Beer Artisan

On this episode of Beer Artisan, were exploring Miami’s famed art neighborhood, Wynwood, and the craft beer businesses that have popped up out of its art scene.

The Union Beer Store was started by husband and wife duo, David and Cici Rodriguez. The pair had been close to the beer scene for years and one year ago decided to strike out on their own and create Union, a beer store/bar with a fun, super laid-back vibe. With more than 300 different beers in their cooler, they offer locals and tourists a wide range of tastes to explore. Adrian, David’s right-hand man, helms the bar at Union, helping visitors choose the right brew. So it only made sense to have David and Adrian show us around the Wynwood neighborhood.

First up, J. Wakefield. John Wakefield got started brewing with a $50 Mr. Beer homebrew kit gifted to him by his wife. Slowly but surely, the hobby transformed into a lifestyle and brewing beers on his stove evolved into a jam-packed production facility producing a number of unique brews. John tells us how he combined his life as a beer geek with his life as a Star Wars geek to create his incredibly designed, Star Wars themed tap room which highlights the work of a number of local artists and adds to the incredible vibe you can only find in Wynwood.

Next, it’s on to Wynwood Brewing, Wynwood’s first brewery. Started by Luis G. Brignoni, Wynwood also incorporates local artists’ work into the design of the space. Luis invited local artist Lola Blue to design bottles for the brewery, further cementing the relationship between Wynwood art and its businesses. Wynwood has won a number of Great American Beer Festival medals and is aiming to churn out 12,000 barrels of beer this year thanks to help from the Craft Beer Alliance.

Brignoni made a deal with the CBA in which they would have a 24.5% stake in the company (the threshold for still being defined as "craft" by the Brewers Association) and in return, help grows the production and distribution of Wynwood Brewing brews. This has opened up their tanks, allowing Wynwood to be more creative with their in-house production.

If you’ve never been to Wynwood, you should give it a visit ASAP. Just listen to our Wynwood Guide, Robert William de los Rios from The RAW Project. But if you can’t, watch this episode of Foodable’s Beer Artisan for a journey through the art-driven neighborhood to learn more about its history and vibe.

Funky Buddha has long been revered as one of America’s favorite breweries. Just this year they ranked No. 3 in consumer sentiment according to Foodable Labs! But, did you know Funky Buddha started as a homebrewer's dream?   Founder Ryan Sentz keeps his love for homebrewing alive through the Homebrew Shop connected to their Brewery and Lounge, Funky Buddha’s original location, in Boca Raton, Fla.   Mitch Wilkinson, Digital Content Coordinator at Funky Buddha also shares a passion for homebrewing. Before Wilkinson even worked there, he actually picked up a lot of his knowledge from Funky Buddha’s team.   “I started making my own beers and I was going to the homebrew shop so much and annoying the brewer [by] asking so many questions that they just gave me a job,” he shares.   Watch this special episode of Beer Artisan in honor of National Homebrew Day to learn how you could be brewing Funky Buddha level brews, too!

On this episode of Beer Artisan, we visit the Rochester, New York brewing scene. Rochester has been brewing beer since the early 1800’s. The first brewery in Rochester settled on the east bank of the Genesee River after a spring of pure water on Central Avenue was discovered. Although that brewery no longer exists, the oldest running brewery in the state, Genesee Brewery, still brews on that same river.  The water found in the springs of Rochester is extremely clean. The brewers in the area are well aware of this fact and do not take it for granted. Watch the episode and see how old and new brewers come together in Rochester in the name of craft beer.

The beer scene in Los Angeles is fairly young. Some of LA's veteran breweries only date back to 2011. However, in that short span of time, LA has churned out some of the coolest, most diverse brews created from some of the coolest, most diverse brewers. On this episode of "Beer Artisan," we see how LA’s young breweries have fostered a tightly-knit community with brewers who are not afraid to push the envelope. Frances Lopez is the executive director of the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild. Formally founded in 2013, the LABG is a federally recognized nonprofit organization that works to promote and protect local independently-owned craft breweries. In order to properly advocate for the community, Lopez has built strong relationships with breweries across LA such as Smog City. Smog City began brewing in October 2011 using Tustin Brewing’s brewpub to distribute their brews to restaurants and bars throughout Los Angeles County. This allowed head brewmaster Jonathan Porter and the team to establish a presence in the craft beer community.

Tampa, Florida is a city rich with history and the locals do not take that history for granted. Cigar City Brewing is one such local business that keeps the history of Tampa alive. Aptly named after the Cuban cigar production brought in by Vincente Ybor, Cigar City Brewing uses the history of the city to guide their work. Take, for example, Cigar City’s “El Lector” Neil Callaghan, whose title was inspired by the “Lectores” in cigar factories. "El Lector" was the person whose job it was to inform and entertain the cigar rollers. As Neil shares with us, history also influences the actual brewing done at Cigar City. According to the Foodable Labs Beverage Index, Cigar City is ranked number 2 out of the hundreds of breweries indexed. Probably due in part to the popular brews they distribute like  like Jai Alai and Hunahpu's Imperial Stout. Cigar City Brewing hand-mashes its grain, and hand-fills its kegs in an effort have total control over th`eir production process. Neil explains how there is room for growth in Florida beer production. Florida is underdeveloped if you look at the number of breweries in relation to the population. Check out Neil and his pup, Egg, on their historical journey through Cigar City on this episode of "Beer Artisan."