I’m always very happy when breweries take time to celebrate and honor great local people with their beers. One such beer I the chance to sample was Concrete Beach Brewing’s Julia (Barleywine, 9% ABV), named for the indomitable Julia Tuttle.
Ms. Tuttle’s story is a remarkable one of perseverance, business savvy, and forward thinking. Thanks to her, we now have the city of Miami.
I am fully aware of exactly how important the show Miami Vice was to the cultural identity of Miami and Miami-Dade County. In many ways, Miami never really left the cocaine-fueled 8o’s behind.
It’s just interesting that 1) So many people use plays on Miami Vice for their beers and 2) Few of them are in Miami-Dade.
MIA Brewing is. And that lends a bit of gravitas to their Miami Weiss (Hefeweizen, 5.8% ABV).
And just like that, a ghost from the past is brought back to vibrant life.
On Sunday, March 22nd, Concrete Beach Brewing premiered their oldest new beer, Cerveza La Tropical. This beer was the first brewed in Cuba, and comprised up to 60% of Cuban beer sales before it became a victim of Castro’s regime.
The Green Monster is the legendary left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox. It’s over 37 feet tall and was a part of the original construction in 1912. Originally covered in advertisements, it obtained its green color in 1947.
It’s also a bit frightening to batters, since clearing the wall requires an exceptionally powerful and skilled hit.
I’m not sure if Jonathan Wakefield is from Boston, but somehow it’s apropos that this particularly infamous wall served as the inspiration for Green Monstah (IPA, 6% ABV, 70 IBU).
Green Monstah by J. Wakefield Brewing
Many of you know that Miami’s Concrete Beach Brewery will, on occasion, hold a contest where beer drinkers are invited to submit recipes for beers. One of those recipes are selected, and the winner gets to brew that recipe of Concrete Beach’s gorgeous system.
While nothing may match the sheer majesty and breathtaking glory of the first winning beer (just saying), Ft. Lauderdale resident Will Isaacson won with his submission of a whiskey-soaked kumquat sour ale.
The whiskey barrel aging may not have happened immediately, but the rest of the beer is ready to go in CBB’s Wynwood social hall as Que Quat (Berliner Weisse, 3.5% ABV).
Que Quat Berliner Weisse by Concrete Beach Brewing
It’s not that you have to like Star Wars to visit J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami’s Wynwood district, but it does help to clarify a lot of what you’re seeing.
It’s pink. Like, vibrant pink. One of my daughter’s onesies pink.
That is generally the first reaction when one lays eyes on the venerable Dragon Fruit Passionfruit Berliner Weisse (Berliner Weisse, 3.5% ABV) from Miami’s J. Wakefield Brewing.
In July of 1733, a fleet of 21 ships set sail from Havana to the port of Cadiz in Spain. Named the Plate fleet, the ships carried assorted cargo, such as indigo, silver pesos, fine porcelain from China, and dyes bound for the Spanish.
One of those ships was the Nuestra Senora de las Angustias, a 329-ton merchant ship laden with 4 cannons and a full crew complement.
