Ahh good morning everyone!

Figure today I can touch on a few things since I have been lazy on Saturdays Blog-Wise. So I’ll go over some local stuff as well as stuff on a nation-wide level.

1st of all THANK YOU!;
Thanks for commenting on yesterday’s blog, nothing is better than being able to interact with you the readers. The video blog seemed to be a hit so I will try to incorporate it into the blog as much as possible. While I cant guarantee that my editing/filming will get better I will continue to attempt to entrain you all with my shenanigans.

New Blog/Sites in the works;
Well if you follow Twitter there was a heated debate between two friends. Well regardless there is a new site you should check out DailyBeerReviewS but also check out DailyBeerReview . Both are different 100% and both are just fantastic for the Beer Community.

Another exciting new blog will be unveiled shortly. Yes The Cerveza Chica is leaving me…well not really but she is working on starting her own blog discussing life, beer, and living with a beer nut. It should be pretty interesting. I will make sure all you reader know where you can catch it. I would guess you can expected 3-5 posts a week from her, so like this site it might be worth to hit the RSS button.

DogFish Head TV?!?

Yep, Sam Calagione, of Dogfish Head Brewery will be staring in a new TV series called “BREWED”. You can read more about it here BREWED from BEERNEWS. While I have heard lots of different things regarding the release, we should expect to see this after the 1st of the year (2011). I have also heard rumors to expect cameos from other major people in the industry as Dogfish usually has a lot of different people walk through the door.

Pike Brewing Company Making Waves in SFL!

Well Lebron James wasn’t the only thing taking its talent to South Beach.  Pike Brewing company out of Seattle has landed in South Fla. and is an exclusive to Total Wine and More.  How are they drinking…well from what I hear they are pretty spot on beers that are very solid.  I personally will be able to tell you first hand what they taste like tomorrow as I have been invited to a super secret tasting of the line.  I will try to run down all 7 or so bottles in one quick post.  Price?!?  From what I saw last night $3.99 a bomber for the cheapest…not to bad!  Stay tuned tomorrow for additional information.

Reviews in the works;

I have been dragging my feet lately as stated above when it comes to restaurant and beer store reviews.  Coming in the near future will be official reviews of Knightly Spirits in Orlando, Total Wine and More, Bx Depot, and anything else you all want to read about.

Yep this upcoming week is American Craft Beer Week!

What is that? Well here is some history from American Craft Beer Week.
“Look for American Craft Beer Week promotions featuring craft brewers in breweries, restaurants, and better beer stores (There were more than 500 events in 2009.), become a fan of American Craft Beer Week on Facebook for more information on events around the country and toast the week with a delicious beer brewed by one of the over 1400 craft brewers in the US.

Small brewers are small businesses; they provide so much to their local communities and have reshaped American beer culture. On April 22, 2010, U.S. Congress began discussing House Resolution 1297 (PDF file) supporting the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.
For the Homebrewers

Homebrewers, American Craft Beer Week has not forgotten about your role in helping us get 10,000 fans of American Craft Beer Week 2009. This year we have a homebrew recipe from the American Homebrewers Association’s Big Brew celebration. American Craft Beer Wheat can be brewed in early May, and then you can tap it May 17-23!.”

So what are you doing for Craft Beer Week? Well there is no reason why you should not celebrate this week, and no reading my blog (while appreciated) is not celebrating actively.

Here are some of the events in the local area this upcoming week!

Monday 05-17-2010
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Weekly craft beer meetup. Bring a bottle of something rare to the area to share and enjoy good beer company.
Vine and Barley: Ft. Pierce; Terrapin Keg Tapping Party, 6pm, Come to the tapping of a few special Terrapin kegs; Oak-aged Wake-N-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout and Terrapin ‘Side Project ‘Monk’s Revenge Double IPA/Belgian Tripel

Tuesday 05-18-2010
Boca Beer Lovers: TBA; This is a monthly meetup group that shares good beer (Google Boca Beer Lovers for more info)
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Avery Brewing – We will feature Maharaja and offer a tasting of some of their other beers.
The Coffee District: Delray Beach; Come meet the Founder & CEO of Harpoon, Rich Doyle. Specials and win some SWAG!

Wednesday 05-19-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach; from 10-12 for their American Craft Beer Week edition of their Beers of Abraxas tasting. 12 – 3 oz. pours of their finest American Craft Beers for $15.
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Dogfish Head- Until we run out, we will compare “08 and ’09 Worldwide Stout and feature Aprihop on tap
Drinking Made Easy w/ Zane Lamprey; Ft. Lauderdale: Come witness the EPIC miracle himself Zane Lamprey from Three Sheets live on stage at the Culture Room

Thursday 05-20-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Southern Tier- We will feature Oak Aged Unearthly and who knows what else will be poured
Whole Foods: Boca Raton; Join Matt “Can a brother get some samples?” Villei from Shipyard for a tasting at Whole Foods in Boca from 3-5pm. FREE!

Friday 05-21-2010
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Cigar City- We had to include this brewery in the mix as it is a Florida brewery- Can anyone Say Hunahpu Imperial Stout, we will have some pours of this delicious brew and maybe some glassware, and we are not done.
Total Wine: Boca Raton; If you missed him at Whole Foods you can catch Matt from Shipyard at Total Wine in Boca for a tasting of Shipyard and Sea Dog from 5-7pm

Saturday 05-22-2010
Abraxus: Miami Beach: HUGE Beer Tasting for only $20.00 which includes Food, Water and a sampling on beers. Also bring what you have and share with everyone!
BX Depot: Lake Worth; Amazing Beer Dinner; showcasing some great food and brews.

Remember that there are tons of bars carrying a great selection of Craft Beer. So check out The Lodge, The Funky Buddha, Charm City Burgers, Brother Tuckers, Trist, Bar Louie, Grease, Havana Hideout, and more!

So there you have it, if you can’t find something to do this upcoming week….well then I’m sorry…I tried! Have a Craft Beer and enjoy a week long celebration!

Slainte!

Ahh the morning before a festival, I guarnatee I feel better this morning in comparision to tomorrow morning. Why?!?

Tonight is the 2010 NewTimes Beerfest in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

The Festival includes about 50 Breweries total and over 100 beers, Food, and always a good time. You can check out the list of the breweries by clicking HERE. While I personally know that 2 of the breweries pulled out this past week, the show should be pretty fun tonight.

If your going look for a few things.

1.  The Funky Buddha will be out and about tonight pouring two of their HomeBrews which will be sold at their new “brew-pub” in Boca. I have had them both and they are VERRRYY Tasty. Make sure you look out for them.

2.  Similarly, BX Depot will be out there sharing some of their HomeBrew goodness with the crowds tonight. They always bring some really tasty stuff. Great beer people!

3.  Amongst a sea of Macro Breweries make sure you stop by the following local Mico-Beer tents; NATIVE, Holy Mackerel, Jupiter (Monk in the Trunk). These three can usually be found near each other. GREAT Local Beer!

4.  Finally, Look for me, Cerveza Chica, El Guapo, Miguel, and this upcoming weeks guest blogger Eduardo. We will all be scattered about pouring at the festival. I can personally say I will be up in VIP pouring the Hard Stuff “liquor” with Crown Spirits.

Ok, so those are the highlights of the show. I would also reccomend purchasing your tickets before. Where?!? Just click this link —> Tickets. GA is $25 and VIP is $75 in advance. Expect the price to jump about 5 bucks if you buy at the gate.

I recommend VIP for a few reasons. It’s inside (AC), indoor bathrooms, the crowd should be a bit less than whats in GA, you get to say hi to me (thats worth $75 right there!), expanded food selection, open exhibits in the museum, and there is going to be wine and liquor instead of just beer.

Hope to see you out there!

~Ferm Out

Followers of this blog know that I love reviewing beers, but I also have other passions within the industry.

I have been reviewing Local Beer Bars, Meetups, and Festivals. We will now begin to add reviews on Local Beer Sellers, Homebrew Supply Stores, Restaurants, and Local Breweries (yes there are some diamonds in the rough in South Florida). If you are an owner or employee of any of these establishments and want to request our review please just shoot me an email at DosBeerigos@gmail.com and we can set something up.

Also any additional review suggestions please send my way. I do this for you and for the beer, and love both of them!

Cheers!

~FERM

Lets start with Homebrew Supply Stores (mainly web). Just in the past six months or so I have been asked a lot of questions about where to buy supplies at the best price and the best service. Often I sort-a feel like a broken record. The list below contains a quick review of some of the websites and local shops that I have used.

A little bit on my background; I started home brewing about a year ago with the idea that I could possibly make good beer for a cheaper amount of money. I quickly learned that I could do this, but I could also control the flavors and alcohol volume. I have experimented with many different types of recipes and styles of beers. Focusing on Ales because of the fermentation temperature, I have found a strong passion for brewing IPA’s. I purchased my home brewing supplies from a local shop and used them several times for my ingredients. While still a novice of sorts I mainly brew with a extract/partial grain method, but want to move to all-grain in the near future.

OK, enough about me lets move to the reviews.

BX Depot
www.bxbeerdepot.com
Lantana, FL
561-965-9494

This is my local shop. I picked up my first homebrew kit here with several recipes. I have never gone into the store, and been told that they have been out of something. If they don’t have it they can get it in for you. Prices are a bit high, and that has been their knock in the local community. I personally don’t see it as that big of a problem though. After all I like supporting my local shops. Shipping prices seem fair online. I personally have never had anything shipped from them since they are near my house. Finally customer service is flat out awesome! I am a strong believer in customer service, and the crew at BX has that down pat. You can’t beat their face to face service! They are friendly, knowledgeable, and always willing to help. So in summary good selection of products, sort-a high prices, freshest ingredients, super service, and a GREAT Micro-Beer supply (we will talk about this later). Quite like that young female that was always there for you, “the friend” , BX is a good reliable shop. Overall; 4.20/5

Rebel Brewer
www.rebelbrewer.com
Tennessee

While BX is my local, Rebel is my go to. I have been dealing with this company for about 8 months now, and in my opinion it is hard to beat them. I try to beat their prices for a recipe….can’t, try to beat their service……can’t (unless I can personally interact with someone), try to beat their shipping time……can’t, really the only thing that they can be beat in is shipping price. Shipping price isn’t high though, it is fair. Still, shipping included for a recipe (Malt, Hops, Yeast, and specialty Grain) I haven’t found a site to beat Rebel’s end price. Their slogan “Make Better Beer”, is one they believe in. Constantly getting in new types of hops, running sales on top of their already low prices, and willing to speak with you over the phone or through email about an order of any size makes this the best site I have worked with yet. So in summary Rebel Brewer offers a great selection of ingredients, wonderful customer service, super fast shipping at a fair price, and much more. Much like the one you find and settle down with, Rebel Brewer is a keeper! Overall; 4.89/5

Northern Brewer
www.northernbrewer.com
Minnesota

I have only used Northern Brewer twice. Once was a test to see how fast the shipping was on a very small order, and the other was for a recipe itself. The websites selection is very good, they have a wide variety of hops, grain, malt, and yeast. The prices are pretty good and competitive to all other sites. I am personally a big fan of the $7.99 standard shipping. It is a good price and fairly quick. They have a great selection of Wine and Beer Supplies as well. Customer Service was good, and they offered an email and phone number if I had any questions. Secret Gem of this site is their Miscellany tab; they have some really cool gift ideas for the beer lover in there. Overall had very good experiences with Northern, I would use them again if I can’t find what I am looking for on my “go to site”. Northern is just like that the young lady one would keep on the side just in case a date fell through with the keeper…. Overall; 4.49/5

More Beer
www.morebeer.com
Concord, CA

I have used More Beer two times as well. Once for a custom tap handle, and another for a shipping test. Shipping was good and pretty fast. Free Shipping on orders over $59.00! They have a wonderful selection of everything. Although like the other two sites above you get the feeling that they are a bit of a larger company as their customer service seemed simply automated, with little follow up. Prices are average, nothing great, unless you can catch a Deal of the Day (they go fast). Overall nothing special and I would rather hit up my local shop instead, although if you can’t find it someplace else, more beer probably has it. They do a podcast too that is worth listening to. More Beer is very much so like the girl that you take out once or twice but move on after. Overall; 3.89/5

Where do you shop for homebrew supplies? And Why? I’d love to know. Comment below or shoot me an email.

The Lodge – Boca Raton
200 S Federal Hwy
Boca Raton, FL 33432
(561) 392-5003

Alright so you walk up to the door and look around, yep outside you’re still in snobby Boca Raton, FL. You put your hand on the door handle…its wood?!? Open it up and almost like a true time traveler you are now in a cabin bar in Colorado. There is wood on the floor, on the ceiling, on the walls….but wait I thought I was in Boca? Yep look out the window and in fact it is Boca, and for once in my life the grass on the other side doesn’t look greener. That said I think I will hang out for a bit.

OK, so now that you have the looks of the bar I am sure you are wondering how the bar actually is. Well, this Beer and Wine only bar offers 24 taps and close to 100 different bottles as well as wine. Pardon my lack of knowledge on their wine selection, I’m sure it’s very good though.

The food is always fresh and never frozen. Hands down this place makes some tasty treats. Their loaded fries, jumbo chicken wings, and burgers are amazing.

In my opinion any bar can offer beer and food that’s good, but what will put it over the top is the wait staff. Fun and friendly the staff at the Lodge is just awesome, and just a bit off (if you know what I mean). They are all extremely educated on what they are serving, and love talking about beer or whatever is on one of their many tvs at the moment.

Growlers?!? Yep they even have growlers available for sale. What’s a growler? Well it’s this;

Basically it is 64oz of beer to take home and drink whenever you want. Locally there are only two establishments doing this type of sale currently (BX Depot and The Lodge) but hopefully soon we will see more in the area. It really is a great way to take some beer home and not commit to a whole 5 gallon keg.

Ok so the run down of the Lodge;
Environment: Fun and unique
Food: VERY GOOD
Beer: Great selection on draft and in bottle
Staff: Awesome
Price: Average, but very good if you pick up a “key-chain” (allows for discounts everyday)

So if you haven’t been to the Lodge yet; What are you waiting for?!