Reunion at Jdub's: A Brewery Review

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!

Let's talk beer. I sampled three different brews while I was there. I tried one of Jdub's flagship beers, the Up Top IPA. The Up Top has an abv of 6.5% . A solid IPA with notes of citrus and that delightfully shocking hop pop. Jdub's has begun canning the Up Top IPA and their Poolside Kolsch. These two beers are being sold at over 150 different places.

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! 

Round Six: Dreams of the Beach, Trying the St Pete Orange Wheat

Wheat Beer is one of my favorite styles, and drew me into to drinking craft beer early on.

I moved away from them, sinking nice and easily into IPAs etc. Yet, every now and then- on a hot day- I return to the easy to get along with wheat beer.

Today, I want to bring you a review of the:

St Petersburg Brewery’s- St Pete Orange Wheat.

That rolls nicely off the tongue.

You can now find these beers in a lot of grocery markets; normally labeled “Craft” or “Local Beers” (for you Florida residents) and they sit next to St Petersburg Brewery’s Milo IPA.

Recently, St Petersburg Brewery celebrated their one year anniversary, and they are taking off pretty quickly.

But, let’s get into the beer!

Appearance: The Orange Wheat is a pale yellow color, with a lot of fizzle after the pour. It is opaque or cloudy at first, but becomes clear after 5 minutes of sitting.

Smell: A strong wheat aroma with hints of orange and coriander. Those are the two main ingredients for flavor, so that isn’t surprising.

Taste: A sip of this beer is a lot like having a Dr Pepper for the first time in months. It has a strong carbonation-like kick. Strong notes of wheat, but they are not overpowering. An after taste of orange, floral notes and coriander exist.

The beer leaves a pleasant sensation of wheat and oranges in your mouth afterwards.

I like it! Yes, I know that doesn’t come as a surprise, but if I were heading to the beach and needed something refreshing without being overwhelmed with taste I would grab this beer. It goes down very smoothly and I find myself reaching for another sip quickly.

This beer can be found anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, and for good reason. It is a solid all around beer, with no overwhelming taste in any direction.

Grab a Beer for Your Lady: Breaking the Gender Stereotypes of Beer

I need to get something off of my chest.

This is going to be difficult to say but…

I used to think that beer wasn’t a beverage for women.

Man. That looks even worse typed out. I can feel the bigotry pulsating right out of the words.

Yes, when I was a younger man, or boy, I thought that beer was only for men. Reflecting back, 

I don’t think I was alone in thinking that.

This isn't quite the video I wanted, here is a link to the real one 

If college has done one thing for me- one very expensive thing- it has challenged the way I think. Right now, I am in a course called Anthropology and we are studying sex and gender. Those two ideas are separate.

Biological sex is the anatomical end result of the type of X and Y chromosomes you have. It determines the type of sexual organs and hormones that your body will naturally produce.

Gender is much more complicated than your biological sex. Why? Well, first we need to understand that people are taught gender. It is something we are shown. Little boys are not born instantly liking sports and things that are blue; little girls are not born loving dresses and things that are pink. This is a culmination of society and their relationship with the world. Nothing is natural about the way Western society- specifically America- thinks gender should be applied.

So, the reason I just gave you a run-down is to explain this: Beer is not a gender specific beverage.

It sounds so simple, it is simple. Yet, I can’t help but think back to television ads I watched early on. I remember a lot of women in bikinis finding men with beer attractive. I remember seeing men in movies challenging each other to keg stands, and flip cup. I do remember girls with red plastic cups in their hands, but never to the extent that the little plastic cup was shown being chugged down by a bro.

Beer is only beer. People are people, everywhere. And everyone deserves a nice beer.