To celebrate 17 years of Florida craft beer history, we sat down with our general and promotional manager Michael Lyn a few weeks before our anniversary party to find out, where in the hell is Florida craft beer going?
Q: To start out, the Florida beer scene has become more
prevalent in the past
five years as Florida
has become a home for great craft beer.
What do
you think
accounts for this change?
MLB: Team-work. Breweries in Florida have
collectively
worked
together to build the State as a proper beer destination. Our
sense of
community has tied us together and made us stronger.
Also, Florida’s diversity of visitors gives
us a
higher
standard and brewers in Florida have to strive for that standard. We
have to
create
products that are as good, if not better, than the great
breweries back
home
for travelers and seasonal Floridians.
There are also more distributors entering the
market,
bringing in more variety from outside of the State. So, we also gain
more
options
on how our products can be handled. Stores like World
of Beer also provided a platform for those options.
We’ve also striven to bring together
that
unique
Florida culture ranging from Key West and Miami to Tallahassee
and
Micanopy.
The phrase "Drink Local" captures these differences by
highlighting
Florida’s commitment to its diverse communities and traditions.
Each of
our
cities has its own unique style and feel. The phrase became a
standard
for
locals & visiting tourists alike.
Q: What do you think of the "explosion" of
Florida
craft beer?
MLB: I think it's great. The culture is full of
experimentation
& exploration. The customers are real adventurists, hunting
and
searching.
The "explosion" of craft beers throughout the Country has kept
fuel
on the fire, not allowing the culture to get bored and
stagnant. It's
kept us
entertained and thirsty for more.
Q: Does Tampa Bay’s knack for going against
style
factor into
the explosive growth?
MLB: Definitely. Many of the breweries in Tampa
Bay are
constantly breaking style in favor of capturing new or different
flavors. This
is also a reaction to the explosive growth, as the brewers have
to
constantly
create new products to keep the drinkers entertained. This is
where the
exploration comes back in and the type of consumer we have in Florida
loves
tradition
but also exploration. Don’t be afraid to take us further; to
give us
more,
that’s what I hear constantly from all our customers, even those
new to
craft
beer.
Q: So even with Tampa Bay’s desire for
exploration, what is
Florida's beer style as a distinctive state?
MLB: Sometimes you’ll hear that it’s the "Florida
Weisse", a fruited variation of the berlinerweisse. But because
only a
fraction of the breweries actually brew this product, I prefer a
broader
definition. Florida's style is defined by fruit-forward beers,
usually
subtropical. We've brewed with fruit since 1997 when it was
almost
blasphemous
to add anything other than basic ingredients. Now it is normal
to taste
fruit flavors
in beer, whether added by actual fruit or by utilizing hops to
achieve
the
flavor. This broad style has provided the guideposts for our
explorations here
in Dunedin.
Q: So switching gears somewhat, the Dunedin
Brewery has also brought a lot of great music to Florida recently. What makes quality beer and good music go
together?
MLB: All the possibilities with beer mimics
music. Two
players can play the same song, but they will be distinctively
unique.
The same
is true for brewers both brewing an IPA or a porter, for
example. On
top of that,
the spirit of music breaks your perspective and forces you into
a new
one. It
reminds me of how an experience can be changed through hearing
different songs,
kind of like a filter on life. Beer is also a filter for the
drinker
to experience life through.
It’s hard to capture the feeling though. I’ve
personally
always been captivated by the dance of
beer in a glass and how it mimics our dance to music.
Both are
intoxicating. Both are Dionysian. Better yet, both remind us of
our
individuality but also how we belong to something bigger and
larger
than
ourselves.
Q: How do those feelings factor in to your
decision to brew
beer in Florida?
MLB: Without question, I want to raise the demand
for
creativity--with our beer, with our live music venue, but also in general.
For too long,
Florida
has lacked much with the Arts. Beer in Florida has become a
major craft and
art destination for both professional brewers and the layperson, be it
homebrewers or
general
drinkers. To not encourage these things would be a disservice to
our
community.
So here I am.
Q: What is the most important
thing the average
Florida drinker should know about beer in Florida?
MLB: As odd as it sounds, quality control. It goes
without saying
that Florida is sunny & warm. These are the bane of beer,
damaging
the
flavor & aroma. Not enough people are aware that beer should
be
maintained
at 70 degrees or below and out of direct sunlight until it
hits your
lips. There’s
far too much beer on the shelves that’s sat around in the heat
and sun
out back
of the store or at the point of production. We have strict
standards at
Dunedin
Brewery--both when brewing but also regarding the deliver of our
products to
your favorite tap house.
Q: Well, thank you for sitting down with us, Michael Lyn. Any final thoughts to wrap this up?
MLB: Cheers & good vibes!
