Florida Brewers Guild

CMDR SAAZ

CMDR’s Mini Florida Beer Festival

We live in Florida and we all like beer.

Check out what’s available in our own back yard!

On Friday, October 9th Commander SAAZ will be hosting a "Mini Florida Beer Festival" at our hospitality suite at the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach

For the bargain price of $10 per person you can check out what our own Florida breweries are producing. Let’s embrace the "Think Globally. Drink Locally." philosophy.

On tap beers from:

 Bold City Brewery
 Charlie & Jake’s
 Cigar City
 Florida Beer Company
 Holy Mackerel
 OBP LLC
 Swamp Head Brewery
 And that might just be enough!

Heavy munchies will be provided by The Broken Barrel Tavern of Palm Bay.

Tickets available at club functions, on site and via the SAAZ webpage www.saaz.org

Sunshine Challenge

Central Florida Home Brewers, Inc. would like to invite you to our weekend of pure fun and beer! Sunshine Challenge is a homebrew competition in conjunction with many events and seminar, Nov. 12-14th.

The location is the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites across from Universal Orlando at 5905 Kirkman Road, Orlando 32819. Thursday night starts the weekend with Belgium and Cheese Tasting, Friday Judging during the day and then we are having the Beer Festival on Nov. 13th - yes, Friday the 13th this year. If you have never attended, this is the year for you! The expected attendance is 150-200 to show off your product to consumers. The festival will be inside - air conditioning in the main ballroom so we have enough room for all vendors to attend. Tables, dinner and ice will be provided. Please let me know the pourers names, how many tables and ice needed by your company.

We hope you stay and enjoy Saturday beginning with Bob Hansen of Briess seminar, Judging home brews, Pub Crawl at 2P and ending with our Awards Dinner Banquet.

For more details on the weekend, review CFHB website: www.cfhb.org/sunshine

Welcome to Florida Cocoa Beach Brewing Company

The Florida Brewers Guild would like to extend a warm Sunshine State welcome to it's newest member, Cocoa Beach Brewing Company. Chris McCall, President and Brewer, is brewing 12 gallon batches of unique beers served on premise at 150 N Atlantic Ave in Cocoa Beach. His most recent offering, Just Some Oatmeal Stout, is a complex brew hopped continuously throughout the boil with Fuggles (one of my personal favorite hops).

So, if you're going out to Cocoa Beach to do some surfing or sunbathing, don't forget to stop by and taste some ales, you never know what'll be coming out next. Cheers Chris, we're looking forward to many great brews!

-FBG staff

Mount Dora Brewing LLC is almost on line.

Mount Dora Brewing has almost finshed the paperwork prosess of opening their brewery. They are hopeful that it will be open by the end of the year. Their plan is to sell on premise their beer as well as all comercialy available Florida Craft Brewed beer and several local wines as well.

We're looking forward to your success, Jeff! Hopefuly you have beer ready for our annual festival in Ybor.

Cheers!
-FBG Staff

Action Alert!!

You have heard it said by many of us at one point or another "beer for your health" in one way or another, but I don't believe that any of us meant that the federal government should increase the federal tax on beer by 145% to pay for national health care.

The industry has managed to keep going after a simultaneous malt and hop price increase, by absorbing a large portion of the increase choosing to pass as little as possible on to the consumer. Tax increases of this proportion are almost certain to affect business for many craft brewers, and whether you enjoy a beer now and again or not, in an economic climate as we have today, society truely cannot afford any more lost jobs.

The proposed increases would ammount to nearly $2 per 6 pack. Please take the time to contact your senators and politely, directly and concisely ask them not to support these increases. Follow up with telephone calls, and again, please be courteous. Florida's own Bill Nelson sits on the finance committee, and since they are the ones deliberating on the benefits of a tax increase, that would be a great place to start. His office may be reached at 202-224-5274.

On the other hand, the house introduced HR 836 in February that would actualy cut the exise tax on beer, and the senate has also introduced an identical bill (S. 1058) so while you are making those calls, contact your representatives as well and ask them to support these bills. Together we can make a difference!

Please see the following links for more info on this story and contact info for your legislators.

US Senate

US House of Representatives

NY Post article

thedailytimes.com article

beer advocate article

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