Ron left shipyard to brew at the new Cask & Larder opening this summer |
Originally posted by Ibrew2or3
There’s only so much the amazing Solan can do. He is why we drove for beer!
Shipyard Emporium has got the goods. Any chance they’ll scale up?
Doubtful, the Ravenous Pig hired Ron Raike to become the brewmaster for their new restaurant, I have a hunch that Shipyard may not be long for the world.
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I lived in Orlando for two years before moving back to Tampa in 08. The real difference that I have seen is the number of people here (retailers, restaurants, pubs, breweries, etc.) that want to carry craft beer, that want to know about craft beer, and that actually like craft beer themselves.
You’re absolutely right with Knightly and Redlight, they are by far the gems of Orlando. I remember taking my buddy on a brew tour of Orlando, and stopping at several places and the best beer we could find was Terrapin Rye or some Abita something-or-other and the girl who was serving it knew nothing about craft beer. Then when I came over to Tampa and he reciprocated, not only did they have oak-aged big hoppy monster at Mellow Mushroom, but Andy was behind the bar and he was getting everyone in the place excited about it. Then there was Tony at OTH who had one keg of a rare Belgian he was raving about and he shared a Westy 8 for the fun of it, hell I would even say that the original World of Beer in Westchase was pouring good beer when they first opened, before they became what they currently are- they used to be boosters of good beer instead of hangers-on. Even the retailers are (were) interested, Jimmy at Leukens, Deepak at Kingdom, Savino at World of Beer retail; they all drank the beer in addition to selling it, and they love to talk about it with you. They made connections and built loyalty that way. Back in Orlando at that time, if I went anywhere that didn’t have a Brent, TJ, or SoLan, then I was on my own. Total Wine couldn’t find their ass with two hands and a flashlight. There was also no discernible pattern of who got great beer and when, aside from the aforementioned gems. Few people are there to help people new to craft beer find what a beer will really enjoy and keep coming back for. At least I didn’t- I lived out east almost to Bithlo, and if I didn’t go to Rollins I would not be at Redlight, and Knightly was a hike from there, too. Keep in mind this was 2006-08.
I have to agree with James that has to go back to the distributors, and they are excited about craft beer, too. They are the ones bringing in the good beer to serve in these places. I will tell you whenever I had a question and the brewery referred me to the distributor in Orlando, I got no response and just gave up. In Tampa, with JJ, that is not the case, plus if I had distributor questions, Matt was on the forums and he usually answered them before I could even write an email.
In the case of Orlando Brewing, I don’t really have any positive experiences or comments, and I think we all agree about them.
In any case, I think the situation you’re describing has left Orlando RIPE for a kick-ass brewery to come in, claim the town, and restore the glory. |
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Also think about the turnover we’ve had at our local distributors here. Things were growing when we had Mike Wallace at Schenck, Mike Smith at Florida Micro, and Troy at Microman. Troy is the only one still running the craft show for his employer, and he does a damn good job. The departure of Mike Wallace killed Schenck’s craft division, though his initial replacement (forgot the guys name) did a good job for a while. Florida Micro seemed to sink a ton of resources into the Shipyard Empourium, and lost Mike Smith because of it.
While other markets have gained good beer people, we seemed to chase some off. |
Originally posted by MlhopeTC
Originally posted by Beerlando
Agreed...though there are a couple of other elements that must be present for it to be sustainable; 1) brewing talent and 2) business savvy. Absent the seemingly endless deep pockets that Orlando Brewing seems to have, you gotta be supremely talented to last. Just like a bad restaurant, if you’re a bad brewer, you’re not gonna be around long. Talent plus business savvy plus hard work translates into success in virtually all industries. Joey recognized this early on and hired Wayne away from Foothills. If he hadn’t done so, pairing a supreme brewing talent with his business savvy, would CCB be where it is today? Not likely.
Well if you or anyone else knows a talented enough brewer who would be interested in a start up brewery, I know a talented businessman and marketing guru. 
And I agree, the only reason Cigar City turned into what it did so quickly is because of the buzz that the men behind it created. There is absolutely no reason why Orlando couldn’t at least support a small brewery like 7venth Sun. Demand would not even be an issue IMO.
CCB’s success can’t be simply contributed to buzz. I contribute it to a good vision, and staying local. They started off making kegs for local distribution, and they stayed active locally. Get in local bars, and get local people drinking your beer. Then invest, and grow, while continuing to stay local.
It didn’t hurt that they made damn good beer, and allowed a portion of their business to cater to the growing community of beer nerds. |
Originally posted by GodOfThunder
Originally posted by MlhopeTC
Originally posted by Beerlando
Agreed...though there are a couple of other elements that must be present for it to be sustainable; 1) brewing talent and 2) business savvy. Absent the seemingly endless deep pockets that Orlando Brewing seems to have, you gotta be supremely talented to last. Just like a bad restaurant, if you’re a bad brewer, you’re not gonna be around long. Talent plus business savvy plus hard work translates into success in virtually all industries. Joey recognized this early on and hired Wayne away from Foothills. If he hadn’t done so, pairing a supreme brewing talent with his business savvy, would CCB be where it is today? Not likely.
Well if you or anyone else knows a talented enough brewer who would be interested in a start up brewery, I know a talented businessman and marketing guru.
And I agree, the only reason Cigar City turned into what it did so quickly is because of the buzz that the men behind it created. There is absolutely no reason why Orlando couldn’t at least support a small brewery like 7venth Sun. Demand would not even be an issue IMO.
CCB’s success can’t be simply contributed to buzz. I contribute it to a good vision, and staying local. They started off making kegs for local distribution, and they stayed active locally. Get in local bars, and get local people drinking your beer. Then invest, and grow, while continuing to stay local.
It didn’t hurt that they made damn good beer, and allowed a portion of their business to cater to the growing community of beer nerds.
I shouldn’t have worded it like that. Damn good beer and a very good businessman who knew how to create demand and then spread interest is how I should have worded it |
Originally posted by markwise
I lived in Orlando for two years before moving back to Tampa in 08. The real difference that I have seen is the number of people here (retailers, restaurants, pubs, breweries, etc.) that want to carry craft beer, that want to know about craft beer, and that actually like craft beer themselves.
You’re absolutely right with Knightly and Redlight, they are by far the gems of Orlando. I remember taking my buddy on a brew tour of Orlando, and stopping at several places and the best beer we could find was Terrapin Rye or some Abita something-or-other and the girl who was serving it knew nothing about craft beer. Then when I came over to Tampa and he reciprocated, not only did they have oak-aged big hoppy monster at Mellow Mushroom, but Andy was behind the bar and he was getting everyone in the place excited about it. Then there was Tony at OTH who had one keg of a rare Belgian he was raving about and he shared a Westy 8 for the fun of it, hell I would even say that the original World of Beer in Westchase was pouring good beer when they first opened, before they became what they currently are- they used to be boosters of good beer instead of hangers-on. Even the retailers are (were) interested, Jimmy at Leukens, Deepak at Kingdom, Savino at World of Beer retail; they all drank the beer in addition to selling it, and they love to talk about it with you. They made connections and built loyalty that way. Back in Orlando at that time, if I went anywhere that didn’t have a Brent, TJ, or SoLan, then I was on my own. Total Wine couldn’t find their ass with two hands and a flashlight. There was also no discernible pattern of who got great beer and when, aside from the aforementioned gems. Few people are there to help people new to craft beer find what a beer will really enjoy and keep coming back for. At least I didn’t- I lived out east almost to Bithlo, and if I didn’t go to Rollins I would not be at Redlight, and Knightly was a hike from there, too. Keep in mind this was 2006-08.
I have to agree with James that has to go back to the distributors, and they are excited about craft beer, too. They are the ones bringing in the good beer to serve in these places. I will tell you whenever I had a question and the brewery referred me to the distributor in Orlando, I got no response and just gave up. In Tampa, with JJ, that is not the case, plus if I had distributor questions, Matt was on the forums and he usually answered them before I could even write an email.
In the case of Orlando Brewing, I don’t really have any positive experiences or comments, and I think we all agree about them.
In any case, I think the situation you’re describing has left Orlando RIPE for a kick-ass brewery to come in, claim the town, and restore the glory.
Man, you nailed it. Combined with J’s comments on our distributor turnover, this is EXACTLY the way I feel about the whole situation. It is no coincidence that the few places that "get it" and care are the ones doing killer business.
I’d love to see a hungry distributor come in here and shake up the market. I hoped 12% Imports might make some waves, but it seems like he’s pretty much disappeared. As J noted, FL Micro is too closely tied with Shipyard, IMO. Schenck/Brown/Reyes/FL Beer/Whatever-the-hell-its-called-now is a Miller house at heart and we lost our internal cheerleader when Mike Wallace left.
I’ve got a few clients and connections that might have the resources to make a brewery happen, but the problem is they aren’t beer people. I feel like the owner and driving force behind a brewery HAS TO BE passionate about it for it to work. Joey’s beer a beer geek forever. Sam C at Dogfish, Jim K at Sam Adams, Fritz at Anchor.....on and on....all beer geeks themselves. The people I know with the money to do something wouldn’t fuel the fire. |
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I agree with the "beer people" comment. Without a deep passion you will most likely end up with mediocre results. |
Originally posted by mgumby10
When Gumby left Orlando, it’s like the Colts without Peyton...just no star power anymore.
Pretty much my thoughts. |
Originally posted by Degarth
Originally posted by mgumby10
When Gumby left Orlando, it’s like the Colts without Peyton...just no star power anymore.
Pretty much my thoughts.
+1
Gumby’s a superstar! |
