Life moves too fast. People move away, leave, get new jobs and stop calling. It happens all the time, and we can't stop it. But, if you're like me, a phone call or text from a friend you haven't seen in a long time really brightens up a dull week.
So, when Randy, a friend I haven't seen in a few years, asked me to meet him at a brewery in Sarasota called Jdub's I was in.
Jdub's is located out in Sarasota, Florida. It's an hour away from me, over the sky-way. I'd drive farther for a chance of catching up and good beer.
 |
| The entrance to Jdub's |
Jdub's atmosphere is very Florida. It has a lot of sunshine and palm trees, but there is an underlying current of insanity.
 |
| You get it. |
The main room can be seen in the picture at the top. The bar runs down the right side, they serve around 10 beers on tap, and normally have something new every week. There are a few tables in the main room, which offers wide windows into the brewery on the left. If you arrive early enough, you can drink a beer and watch the guys who made it hard at work making more.
Travelling through to the back, and exiting the door leads you to the beer garden. There are two separate patio areas to relax, a bit of ambiance with some hanging string lights. The garden itself is fenced in, and spacious. There is even room for a weekly yoga session meet up. Yes, you can do yoga in the same place you drink beer.
 |
| You can do Yoga when those benches get moved! |
I also had the Das Alt, a German style Amber ale, it is a crisp beer with a bitter finish. Yet, the beer that really took my taste buds to town was the Cherry Vanilla Berliner Weisse. A sweet sour beer that is crafted with fresh cherries and vanilla beans. It was 3.9%ABV, and the flavor was excellent.
 |
| The beer in the Snifter glass on the right is the Cherry Vanilla Berliner Weisse. |
The beer and the atmosphere were really good, the bar felt comfortable, with a slight crowd. I spoke to Taylor Pogue, the social media marketer and bartender, he let me check out the brewing room.
Inside I walked with Raul Armengol, who is a co-owner of Jdub's. He helps to keep things running with the owner Jeremy Joerger. Raul walked me around the brewing space and told me what was what.
Jdub's has been in business for just under 2 years. They have already grown more than original business plan and are considering expanding. Currently they are running two separate barrel systems. The first is a three barrel that allows them to create smaller batches of beer for the taproom. Because the system is small, they can afford to be a bit more inventive with the beers that decide to craft.
There is also a 15 barrel system that takes up most of the space inside the brewery. The larger system crafts for their distribution side. As I said earlier, Jdub's is beginning to distribute to 150 other places. They are getting their beer shelved by larger companies like Total Wine and ABC Liquor.
"We want to make the beer we like to drink," says Raul, "Our motto says it all: we strive for quality, innovation, and culture."
Raul hinted about two new "flagship" beers that Jdub's hopes to get out. These beers will be canned and distributed as well. Hopefully news on that comes soon.
I'll wrap us up here by saying that Jdub's is a step in the right direction. I spoke to Taylor about the why "connecting with the community" is important to Jdub's.
"We want to give back to the community, and let them know that we care." he replied. Jdub's is running a Street Team, which is a group of about 15 people who get together to provide help to the community. They help food kitchens for a day, or work with habitat for humanity. After the work is done, the crew meets at the brewery to enjoy a keg of beer for free.
It's small projects like this that help provide recognition for breweries in the best way possible. I like the idea a lot, and was impressed by the creative ways Jdub's provides events at their brewery. I mean, I can't get over it, Yoga day!
 |
| Taylor Pogue, social media and taproom guy! |
No comments:
Post a Comment