HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THE COFFEE DISTRICT OF DELRAY BEACH, FL!

3 Years of being one of South Florida’s Best Beer Bars!

To kick off the celebration Chung and his staff will be tapping one of only two kegs of the Bruery Coton at 7pm tonight! I have also found out that there will be some other tasty treats on draft as well as in bottle.

Wait, why am I telling you with little notice….well that’s cause the party goes on through the weekend!

That’s right, The Coffee District will be celebrating their 3rd Anniversary Party Friday with Karaoke, and Saturday with Open Mic Night!

I would show up early tonight though if you want to try the Coton from draft.

I will be there right after work, and then will head home to watch my Florida Atlantic Owls beat up on the Blazers of UAB.

THANK GOD IT’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL TIME!

GO OWLS!

Sorry for the late posting today, I blame Mike from www.MikeLovesBeer.com and Chung from the Coffee District for a night of great craft beer. Before I get into who will be guest blogging with me this week, I personally would like to congratulate Mike from MikeLovesBeer.com on his 2nd Anniversary of his Beer Blog. Good times buddy!

Ok, so this week I had the honor to sample some VERY fine beers with a “legend” of sorts from RateBeer.com, HopScotch. It was a pleasure to sit and learn more about beer than I knew existed with him. HopScotch is another prime example of why the Craft Beer Community is so good, it consists of amazing people.

Here is some background info on HopScotch.

HopScotch; “Eric”
Location: Vero Beach, Florida
Hometown: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Got into craft beer in his last semester of college at West Virginia University (1992) when a brewpub known as The One Onion (subsequently the West Virginia Brewing Company; currently the Morgantown Brewing Company) opened two blocks from his apartment offering $1.00 pints every weekday between 3 PM and 7 PM. His go-to beer in college was Rolling Rock as it was cheap in that part of the country. After graduation and a substantial increase in income while working on Capitol Hill, Samuel Adams Boston Ale hit the supermarket shelves and he was a quick convert to the Boston Beer Company. As beer stores started popping up all over the D.C./Baltimore area, he set out to try every new craft brew and import he could get his hands on. Started taking notes in 2002 and joined ratebeer.com that very same year. Since then, he has rated 5,899 beers… oops, make that 5,904 now… and travels and trades extensively in order to try as many American, Danish, Canadian, Dutch, Italian and Swedish craft beers as humany possible. His three favorite beers are Alesmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, Three Floyds Dark Lord Bourbon Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Imperial Stout and Cigar City Hunahpu’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

Stay tuned for some crazy good beers this week!

Cheers!

Well looking back on the morning after the first meeting of the minds, I feel quite similar…lol.  Yesterday was the “Meeting of the Minds….”The Sequel” which was held at the Coffee District in Delray Beach FL. and hosted by Ed Roberts of Total Wine.

The idea of the meetup is to gather all or most of the most active people in the beer community within Social Media to discuss how we can make the local beer scene better for you.

This time around we had 20 or so people from all forms of social media; blogs, twitter, websites, print, facebook, owners of companies and restaurants, beer reps., and more. No Offense, but it was a very diverse crowd in many ways.

While discussion was limited due to the size of the table and the amount of beer we were passing around, several members were able to get across some very important points. Mainly about how we all need to continue and push local and national government to lighten up on beer laws for distribution. Now I am not a political person at all, but this is something I can get behind.

No Offense, but enough about the politics ya’ll wanna know about the fun stuff, right?!? Yesterday was a great day to meetup with a ton of people which I speak with on a daily basis on different forms of social media. It was a lot of fun again putting a face to a name (or a twitter name in some cases). We shared some amazing beers, about 34 in total including verticals of years.

While the details for the next meetup are still in the air, I am excited for part III.  Rumors are that it will return to a smaller size to benefit conversation and take a more proactive approach to Social Media in general.  If I am part of the lucky few that are invited you can expect an the usual follow-up blog.

In no particular order, so No Offense is taken, the list of the beers we tried yesterday;
1. Conte di Campigla Etrusca
2. The Bruery Rugbrod
3. Goose Island Matilda 2009 & 2010
4. Hell or High Watermelon Clone (Homebrew)
5. Ian’s Red Hoppy Ale (Homebrew)
6. Grand Teton Brewing Co. Pursuit of Hoppiness
7. Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu
8. Westy 8
9. De Proefbrouwerij Andelot Cuvee Angelique
10. New Belgium Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek
11. Hair of the Dog Fred
12. Sierra Nevada Harvest Southern Hemisphere 2010
13. Adriarn Brower Dark Gold Ale
14. Alesmith Wee Heavy
15. Mayflower Thanksgiving Ale
16. Anderson Valley Summer Solstice
17. Panil Barriquee Batch #9 2007
18. Trappist Rochefort 10 2005 & 2006
19. Lil Bitta (Homebrew)
20. Pretty Things Saint Botolph’s Town
21. Shipyard Pugsly Series Barleywine
22. Half Acre Baume
23. The White Hooter (Homebrew)
24. Bohemian Pilsner (Homebrew)
25. Goose Island Pierre Jacques
26. Bulum Elderberry Black Ale
27. Brew Dog Rip Tide
28. Cigar City Big Sound Scotch Ale
29. Ale Smith Speedway Stout
30. Black Flag Imperial Stout 2009 Fresh Hop Edition
31. Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S.
32. Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2006

Pretty impressive I know. Stay tuned this week as myself and a very special guest blogger dissect five of these tasty beers. Which ones will we be reviewing and who is reviewing with me? Well, NO OFFENSE, but thats going to be coming soon!

Saturdays are always fun right?!?

Well instead of bringing you some news about the industry or forcing some more American Craft Beer Information down your throat, I’ll be reviewing the Coffee District in Delray Beach, FL.

The Coffee District
325 NE 2nd Avenue #104
Delray Beach, FL 33444
561.455.0541
www.MyCoffeeDistrict.com
Twitter @coffeedistrict

This is one of my go to bars that I frequent very often. In my opinion it is sort-a the hidden gem of craft beer in the local area. Coffee District is located just off Atlantic Ave in the heart of Delray Beach, specifically Pineapple Grove.

The Coffee District is home to over 120 different bottles of craft beer as well as 6 rotating tap selections that always lead me to the same question…How Did They Get This?!? They also have limited food offerings and a full coffee/tea bar. Starbucks eat your heart out!

Chung the Owner of the bar is just as much of a beer geek as the rest of his staff. Ultra friendly, everyone there is willing to educate, talk, and most importantly serve (21+ of course!) you some of the best beer available in the area. I have NEVER heard anyone complain about the service which they have received from Chung and his staff.

Yep, small place in the heart of Delray Beach, prices must be pretty high huh?!? Nope! In all fairness the prices at the Coffee District are not much higher than the prices you will find at any major retailer. Which is amazing for a bar!

There are weekly events that you can check out for yourself over on their website. I personally recommend the Monday Night Craft Beer Meetups. This is a re-occurring event that brings some heavy hitters out on a weekly basis. Price?! Well technically its free, yep FREE! Come in bring your rare beers to share. While I recommend buying something you can always just tip the staff for helping out if your not in the mood to purchase anything.

Karaoke and Open Mic nights are also a blast. Once again the cost….Free!

So to sum it all up; A small laid-back coffee shop and beer bar, located in the heart of Delray, fair prices, great events, great selection of beer (draft and bottle), and a friendly staff….Yep thats The Coffee District!

The only hang up might be limited parking, but I have never had an issue with it. There are quite a few parking lots in the area that are usually empty.

I’ll see yah at Coffee District!

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!