Apple Jack Ale -- The Second Coming!

It is with great pleasure to announce that on August 17th we will be pouring Apple Jack Ale at Cervezas South Miami. Apple Jack first debuted at The United Way Wine & Food Festival's Brew and Bites. It was an instant hit. We had hundreds of people asking for it by name and as you can expect was the first keg to kick.

So what is it that makes AJA a cult favorite? Ingredients.

The grain bill for AJA features a majority pale malt with light crystals. It uses 5% honey malt. This complements what we call the "Big 3," Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Apple Essence.

We add fresh crushed cinnamon sticks and split vanilla beans at the end of the boil, secondary fermentation, and at kegging. Apple Essence is added at kegging and rounds out the flavor.

The name "Apple Jack Ale" came from the glorious aromas of boiling this beer. It smelled as if we shoved our noses in a bowl of Apple Jacks Cereal. So you essentially are drinking apple pie in a glass.

Be sure to stop by Cervezas and try some.

Meet The Brewer: Le Richárd Licursi

Q. When did you begin home brewing?

A. Freshman in college with a Mr. Beer kit.

Q. Which beer brought you over to the craft beer side?

A. Sam Adams brews at first.

Q. Which beer style is your specialty/favorite beer to brew?

A. Belgian

Q. If you were stranded on an island that had a mysterious way of keeping beverages cold and could only drink one beer what would it be?

A. La Fin du Monde, Unibroue brewery

Q. Do you believe in any brewing superstitions or have any strange brewing tendencies?

A. Brew only on days that end in "Y", unless you will get sour beer. I really don’t know of any lol.

Q.How do you feel about the South Florida beer scene?

A. There are a few great places to enjoy some of your favorite beer, but you really have to look.

Q. Best Brewery/Brew pub/Beer bar you've visited.

A. The Pike Brewery in Seattle, WA

Q. What's the biggest mistake you've made while brewing?

A. While putting the Immersion chiller in the wort, I didn't tighten the hose to the chiller properly so water from the hose started pouring into my already cooling off wort.

Q. Any advice for new homebrewers?

A. Sanitize as well as you can.

Q. Favorite music to brew to?

A. Reggae

Q. Other hobbies beside homebrewing?

A. Surfing

Q. If you could share a pint with someone past or present who would it be?

A. Andy Irons

Q. What's on the "to-brew" list?

A. Mango IPA

Meet The Brewer: Nick "The Hop Father" Armada

Q: When did you begin home brewing?

A: I began brewing in Aug. of 2010 during my brewing fundamentals course in FIU.

Q: Which beer brought you over to the craft beer side?

A: My first craft beer was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but the beer that turned me into a craft beer man was DFH Aprihop.

Q: Which beer style is your specialty/favorite beer to brew?

A: My brewing specialty is IPA, as my brewing buddies have told me if they need a hoppy ale made they can count on me.

Q: If you were stranded on an island that had a mysterious way of keeping beverages cold and could only drink one beer what would it be?

A: I would take some Widmer Nelson

imperial Ipa

Q: Do you believe in any brewing superstitions or have any strange brewing tendencies?

A: My brewing superstitions begin and end with a whole lot of hops. The more the better.

Q: How do you feel about the South Florida beer scene?

A: The South Florida beer scene is in its infancy but I have faith that we will one day have brewing eyes upon us.

Q: Best Brewery/ Brew pub/ Beer bar you've visited.

A: Best Brewery brew pub would have to be Titanic Brew Pub by default. Bar would be Cervezas.

Q: What's the biggest mistake you've made while brewing?

A: Biggest brewing mistake was not taking sanitation as serious as it is.

Q: Any advice for new homebrewers?

A: Start brewing asap. Move up to all-grain right after.

Q: Favorite music to brew to?

A: I typically dont listen to music while brewing however some Jimmy Buffet would work.

Q: Other hobbies beside homebrewing?

A: I am an avid fisherman and I hold my own in the kitchen.

Q: If you could share a pint with someone past or present who would it be?

A: Dr. John Ewald Siebel

Q: What's on the "to-brew" list?

A: Dogfish Head Aprihop Clone with and without Apricots, Imperial Red.

Just a taste...

We here at BrewFIU are always hard at work bringing you only the best.
Last Wednesday we had an impromptu tasting of Apple Jacks Original, 2.0, and 3.0.

Here are a few teaser shots:

Fresh Beer Inc, Cervezas Randallize South Miami

On the night of May 16th Cervezas in South Miami had ounces upon ounces of green sticky buds packed in a large tube. No, this wasn't in the back alley. Fresh Beer Inc. along with Cervezas celebrated Craft Beer Week yesterday by filling two Randalls with two different hop varieties and infusing Avery and Stone IPA's with fresh hop aroma. The event was dubbed Night of 1000 IBU's and certainly stood up to its name.

Randall the Enamal Animal is a type of inline filter in which beer floods a chamber full of hops and strips the hops of their incredible aroma. Avery IPA was poured through centennial hops while Stone IPA was poured

through warrior hops. Centennial hops have an average alpha acid level of 9-12% and are very citrusy and floral. Warrior on the other hand typically has 15-17% alpha acids and is an earthy, spicy, hop. I felt that both hops lend themselves well to the beers poured through them.

For more information on local beer events during American Craft Beer Week visit Fresh Beer Inc.

Brew at the Zoo

As dusk set in, animals at the zoo began to retire for the night. Gorillas climbed into their grass beds, vultures perched on their roosts. Meanwhile, another breed of animals began to migrate around the entrance of the zoo to willingly be taken into the confines of captivity. The "Party Animal" or Drinksalota Brewskis is a common species that imbibes in plentiful drink.

Miami New Times Second Annual Brew at the Zoo was an enormous event. Thousands of guests poured through the gates to sample a variety of beers. B.R.E.W. FIU definitely showed up to the event. Our line up included a vienna lager, 2 irish red ales, Single Malt and Single Hop, peanut butter chocolate stout, brown ale, IPA20, and an oak aged golden ale. Our crowd pleaser

had to be the hoppy wheat beer in which we ran through a Randall stuffed to the top withamarillo hops. This infused a fresh hop aroma in the final product.

All in all, the 2nd annual Brew at the Zoo was a huge success. Much to our surprise we ran through 45 gallons of homebrewed craft ales within 2 hours! We plan on brewing more beer next year to hopefully quench the masses. One problem that faces the Drinksalota Brewskis is waking up the next morning.

Cheers.

Brew Event: Brew & Bites

A big congratulations is in order for the BREW FIU team. Over the weekend represented at our first event entitled: "Brew & Bites."

Beer of the evening:
Apple Jack Ale. An infusion of apple, cinnomon, and vanilla beans incased in a light ale that took the event by storm!

For those who missed it, we'll have pictures up very soon.

GO B.R.E.W.!