Lets Talk Beer: Jack Wich

JackTalksBeer.Com

Jack Wich — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:51:27 +0000

I am proud to announce all beer reviews and updates will now be on my new website JackTalksBeer.com All of the content from this site is on the new one, so make sure you add JackTalksBeer.com as a favorite!!!

Swamp Head, Gainesville

Jack Wich — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:57:04 +0000

What makes the weekend better? Beer!!! I made the trip up to Gainesville not too long ago to check out Swamp Head Brewery and see about the different beer they are making. Luke, owner, and Craig, Head Brewmaster, were kind enough to show me around and talk beer.

Swamp Head Brewery was started when Luke, owner, returned from living in Colorado and was exposed to the huge craft beer scene out west. He got back to Florida and talked with Craig, who’s been brewing beer and winning awards for years, about starting a beer company and creating great beer in Florida. And great beer is exactly what they have! Here’s just a short list of their awards.

- Wild Night: A Honey Cream Ale made with Tupelo Honey (Won Best Florida Beer Gold 2011)
- Stump Knocker: Pale Ale (Won Best Florida Beer Silver 2010 and Gold 2011)
- Big Nose: IPA (Won Best Florida Beer Silver 2010 and Gold 2011)
- Midnight Oil: Oatmeal Coffee Stout (Won Best Florida Beer Gold 2010 and Silver 2011)
- They were even named the “Brewers of the Best Beer In Florida“
Click to view slideshow.
Swamp Head recently released their first bottled beer called Saison Du Swamp. Although they bottled this one, Luke says they are leaning more towards putting their beer in a can. He says it’s better overall for the environment and can save the company a good deal of money doing it this way. But canning a craft beer? You might not know it, but canning has become very popular in the last year. Many craft companies are starting to can their beer like Magic Hat, Harpoon and Brooklyn. The best beer in a can is hands down Oskar Blues! Pick one up, it will probably be your first quality beer that comes in a can and actually taste good.

Luke said the goal is to expand into the other bays in their building, where they can add more fermentation tanks and equipment. He says the only major drawback of canning their beer is the large amounts of cans they have to purchase at a time. Because of their limited space, finding an empty spot for an 18 wheeler of empty beer cans is not turning into an easy task. The next time you head north, make sure you stop exit 384 on I-75 and swing by Swamp Head! They’re open Wednesday thru Friday.

Home Brewing: Face On Yellow

Jack Wich — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:48:13 +0000

Ever wanted to brew your own beer but thought it was going to be too hard? I’ve brewed and it was incredibly easy. I never thought in a million years it would be this easy to make my own beer, but you could totally do it too. First though, you need the right equipment. When it came time to find my home brew kit I found a bunch of different places online that sell them, but I think Homebrewers.com have the best kits. Plus if you need anything else to brew, they have it.

I got the basic start up kit with ingredients and the only other things I had to buy was a 5 gallon boiling pot, lid, and bottles. The kit came with all the ingredients, bottle caps, fermentation buckets, and a very simple easy to follow directions. I thought it was going to be this long, difficult process, but it took roughly about 4 hours to get everything done and was surprisingly easy. The hardest part was to make sure everything was sanitized so no bacteria got into it that shouldn’t be there. Also you get to come up with your own brewery name, mine is Face On Yellow (We’re on Facebook). I highly recommend trying it for any craft beer fan. Plus it makes a great gift for a birthday or Christmas.

Click to view slideshow.

Lunch Box, Gainesville

Jack Wich — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:54:31 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

Florida Beer Company, Melbourne

Jack Wich — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:45:25 +0000

When was the last time you visited Melbourne, Florida? It’s been at least 8 years for me, but I’ve got a great reason for you to make the trek up I-95… beer! I’m serious!

While checking out info on different in-state breweries, I notice Florida Beer Company was located in Melbourne and offered a tasting room. It is well worth the drive. The minute we got out of the car we were greeted with that wonderful smell of beer being made. Florida Beer’s tasting room is located on the second floor of their brewery and bottling facilities. My recommendation is to get a cup (or two) of their Swamp Ape IPA (10% abv) and take a walk around to check it all out. If you enjoy it take home a 4 pack. If you’re not an IPA fan there is a good selection of different brews, but you need to make sure you try their Southern Most Wheat. Also right now they have a new Chocolate Stout on tap. It tastes more like a porter then a stout but has a very rich chocolate taste. I hear Florida Beer will soon be filling 32oz bottles at their tasting room, so soon you’ll be able to take home some of their specialty brews, like their Chocolate Stout.

Click to view slideshow.

What’s The Word?

Jack Wich — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:33:55 +0000

View This Poll

Cigar City, Tampa

Jack Wich — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:07:03 +0000

Worth driving almost 4 hours for beer? You’re damn right! Some drive hours to amusement parks, sporting events, or if you’re like me, you’ll drive a few hours for great beer! If you are a beer fan, let me be one of the first to tell you, you absolutely need to make the trip. Cigar City makes some of the best beer in Florida, and many can be found locally either at A Picky Gourmet or Total Wine. What I was most interested in was their “brewery only” beers.

At their tasting room you can sample test batch brews they do to see what their next product may be. On their website they are constantly updating their tap selection so you can get a feel of what you can try. I recommend either Patio Tools Dry Irish Stout (took home two growlers of this) or their Pineapple Lychee IPA (they use their Jai-Alai IPA as a base). Both are great and worth trying.
Click to view slideshow.
One thing to know beforehand is, if you want a brewery tour you need to email them and let them know you’re coming. Also make sure before you start the tour to grab a pint, they highly encourage this and it just makes the experience that much better. Travis (their bar manager) gave us our tour and if you get the chance I’d ask for him to give you yours. He showed us everything!!! And when I say everything I mean everything, touch and smell their ingredients, drink an ice cold Maduro Brown Ale right off the production line, see small test batches of beer they’re working on, see future releases that are aging, and watch them make their Big Sound Scotch Ale. From the outside it may not look like a lot, but inside they are creating award winning beers.

Shipyard: XXXX IPA

Jack Wich — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:55:56 +0000

XXXX IPA? More like XX IPA. Just by the name I was expecting this really big bold tasting beer. But I wouldn’t even call this an Imperial IPA. Don’t get me wrong, it tasty, but just not what I was expecting. I was going to give it a rating of 3 because it is just an alright IPA but because it’s almost 10% abv, I’ll give it a 3.5 out of 5 because it’s so easy to drink. Beer Advocate gives it an B

Top 33 Beer Pong Tables!

Jack Wich — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:45:12 +0000

These are some pretty cool Beer Pong tables. Not really for craft beer, but still fun. Don’t know if I agree with how they are ranked, but my favorite by far is #10. Just change out the bottles to better ones and the table kicks ass.

Checking out all these tables makes me want to build one. Maybe a project once it starts to get cooler outside. Pong A Long has the full list.

International IPA Day

Jack Wich — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Photo By Sequoianorcal

Time to celebrate!!! August 4th, 2011 will be the 1st annual International IPA Day! Need I say more? There’s So many different beers you could have to celebrate the day!

Twitter has been all a buzz about the day and I wouldn’t be surprised if some breweries do specials. If you need some suggestions on what brews to have for the day? Check out my full review list here. Look at these companies: Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Rogue, Bells, Magic Hat or my local IPA favorite is Florida Beer Companies Swamp Ape IPA. Or just search the page for IPA or Indian Pale Ale. Read all about it here!