"Old friends pass away, new friends appear.  
It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives.  
The important thing is to make it meaningful:  
a meaningful friend -  or a meaningful day." 

Dalai Lama

Here's to Florida Beer History, Sláinte!

Imagine walking out into the cool, breezy night air--away from the bright lights, bubbling conversations, and glamor of Jazz-age music. Imagine walking out past where the bathing beach would be one day, out onto the lengthy pier to overlook the darkness of Honeymoon Island, then known as Hog Island. Someone slips you a coveted bottle of beer. This being the times of prohibition, a bottle is a much coveted treat. Rumor has it, this ale was brewed right here in Dunedin, Florida. You look back at the magnificence of the Fenway Hotel.

Dunedin has a long, rich history, especially one of enjoying quality drink. From boasting Florida's oldest craft brewery to anticipating our new whiskey distiller, we are a town of tradition and innovation, nature and city. Not only are our islands amazing, our pub crawl is second to none.

To explore this history, and the history of beer, the Dunedin Museum will open their "A Pint of History" exhibit this Friday evening, May 24th, 2013. For this event, we've loaned a special piece of craft beer history: the Brew Cactus, a mobile brewing system invented by our founder to research the brewing process before opening the Dunedin Brewery.

After checking out the exhibit, be sure to stroll down Edgewater and take that historic look out at Honeymoon Island before joining us for a well-crafted brew. There's nothing better than raising our glasses to the years behind us and the years before us.

Clarity of Style: Indian Amber vs. American Classic

Last week, we introduced the idea that craft beer isn't all about one ingredient or one quality. Style, though sometimes a beneficial guide, has become a trap for many, new and old alike. Those new to the craft might believe they hate IPAs because of the "bitterness" of hops. More seasoned experts might forget that if we can't convey what we mean, we descend into repeating ourselves over and over again.

To continue further in this style series, we'll be comparing beers of the same style in the coming months. We hope this will bring a sense of clarity to our drinking experiences. Even better, we hope it will provide a way to talk about beer--beyond all the catch phrases and the gimmicks. No fancy artwork, no slogans, no manufactured rarity. Beer, just beer.

Continuing with our example of IPAs--and since our IPA Festival is right around the corner--we've chosen two of our own in this style: Dunedin Brewery's IPA Chronicle 9 Indian Amber and the American Classic IPA.

Let's start with the obvious: those damn hops! The Classic IPA has a distinct taste of white grapefruit that is effervescent, juicy, yet dry and refreshing. This is the bitterness of Chinook hops interplaying with the aroma and flavor of Centennial & Cascade hops. The Indian Amber utilizes Nelson Sauvin hops & Crystal malts, dropping the dryness in exchange for chewy caramel and a note of toasted oakiness that follows up with the comparative tropical flavor of roasted pineapple. Nelson Sauvin hops are from New Zealand and regional conditions account for a difference in taste.

The appearance of the Indian Amber is a reddish-amber with a thin white lace across the top. It isn't cloudy like the Classic and it doesn't have the light ruby center like the Classic does. However, the Classic's noticeable cloudiness is equally appealing.

Each has a bitter fizz, but the Indian Amber ends with a zing, almost like the feel of pepper, which provides a nice contrast between the two. Both hold their respective ground, but both are from distinctly different traditions. Think of your grandpa's breakfast of handpicked grapefruit with a side of mango jam on a soft roll vs. island picnic grilling before a refreshing swim.

IPAs and hops are diverse, somewhat akin to the world of coffee, where differences can be many. Like two coffees, these two beers take different approaches to style. One is classic in the sense that it utilizes three of the most popular American hops; the other is our take on a Red IPA (or Imperial Red), furthering the exploration in our Chronicle Series. If you like something chewy and robust with tropical fruit and cherries, the Indian Amber may be for you. If you prefer refreshing and dry with grapefruit and sharp apples, the Classic IPA may be more up your alley. It goes without saying, we prefer both.

Moving Towards the Clarity of Style

What is style exactly? Some would say the popularity of a new trend, a designer pair of skinny jeans perhaps. Some others would say the classiness of a time-honored tradition, the lines of a Ford Mustang. An idea carved up and packaged nicely for you and me. Beer is no different. Dopplebock, Lambic, Porter. A quick Internet search gives you charts to guide you through hundreds of beers that you could, and hopefully will, taste in your life.

But let's not complicate things. There are styles, a lot of them. And each style is meant to capture something about a group of beers. The color of an imperial stout or the aroma and taste of hops. A great example is the ever-popular India Pale Ale. Historically, the term is as simple as it says, a pale ale for India. The beer was hopped-up more than its contemporaries, sent to sea, and it would eventually arrive at its destination after mellowing out. Then came the American IPA, a more highly hopped pale ale with regional differences, meant to be enjoyed fresh.

Today, you may inevitably hear someone at the bar asking for a nice hoppy IPA. Look at beer sites and the terms they use to describe brews: The aroma of Hops; The strength of Hops. Hops, Hops, HOPS. They hit you in the face, they bring you to your knees. They are everything you've ever imagined and more! And yet they describe nothing at all.

We've created a style of one characteristic, one ingredient. And people are having their experience shaped by these three letters: IPA. Is it the flavor of pineapple but without the creaminess? Is there the zip and mouthfeel of pepper with the tropical aroma of mango? If you hate pineapple and have only had one IPA that tastes like that damned fruit, you're out of luck; you hate IPAs. Those damn hops!

Let's move past this. Style is a guide and there's no reason one aspect of a beer should dominate, especially when the characteristic is used vaguely over and over again. Hops! As if this one word would sell more beer. There are many aspects to a craft brew; what is important is how they interplay together to form a whole. To return to IPAs, next time you're at the bar, ask what type of hops are used in your favorite IPA. With this in mind, take a sip. How does the aroma balance with the mouthfeel? Do the hops add a floral aroma or does a sharp grapefruit flavor balance out the caramel sweetness? Now we're talking.

Style can be helpful, but not if it's vague. We need to talk about and identify the aspects of a beer--any beer--and convey these qualities to the next person. Remember, one quality and one ingredient don't dominate our palate, why should it dominate the way we talk about craft beer?

FL-Oregon Trail Part 3: 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival

What a trip it had already been when we arrived back in Portland for the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. We returned on Wednesday, the night of the Brewers BBQ hosted on the waterfront--the same venue as the festival. We were given pint glasses & choices of fills from 20+ great beers from Oregon, mostly IPAs & sours. All beers were outstanding.

Oregon Brewers Guild BBQ & Reception

At this time in our trip, we were also joined by more invading Dunedinites, including Matt & Amy Barnett, Michael Norman Bryant, Jimmey Defrank (Lueken's Liquors), Mandy Boldman, Jamie Barnett, & Devon Kreps (Seventh Sun Brewing Co). This made for a great presence of what beer in Dunedin is all about, enjoying good beer together & enjoying the company of others. We followed the Brewer's BBQ with a visit to Cascade Brewing's Barrel House, who also happened to be our first stop in the morning for the Festival Brunch & Parade kick-off. Breakfast was served, as was delicious Cascade Brew. Most of us started with an Oblique Coffee Porter, a great way to start the day.

Cascade Brewing's Olbique Coffee Porter & OBF Handbook

From Cascade's Barrel House, 800 brewers & beer-lovers took to the streets for a parade led by 2 large wooden casks filled by the Cascade, the host brewery. Filled with beer-themed costumes & the Transcendental Brass Band, the parade walked one mile (and across the Morrison Bridge) to the downtown waterfront where the wooden casks were ceremonially cracked open. One was filled with IPA, the other with Gose (a historic salty-sour brew). After the free pours from the casks, the festival was underway & the public started to fill in.

Raising our glass to the safe travels of the cask

Parading in the streets of Portland for the sake of beer

Welcome to the Oregon Brewers Festival

 Once the beer started flowing at the festival, we wandered over to the trailer pouring our IPA Chronicle 6: FL-Oregon Trail, brewed with FL orange blossom honey & sweet orange peel. When we got there, we were floored by the epic line trailing away from the tap. At this point, we realized that Portland was full of beer drinkers who pay attention. Our line was one of the longest throughout the weekend & everyone we spoke to thoroughly enjoyed our brew. Not only were we the only beer from the Southeast, we were the hoppiest beer at the event. Here's some shots from our beer line:

Follow Trace to the FL-Oregon Trail IPA

Master Fred Eckhardt enjoying the FL-Oregon Trail IPA

Rogue's John Maier before filling his mug to the top with FL-Oregon Trail

Sold Out for the day!

Each day of the festival, our beer ran dry. The festival allots a certain amount of kegs per day to ensure that each beer pours at the start of the next day. Our kegs blew early each afternoon, alongside other great beers by 10 Barrel, Cascade, Russian River, Old Market Pub & more. Beyond the main 84 beers (one per brewery) pouring, there was also a Buzz/Sour Tent which rotated through kegs all weekend. We decided the best way to show Dunedin's love for beer & community would be to pour a keg of our collaboration with Seventh Sun Brewing (Dunedin, FL), The Sun & The Sword, a Nelson Sauvin single-hop berlinerweiss. This gave our friend & co-owner of Seventh Sun, Devon, a good reason to fly out & join us for the festivities. She had a blast as well!

Devon (7venthSun) & Mike (DunedinBrewery); [photo by Mandy Boldman]

Overall, our first time pouring beer at the Oregon Brewers Festival was a success. We had a great time, met a massive amount of new friends, & shared some hoppy Florida beer with 80,000 people in the Pacific Northwest. We'd like to thank Chris Crabb, Oregon Brewers Festival, Oregon Brewers Guild, & all of the Oregon breweries (as well as beer lovers!) for an amazingly warm welcome. We hope we brought some flavor from Florida that you enjoyed. Cheers!

OBF is a party! (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

The Transcendental Brass Band

Dunedin Brew Crew (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

Two generations of Dunedin Brewery. (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

The Portland crew, minus a few.

The Oregon Brewers Festival always takes place the last full weekend in July. The 26th annual event will take place July 25 through July 28, 2013. For more information, visit www.oregonbrewersfestival.com


Our next Blog post will wrap up the FL-Oregon Trail with a glimpse into our drive home, including visits to Rogue, Sierra Nevada, & Lagunitas. After that, keep an eye out for a short film edited from the footage we captured during the entire trip. Till then!

FL-Oregon Trail Part 2: Brewing Astoria on the Rock

By now you've hopefully read "Part 1: The Road to Portland" & know that we've been on the road to the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Last week, we visited our friends at Fort George Brewery to brew a couple batches of beer with their crew. Here's a glimpse into our visit:

We arrived in Astoria on Sunday, July 22nd just in time to be greeted by our most gracious host, Constance, and the Fort George family. They welcomed us with cans of Vortex IPA & Sunrise OPA, moose sliders & quinoa salad. A feast was had in this beautiful yard:

Constance's Garden of 'eden

Joining us in Astoria was our head brewer, Norman Dixon, & brewer, Rick Crance. The next morning at 8am we arrived at the Fort George Building to brew with Fort George brewers Piper & Jason Palmberg. While the production brewery at Fort George--keeping up demand for their 5 mainstays (1811 Lager, Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, Vortex IPA, & Cavatica Stout)--is a 30bbl brew-house, Piper is the lead brewer of the system in the Fort George Pub, dubbed "Sweet Virginia". Her brewing system is a 9bbl steam-jacketed powerhouse that keeps the Fort George fans satisfied with one-off batches & pub-only beers:

Sweet Virginia in action

During our 3-day visit, we brewed two batches of beer. The first was Fort George Brewery's Nut Red Ale. This session with Piper & Jason helped our brewers familiarize with Sweet Virginia. The following day, we brewed our return collaboration, Astoria on the Rock (see: Vortex on the Bay: Cross-Country Handshake). Astoria on the Rock is a Double IPA recipe brewed at Fort George Brewery with Astoria water & Fort George yeast. The hop varieties showcased are Summit, Centennial, Chinook, & Cascade. It will be released in August at Fort George Brewery & Public House.

Brewing Astoria on the Rock

Piper & Norman checking the kettle during sparge

90% of brewing is cleaning up

Brew day is over, time to reap the rewards

After a good brew day comes disc golf

Coming up next will be a re-cap of our time at the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland.

Helpful Links:

More Info on Fort George Brewery & their Vortex IPA can be found on their website: http://www.fortgeorgebrewery.com

FL-Oregon Trail Part 1: The Road from Florida to Oregon

We're in Astoria, Oregon for a few days to brew our collabeeration with Fort George Brewery, giving us an opportunity to reflect on the first leg of our expedition, the FL-Oregon Trail.

Astoria, OR -- Less than 24 hours after our 16th Anniversary Party, 2 of us hit the road with 18 kegs in our new refrigerated truck. The beer, IPA Chronicle 6: FL-Oregon Trail, is an IPA brewed with orange peel & FL orange blossom honey created specifically for the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival.

With little time to spare, our first 5 days were a high-speed burn to Portland, OR. We drove through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, & finally Oregon. Here are some shots from the road:

Dunedin, Florida: 0.0 miles

Headed NW

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis

Scenic Red Rocks in Utah

Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho

FL-Oregon meets Oregon Trail

Our first pint in Oregon at Prodigal Son Brewing Co.

Full Sail Brewing Co. in Hood River, OR

Delivering beer at Widmer Brothers Brewing for Oregon Brewers Festival

Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) in Portland, OR

Enjoying Emerald City beer in the Emerald City

Meeting up with old friends for beer at The Pike in Seattle

Temperate Rainforest at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington

Pints in Hoaquim, WA at the 8th Avenue Ale House

Learning the ins & outs of Fort George Brewery (Astoria, OR)

Today we are helping the Piper & Jason brew their Nut Red Ale before brewing our Astoria on the Rock, our collaboration with Fort George Brewery. Today at 5pm, Vortex on the Bay (Dunedin Brewery/Fort George Brewery) will be tapped in the Fort George Pub. Here's to beers & brewing across the country!

Our next blog entry (FL-Oregon Trail Part 2) will highlight our collaboration brew here at Fort George Brewery. Check back for it in the next few days. Cheers!

To follow us the road & more pictures, Like our Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dunedinbrewery

Make sure to check out Fort George Brewery here:

http://www.fortgeorgrebrewery.com

See you soon!