Brewing Company, but I don’t want to have bastard in the name.

Where are you hoping this brewery will be located?
I ultimately want to open up an organic pizzeria/brewpub in my hometown of Delray Beach, FL. I don’t want it to just be a brewery – I want it to be an organic, wood-fire pizzeria and brewpub with all of my stuff on tap. That would be my goal in the next three or four months to try to open that up.

Why an organic pizzeria?
In my hometown people really care about what they eat and they don’t want to be just drinking anything or just eating anything. It’s kind of a wealthier community. More or less the organic part will be a label on the front door, but mostly it’s a wood-fire pizzeria.

I didn’t know you were planning on leaving Tallahassee, but since you’re still planning on opening a pizza place, that means I don’t have to change these questions.
Yeah, I definitely want to do a restaurant. I’ve been in the pizza industry since I was 16 years old. I started as a dishwasher in a pizza restaurant and then started making pizzas. I’ve worked at a few places and now I work at Mike’s, so I have over six years of pizza experience… and over two years of brewing experience.

Where did the name of your brewing company come from?
*Points at his dog, a large basset hound, who has been sitting wonderfully beside me for some time* - My dog.

What made you decide to go commercial with your brewing or why do you want to open a restaurant?
I was really brewing a lot – it’s a passion of mine. I definitely don’t want to go into what I studied in college, which is corporate management. I’d much rather go out and open a brewery and stuff like that. I’m still very young, so I have a lot to learn as well.

Could that major potentially help you run your business, though?
Definitely. Not to say management like managing people, but definitely the financial aspects of the business, which is what I really learned in school. I learned all of my management through management experience – managing restaurants and stuff like that.

What is your vision for the brewpub, or what do you want to happen in the next couple of years?
I would like to open up as a wood-fire pizzeria and get it going for a year or two and then hopefully expand to a warehouse where I can start distributing my beer. Besides the restaurant, I’d ultimately like to see every grocery store carrying my beer.

So you’re hoping for distribution throughout Florida and maybe even more in the future?
-Absolutely. I’ve also been accepted into the Siebel Institute, so that’s also something I may end up doing in the next couple of years… go get my brewmaster’s degree.

So do you think you’ll take it?
I really want to take it. It’s booked through 2012, so the first time I could take it would be 2013, so I’m going to have about 2 years of down time at least.

If you end up starting your own successful restaurant and brewpub without doing that, would you still do it or do you think you’ll just keep plugging along?
I think it’s something I might do later on just so I can have the title.

There are a lot of successful brewers out there that never did any official studying.
Yeah, I just feel like I’m still really young, so I still have time. A year of brewing school would be nothing for a 23 year old, but if a 40 year old took a year off it might be harder.

If you did take a year off to go study, how would you run your brewpub? Hire someone else?
Exactly.

We seem to have two types of philosophies in this town [Tallahassee], since there are currently two breweries open, one of which is weird and crazy and always wanting to make something different, and the other which is, in my opinion, completely brewing for the masses. So what would you say is your philosophy for brewing, given your personal philosophy and/or your philosophy for the market you’re going into?
I always want to have unique things on draft that are experimental, like my vanilla porter or the rum oak beer you’re drinking - something that I don’t necessarily know if it would turn out good or if it would turn out bad, but I still like experimenting with it. But then again I also want to have a few beers that the masses will be able to drink. You know, if my girlfriend walks into my restaurant she might not want to drink a rum oak Belgian beer; she’d probably want a hefeweizen or a wheat beer, something lighter. I want to have things like that for the masses but also the other stuff.

So when you say beer for the masses, you mean things like hefeweizens, wheat beers, and stuff like that?
Hefes, pale ales, and stuff that is lighter and drinkable, as opposed to the coconut porter you’re making or a coffee stout, stuff like that.

But at the same time you don’t mean anything super lame like a pale lager or anything like that?
No no no no, definitely good stuff like hefeweizen and a good IPA.

What sets you apart from the other brewpubs already open or about to open in town?
I would say my young personality and my motivated, innovative spirit. I also have a nice system, I built it, and I use it to make awesome beers.

Are you planning on keeping beer geeks happy, everybody else happy, or some combination of both?
Definitely going to try to keep the beer geeks happy. I want people that love craft beer to walk into my restaurant. I’m not really trying to convince the Bud Light drinkers to completely switch to craft beer. I want to please people that are passionate about craft beer and really like it.

I of course like that answer as a beer person, but as a business owner, how is that going to work?
That’s why I wanna have a couple of beers like a hefeweizen, but there’s also the restaurant aspect that will make money, not just the brewery.

Once your place is open, do you think you’ll plan any events such as special releases, meet the brewer, brewing classes, or anything of that sort?
Definitely. I have already thought about doing brewing classes for beginners. I’m sure there are plenty of new or extract brewers out there that want to make the jump up to all grain. I can show them in two or three hours that it’s not as hard as they think and they can make great beers. I’d love to offer classes like that at the brewery. I’d also like to have a lot of events. I don’t necessarily want to have a release party for every beer; I just want to put it on tap and have people enjoy it. Some small breweries make a huge deal about every release but the small batches get drank so quickly and every time I stop in the breweries for a beer there’s nothing there. What’s the point of going to a brewery if I can’t ever drink their beer unless I go on the busiest nights? Other breweries you can walk into at any time of the day and enjoy a fresh brewed beer. That’s what I want to do.

How are you going to let the public know when your beers go on tap? What’s your marketing plan, if anything, and how will social media play into that?
I think I will do something like have a certain day where beers are always released, like every Monday or Tuesday, or something like that. Try to get the nerdy beer lovers in to enjoy the beers. I will definitely use Facebook, but I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of advertising or anything. Maybe I’ll get a plane and drop flyers from the sky. *laughs*

How does pizza play into your plan? Are you planning on matching certain styles of beer with pizza or is it a coincidence or a convenience thing that you wanted to do anyway?
I want to use my beer in the ingredients, like beer dough, using the beer or spent grains. I might be able to have a bakery of some sort even. I definitely want to incorporate beer into the ingredients. People could get beer-sauteed onions on their pizza. I want to have a really personal pizzeria/brewery, not a generic pizzeria where they all use the same ingredients. I don’t want to have a round pie, I want to have a square pie that looks natural and I want it to go along with say an awesome IPA.

With this quick revolution that’s happening in Tallahassee, with two new brewers going already, plus several others on the horizon, what do you think about the future of craft beer in Tallahassee?
I think it’s very, very good. I think Tallahassee is an awesome place to start a brewery right now. I don’t even feel threatened by all of the other breweries – they bring a lot more awareness and demand for the craft market. If more people go into say Momo’s and try their beers, like that beer, and want to try something else, they might drive over to Mike’s and try my beer. I love the revolution. I feel like I’ve even been a part of it. I’ve persuaded lots of people to go and buy extract homebrewing kits in town.

Do you think Tallahassee will have a place on the map someday, as far as craft beer goes?
I think Florida is way behind the whole craft brewing tradition by 5 or 10 years.

What do you think about them catching up or where do you think we’ll be in the future?
We’re getting there. In the next 5 years I’m sure there will be 5 or 6 new breweries opening in town. Not only do we have a few already, but we have others coming.

What do you think about Cigar City helping the revolution of craft beer in Florida?
I love Cigar City. I think they’re really opening the light to other brewers as to what can be done. Before Cigar City I didn’t realize I could brew like… avocado beer. I mean they’ve only been open for about 2 years and they already have a couple of hundred different recipes. Even if it is just one IPA treated 20 different ways, they’re definitely not afraid to be unique and it’s definitely paying off for them.

How do you feel about doing things like cask beers with weird treatments and stuff like that to keep beer nerds happy?
I definitely want to get a cask. I’ve actually been looking at casks right now for my homebrewing setup.

What are your favorite styles of beer to drink?
My favorite is definitely Belgian beer. I always have one or two Belgian style beers on tap. Just last week we finished my Meyer lemon Belgian wit, which was fantastic. Other than that I like wheat beers and I always like a good IPA. When it’s cold I like stouts. I always brew a stout in the winter.

What do you like to brew?
I’ve brewed hefeweizens the most… other than that, probably saisons or IPAs.

That’s all of the questions I have – anything else you want to say?
Just that brewing is an awesome hobby. It’s awesome that you’re going to do a blog about me. I appreciate the recognition.

No problem, Stephen, and thanks again for the interview!

Cheers!