County’s first gastro pub, a type of bar/restaurant that serves high-end beer and food and conceptually traces its origins to Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s England. Opened in early 2012, the Fishale features a wide variety of hand-crafted beers. “We have 65 different beers on tap from breweries anywhere from Oregon to southern Florida,” says General Manager Sean Palamarczuk. “We also have a brewmaster on hand every Tuesday who brings one of his own beers for tasting. Every week it’s a different beer.” Uncle Ernie’s Bayfront Grill and Brewhouse on St. Andrews Bay dates from 1993. Housed in a historic late 1800s building, the establishment offers a variety of craft beers, including three “homemade” that are actually produced by the SweetWater Brewery in Atlanta. General Manager Lee Clarke explains that SweetWater allows the restaurant to name the beers as its own. The establishment additionally offers 12 craft beers on tap, as well as a selection of other beers.
Raising the (Underground) Bar
people can be proud of; beer made locally, if well received, spreads the word about a town. There is much community that can be built around a good local beer brand, and all the peripheral things that go along with that.” The Fermentation Lounge on All Saints Street has been around more than four years. A retro-style neighborhood bar in a quasi-residential district, the Fermentation offers a rotating selection of 12 craft beers on tap, as well as an extensive assortment of bottled beers. “We stock craft beers from all over the country and the world,” says General Manager Andrew “Ace” Evans. “Whatever we can get our hands on we put here and rotate constantly. Our bottle menu can reach up to 100 to 200, depending on how many bottles we can fit at the time.” The Fermentation also produces a limited amount of craft beer onsite. “Sometimes during a month we might pop out two beers, or we might take a break, like now where we’re on a four-month hiatus,” Evans says. “During a given year, I estimate we produce 10 to 12 craft beers.” And demand for craft beer? “It’s constantly increasing,” Evans says, adding that the establishment will feature German beers on tap and discounted drinks during Oktoberfest.
Panama City Up and Coming Panama City doesn’t have brewpubs or microbreweries per se, although RateBeer, a worldwide consumer website dedicated to craft beer and craftbeer culture, identifies two locations. One is the Fishale Taphouse and Grille, which bills itself as Bay
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october – November 2013
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850businessmagazine.com
It really wasn’t that long ago when the term “homebrew” might have evoked images of moonshiners distilling “white lightning” in remote rural areas while remaining ever wary of federal government agents known as “revenuers.” But for at least the past 30 years, there have been some bold homebrew innovators proudly involved in what they will tell you is “zymurgy.” Defined as “the branch of chemistry concerned with fermentation processes in brewing,” Mike Nelson of Fort Walton Beach is quick to mention it is also the last word in the dictionary. Nelson is president of Homebrewers Underground Emerald Coast Florida, which deliberately shares its HBU acronym with the term “Hop Bittering Units.” This club has been around since the early 1980s. Sometimes referred to as “a drinking club with a brewing problem,” it has about 30 dues-paying members who live anywhere from Navarre to Ponce de Leon. “Everything in the craft has gotten better,” Nelson says, “mainly because of the availability of ingredients. Any brewer can go Internet shopping for supplies at 3 a.m., and we do it. Anything you can want your beer to taste like, you can make it happen.” Anything? “Quite a few of us have tried garlic beer,” Nelson replies with a chuckle. “It sounds like a good idea, but some things just don’t work.” But while some homebrewers enjoy bonding and sharing, others find a certain appeal in doing things on their own, without joining a club. Someone like Luke Girman is an example of this generation on the rise. Girman is beer manager at Chan’s Wine World in Destin. Introduced to homebrewing by a fraternity brother at Bowling Green State University, Girman has been making his own beer for nearly four years. In that time he’s produced more than three dozen five-gallon batches, ranging from ambers to stouts to an Irish red and a vanilla porter. “But no India Pale Ales or pale ales — that’s not my style,” he says. A five-gallon batch can cost anywhere from $20 to $60 to produce and the process can take from four weeks to two-and-a-half months. Basic ingredients are available in kits and involve grain (barley, rice, wheat or rye), yeast and hops.
Photos by SCOTT HOLSTEIN