Craft beer takes center stage at Annual Taste in Inverness Event.

Craft beer takes center stage at revamped 'The Taste' in Inverness, Florida.

The Citrus County Beer Experience will offer unlimited samplings at the food and beverage showcase

The City of Inverness has revamped its annual Taste of Inverness in 2017 to enhance the enjoyment of residents and visitors. The premier addition to what is now called The Taste is the Citrus County Beer Experience, a massive tent under which a wide variety of craft beers from regional breweries and home brewing clubs will be available for unlimited sampling.

The Taste will take place Saturday, April 8, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Liberty Park, 286 N. Apopka Ave., Inverness, Florida, and will benefit the Citrus County Education Foundation.

Local entrepreneurs Kemper Willcut and LouAnn Jacobs, owners of Pine Street Pub and The Cove Pub and Grub, both in Inverness, collaborated with the City of Inverness in conceiving the idea of integrating craft beer into the annual showcase. And it won’t be the last time the Citrus County Beer Experience tent will be raised.

“The Beer Experience was put together specifically to coordinate and conduct beer events throughout Citrus County and the Central Florida area,” Willcut says.

And the homebrew clubs participating will be entering their brews into a judged competition for prize packages.

“I want the homebrewers to be a big part of this,” Willcut says. “We are giving away cash prizes and awards — that’s a big deal. “  

Those prizes are:

·            1st place:  $100 cash plus $100 gift certificate from Pine Street Pub

·            2nd place:  $50 cash plus $50 gift certificate from Pine Street Pub

·            3rd place:  $30 cash plus $30 gift certificate from Pine Street Pub

Those attending who wish to participate without sampling the craft beer will be able to enter the festival for only $5 to enjoy music from local bands, an art show and a la carte food sampling from at least 10 local restaurants and 10 specialty food trucks. None of the food offerings will cost more than $6, and beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

But craft beer fans who want the full Citrus County Beer Experience will pay only $20 more for unlimited sampling of the commercial and home brews throughout The Taste.

These are the commercial breweries already confirmed as participating. More will be added:

Florida breweries

·            Cigar City Brewing (Tampa)

·            Copp Brewery (Crystal River)

·            Nature Coast Brewing Co. (Crystal River)

·            Infinite Ale Works (Ocala)

·            Swamp Head Brewery (Gainesville)

·            Backyard Barn Winery & Microbrewery (Wildwood)

·            Brooksville Brewing Company (Spring Hill)

·            Miami Brewing Co. (Homestead)

·            Funky Buddha Brewery (Oakland Park)

·            Barley Mow Brewing Company (Largo)

·            Green Bench Brewing Co. (St. Petersburg)

Other breweries

·            New Belgium Brewing

·            Samuel Adams

·            Sweetwater Brewing Company

·            Abita Brewing Company

·            Terrapin Beer Co.

·            Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

·            Founders Brewing Company

·            Left Hand Brewing Company

·            Oskar Blues Brewery

·            Guinness

Plus numerous local homebrewing clubs.

WHAT: The Beer Experience at The Taste beer & food festival

WHERE: Liberty Park, 286 N. Apopka Ave., Inverness, Florida

WHEN: Saturday, April 8, 3 to 8 p.m.

WHY: Food, beer and fun! Plus, a portion of proceeds will benefit the Citrus County Education Foundation. Its mission is to support Citrus County public schools in order to enhance learning and improve personal development for present and future generations.

HOW MUCH: $5 for admission to the festival; $25 includes general admission and unlimited sampling of craft beers.

INFORMATION: TasteofInverness.com

Kidney Fest 2016

Kidney Fest, a Homebrew & Craft Beer fundraiser to benefit Jeannie's Kidney Fund, will take place this Saturday (9/24) from 3-8pm at Marker 48 Brewing in Weeki Wachee, FL. This is the third charity beer fest in two years to contribute to Jeannie's Kidney Fund.

Tickets are $25 prior to the event ($30 at the door) and include unlimited samples of over 60 different homebrew & craft beers. To purchase tickets visit jeannieskidneyfund.com, or stop into Marker 48.

This year's festival includes a SMaSH (Single Malt, Single Hop) beer competition in which participating brewers will have their SMaSH concoctions judged by a panel of judges (of which I have the pleasure of being a part) and the winning beer will be awarded a hand-carved wooden trophy signifying their smashing success (see image below)!

The festival will also include raffle prizes, auctions, food trucks, and live music! 

All proceeds from this event will help with ongoing medical costs resulting from Jeannie's kidney transplant surgery.

Join in on the discussion and receive updates on the beers and special auction items by viewing the Facebook Event Page for Kidney Fest.

Kidney Fest Beer/Brewery List

Jeannie’s Kidney Fund Summary

Jeannie was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease aka Kidney Failure and was on daily dialysis for 9 hours a day, every day.

While waiting for a transplant donor, Jeannie's son,Eric, bravely signed up to donate his kidney to another family in exchange for one given to Jeannie. Thankfully, Jeannie received a successful transplant on March 4th, 2015!

This fund for Jeannie is established to help offset some of the expenses incurred with the transplant procedure and lifelong recovery.

Florida SMaSH Beer Festival - July 30, 2016

Inaugural Florida SMaSH Beer Festival 2016

Central Florida Breweries Unite to Benefit Charity with Single Malt and Single Hop brewing

The Hourglass Brewery, in conjunction with Florida Craft and the City of Longwood, FL are hosting the inaugural Florida SMaSH Beer Festival on July 30^th, 2016 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The event features over 20 breweries from around Central Florida and all proceeds benefit The Sharing Center of Longwood.

This event will not only unite brewers from across Florida, but it will showcase the true craft and talents of the breweries. Although each brewer will concoct a beer using the same single malt and single hop, the brewers have free reign to brew any kind of beer they choose. Festival goers will have the opportunity to sample each brewer’s SMaSH beer, getting a taste of the true variety and spectrum of flavors and styles that can come from the same base ingredients.

Tickets are available at www.floridasmashbeerfestival.com for $30.00.

With roughly 50 beers to sample, including one-offs from every brewery involved, there will be something to please everyone. All proceeds will benefit the Sharing Center, so this is the perfect chance to enjoying some delicious craft beer while supporting a great cause. Attendees will also have the opportuity to vote for their favorite SMaSH beer and the winning brewery will have the honor of taking home the first-ever Florida SMaSH Beer Festival trophy!

The City of Longwood and Hourglass has worked to ensure the event is a success. The event will have a large canopy to provide shade and a place to rest from the summer heat. There will also be plenty of port-a-potties on site (anyone who has ever attended a beer fest knows the toilet situation is almost as important as anything else).

Florida SMaSH Beer Festival Brewery and Beer List

See below for a list of participating breweries and the specific SMaSH beer they’re bringing to the festival. Samples are not limited to the beers below; many of the breweries will be pouring other offerings at their respective booths.

• Barley Mow Brewing Co. - Double IPA
• Bear and Peacock -  Belgian Golden
• Black Cauldron Brewing -  Apricot Belgian IPA
• Bowigens Beer Company - American Style Barleywine
• Broken Strings -  American IPA
• Bugnutty Brewing company -  Specialty Fruit Beer
• Cask & Larder - American Pale Ale
• Central 28 Beer Co. - California Common Inspired
• Deadly Sins Brewing - Saison
• Hourglass Brewing - Golden Strong Ale
• Intracoastal Brewing Co. - Dry Hopped Sour Blonde
• Marker 48 Brewing – Kettle Soured Honey Cream Ale w/cherries (+ two surprise SMaSH beers)
• Musquito County Brewing -  “Berliner-esque” fruited Sour Ale
• New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company - Fruit Beer
• Ocean Sun Brewing - Saison
• Orlando Brewing - Organic IPA
• Overflow Brewing Company – Berliner treated with tea (not a part of the SMaSH submissions)
• Red Cypress Brewery -Late Hopped Pale ale
• Reprise Brewing - Fruit Beer/Fruit Cocktail
• Wolf Branch Brewing Co. - German Pilsner
• Wop’s Hops Brewing  - Belgium Ale W/ Lychee (+ three surprise SMaSH beers)

Weekly Wednesday Winner Announcement!

Every Wednesday, I will be giving away a free ticket to the Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Fest, held on May 16 from 6pm-9pm. Tickets are limited to just the first 2500 tickets, so the event will definitely sell out!

Over the past few days, dozens of you have entered into the drawing by subscribing to the Beer Apostle Blog. And now is the moment you've been waiting for!

This week's winner is.... [drum roll....awkward silence....break for commercial....]

Congratulations to Erik F.! You are this week's random winner! Please check your email for details on how to claim your FREE ticket to the beer fest!

To everyone else who didn't win today, fear not! There will be a new next Wednesday! Also, I will be giving away random tickets on my Twitter and Facebook pages. So, if you don't already follow me on social media, now's your time to do so!

To read up on all the important information and details for the beer fest, click here.

Good luck and thanks for supporting this site! Cheers!

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Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Fest 2014

What: Largest Beer Festival in Northeast Florida
When: May 16th. VIP admission 5pm-9pm; General Admission 6pm-9pm
Where: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Tickets: $40-$100. (See below for more info and how you can win a FREE ticket)

The Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Festival is my favorite Jax event of the year! Breweries from all over the country and a few from around the world pile into all three levels of the Arena to share unlimited samples with all who attend the event.

The Beer Fest will include over 350 beers from over 45 breweries. The festival sold out last year (4500) tickets. This is important to know because this year, the event is limited to just 2500 tickets. That's 2000 fewer tickets than last year, for the same great selection of beer and breweries!

This year, I have the pleasure of giving away free tickets, and will be providing several opportunities for YOU to attend the event on me! I'll even throw in a VIP ticket or two ($55 value) from time to time. So pay attention, boys and girls. Here's how you can win:

Starting today and every week leading up to May 16, I will be giving away FREE tickets to the event. All you have to do is enter your email address where it says "Subscribe" on the top right of this site. I have a cute little graphic for my visual learners out there:

And don't worry, subscribing to my blog won't fill your inbox with spam or junk. But instead, you'll receive every new article and review that I write straight to your email. How convenient is that?

But wait, there's more...

You can multiply your chances of winning by following me on Twitter and Facebook. I'll run various promotions on social media that will give you chances to score free tickets simply by liking and retweeting!

Here's the rest of the information that you'll want to know:

Tickets for this event are "all inclusive".  All food & beer samples are free with paid admission.  

There is NO beer for sale at this event.  Sampling only.  The Arena's concession stand will be open for soda and other food items at their normal costs if patrons so desire to purchase these items.

General Admission Guests Receive:  $40
• Entry into the event(6-9pm)
• 5oz Beer Sampling glass*
• Silent Auction
• Sampling of beverages and food
• Music Acts

VIP Guests Receive:  $55
• Entry into the event(5-9pm)
• 5oz Beer Sampling glass*
• Sampling of beverages and food
• Music Acts
• 1  extra hour at the event
• Access to limited and high-end beers not available to general admission.

ULTRA VIP Guests Receive: $100
• Entry into the event(5-9pm, 1 hour earlier than general admission tickets)
• Food not available to other ticket levels
• Special samplings of exclusive beer not available to other ticket levels
• Opportunity to bid on exclusive items at our silent auction
• Opportunity to meet people from the brewery industry
• All other items and access available to VIP tickets and general admission tickets

*Only the 1st 2500 participants are guaranteed a collectible sample glass.

I hope to see many of you there! Cheers!