Moving Forward...

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

No matter how we approach life, it keeps moving forward.  Such is the nature of time and our ride along with it.  As such, we now enter the holiday season.  Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I hope you found time to reflect on some of the things in your life you can be thankful for.  I, for one, am very thankful to be surrounded by my family and friends who love and support me.  I am thankful that I have found myself back in a career that challenges and fulfills me.  I am thankful for the friends I have made over the past year in the craft beer community, and how much I have learned.

Thursday of this week is the much-talked-about Tampa City Council meeting that could determine the fate of the Cigar City Tasting Room.  Letters have been written, phone calls have been made, and now it is down to the wire.  It is probably safe to assume that the three who voted "no" will continue to do so even if only out of ego-driven stubbornness.  It is also probably safe to assume that the three "yes" votes will hold, seeing as they are based on logic and common sense.  Which leaves - once again - Charlie Miranda.  Here's to hoping he makes the right decision.

Here is the info about the meeting, as posted by Cigar City:

For anyone planning to attend the City Council meeting where the wet-zoning for the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room will be voted on this is the pertinent information.

Date: Thursday December 2nd 

Time: 10:30 AM

Location: 315 East Kennedy Boulevard (Downtown)

City Hall, 3rd Floor

Tampa, FL 33602

This is a public meeting so anyone may attend and speak if they so choose or just attend to show support. We encourage everyone that has the time to attend. Thanks again for the overwhelming support and well wishes. Win or lose we are humbled by the support from the community and beyond.

Cheers,

Joey Redner and the CCB Staff

If you are in the Tampa Bay area - or are going to be - think about attending if at all possible.  Your support would be greatly appreciated.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
 - Edmund Burke

On A More Positive Note...

"You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime." -Dale Carnegie

The past two days have been a tad wild and emotional in the Tampa Bay craft beer community.  The uproar over the situation with Cigar City Brewing and the Tampa City Council has been loud and passionate.  I know a lot of people have called, written letteers, sent emails, and so on.  The next vote is not until December 2nd, so there is a tendency for our outrage to fade and die down.  Don't let it.  Instead, find out all you can about the issue.  Strip away the hearsay and rumor, and get supportable facts.  The stronger a case we can make - with real solid facts - the harder it is for rational people to refute.  Of course, assuming we are dealing with rational people is a BIG assumption.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer." ~Abraham Lincoln

So, on to the positive!

This weekend is the Fall Beer Festival at the Cajun Cafe on the Bayou.  If you have never been, you have to go.  It is a small event, but you will not find a bad beer in the place.  Paul Unwin - the owner - loves craft beer, and has made it a point to be sure his festival is about enjoying good beer.  Its not about how much you can drink, finding the highest ABV, or being a beer snob.  Its about the beer, and about the people who make it and enjoy it.  You can read more about the event here.  I highly encourage you to attend if you can.

Also, you should check out the following other events over the next week:

• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Celebration at the Pour House in Tampa - Monday, November 15th
• Cigar City Brewery Dinner at SideBern's in Tampa - Tuesday, November 16th
• Any night at Willard's Tap House
• Any night at Oldsmar Tap House
• pick a night... any night... and support your local craft beer scene.

Remember, our goal is to support, promote, and educate.  And by "our" I mean all of us who appreciate the artisanship that is craft beer.  We are not drunken angry mobs.  We are not elitist, exclusionary, snobs.  We come from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and represent countless regions and socio-economic levels.  What we share is a common belief that good beer should be available to those who want to enjoy it responsibly, that craft brewing is a welcome and beneficial addition to any community, and that the world needs to be educated to these facts.

Cheers!

Hell Hath No Fury...

There is nothing like a good political debate to rekindle one's activist spirit, no?  In case you have been living underneath some kind of Prohibition-era rock for the last 24 hours, you have at least heard about the recent kerfuffle with Cigar City Brewing and the Tampa Bay City Council.  If not, there are plenty of places you can go to read up on it.

• My Creative Loafing article or my Hop Press Article
• Blog Post from Crazy Cat Lady Beer
• Mark Christopher's article on Examiner.com
• and of course Cigar City's own blog

The bottom line is three members of the Tampa City Council want to stop Cigar City from having a tasting room where people can buy locally produced craft beer, drink locally produced craft beer, or have craft beer events.  Never mind that it is a local business, owned and operated by local residents.  Never mind that they employ over twenty people locally.  Never mind that they attract visitor (and their money) to the Tampa Bay area, who then in turn spend their money on restaurants, hotels, and other activities.  One would think that in these difficult economic times, the idea of a local business thriving and succeeding would be encouraged, especially if said business is following all of the rules.

But apparently that is not enough for Tampa Council Members Gwen Miller, Thomas Scott, and Curtis Stokes.  Their claim is that "the neighborhood don't want it", with "it" being the wet-zoning and extended operating hours for serving beer or wine.  They have made very vague claims that alcohol-related crime is up, but when confronted with evidence to the contrary, they defended the allegations with "well, not everything gets reported."

Sorry, in my world that does not fly.  Which certainly makes some of us wonder what this is really about.  Are these three part of the insidious neo-prohibitionist movement that often rears its ugly head in times like these?  That would mean their argument was more of a "moral" one than one based on any kind of facts.  There is some grumbling that this is payback for the Council's long and well-documented battles with owner Joey Redner's father, Joe Redner.  Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is voting against making the zoning and hours permanent is tantamount to voting to kill jobs and keep dollars away from Tampa.  It is inexcusable and Miller, Scott, and Stokes ought to be held accountable.

One of the positive things to come out of this event, however, is how the craft beer community has rallied around Cigar City.  From Wayne Wamble's initial post on Facebook, the cry went out far and wide and craft beer lovers from all walks of life answered the call.  Letters, emails, and articles spread like wildfire.  A new Twitter hashtag was created (#SaveCCB), and a Facebook group was set up by DosBeerigos.  I have said before and I will say it again: Beer People R Good People.

The Great American Beer Festival

This past weekend, nearly 500 breweries presented over 3000 beers to 42,000 people at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado. I will say this... I am going next year, come hell or high water.

While all craft beer is interesting to me, I was especially focused on the representatives from Florida, specifically my boys over at Cigar City: Joey Redner (who I had just interviewed the week before)and Wayne Wambles. On Saturday, awards were given for beers in over 70 categories - Gold, Silver, and Bronze in each. I watched the live webcast, enjoying the creativity of names and styles, as well as the obvious camaraderie between the brewers.

The category of Wood- and Barrel-aged Beer came up and - lo and behold - Gold Medal to Cigar City Brewing for their Humidor Series IPA!! I was thrilled for them that they won, especially in their very first year. In my excitement, i sent a text message to Joey, congratulating him on the win. It went like this:

Me: Congrats on the gold medal! Thats awesome!
Joey: What?
Joey: We won a medal?
Me: Dude! I am watching the awards streaming... Humidor IPA won gold!
Me: Sorry if I ruined the surprise
Joey: Holy shit. i was working the FGB booth. Didn't hear it.

Later on, in their blog, Joey commented: "We did take home a Gold Medal in the Wood or Barrel Aged category for our Humidor Series Jai Alai IPA. I was thrilled with that, but the funny thing is I was pouring at the Florida Brewer's Guild booth at the time and didn't know we had won. I got a text from a friend back in Tampa saying congrats on the Gold and that was my first clue that we'd either won or that my friend has a cruel sense of humor. Turns out we'd actually won."

So, I have my place is Cigar City history now, albeit a minor one.