Vote Jacksonville: BeerCity USA

[fieldafm]

Screw those carpet baggers in Asheville!!!

Write in your vote today....

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/428360/ed-stansel/2012-04-17/jacksonville-beercity-usa-it-could-happen

Voting is now open to nominate cities for the title of BeerCity USA for 2012. And guess which emerging craft beer powerhouse isn't on the list?

That's right, Jacksonville. More than 40 other cities or regions are listed as nominees on the Examiner.com poll, including the Tampa Bay area. And based on last year's voting, 15 more cities already have made the cut for this year's final ballot, including Asheville, N.C., which has taken the BeerCity title for the past three years.

The recent announcements that both Sierra Nevada and New Belgium will build breweries in Asheville may seem to make that city a shoo-in again. But this is a popularity contest, not a scientific poll, so Jacksonville has a shot â€" even though it's not on the ballot of nominees.

Look to the bottom of the list at this website and you'll see an "Other" field, where you can cast a write-in vote for Jacksonville.

Any city that gets 100 write-in nominations before 11:59 p.m. April 21 will be on the final ballot, which will be open for voting May 1-13. The annual poll was started by home-brewing icon Charlie Papazian. You can read more about it here.

Is Jacksonville worthy of this title? Consider that we soon will have six distributing craft breweries in the area, plus the growing number of brewpubs and restaurants with great beer selections. And the first Jax Beer Week, held earlier this month, generated all sorts of craft beer buzz, with tastings, tap takeovers and other events.

The BeerCity poll allows one vote per computer IP address. So if you use a computer in an office, chances are that only one vote can come from that network. But you can vote from your home computer or your smart phone.

Link: http://polldaddy.com/poll/6088037/

[blizz01]

I voted!  Does AB get considered as well - or, would we only take into account craft brews?

[Tacachale]

I voted. We have a way to go but our progress has been truly impressive.

[fieldafm]

I voted!  Does AB get considered as well - or, would we only take into account craft brews?

AB does have a pretty large array of what they consider 'craft beer competitors' (American Ale and Bud Golden Wheat are direct competitors to popular microbrewery pale ales and wheat beers), have a variety of special/seasonal beers that compete with seasonal beers from microbreweries (I for one really like the Winter Cask Ale), they have bought out several smaller breweries(Red Hook and Widmer) over the years and also distribute Goose Island (which gets the Fieldafm seal of approval) and Kona (I like the coffee stout they have, pipeline porter).  I also like Michelob Golden Draft (which is hard to get outside Milwaukee as they specifically brewed it to compete with a certain brewery there).

Landshark is brewed here at the Jax Brewery (which is basically a variant of Mich Ultra).  So, that's something unique to the brewery here.  The factory tour still gets more visitors than the microbreweries in town.  So yes, I would definately consider AB a major part of Jax's 'beer culture'.

[Intuition Ale Works]

We have a ways to go as a "Beer City" if AB is considered a positive influence to our beer scene. It's the equivalent of wanting to call your city "Cheese City USA" and bragging about having a Kraft plant in your town.

Also, AB and it's Florida Wholesalers are no friend of any Craft brewery in the state of Florida.

They want to distribute our beer through their legally mandated distribution system and detest the idea of any brewery in the state selling beer directly to their consumer. They would love for our taprooms to go away and it burns their hide that the law written for Busch Gardens is now being used by us to sell direct to consumers.

They are single handedly preventing us from changing our dumbass container laws that prevent us from selling half gallon growlers but allow us to sell gallon growlers.

Budweiser intentionally brews popular styles of beer and sells them at a cheaper price than their craft beer counterparts to "kill the category".

The future of beer in the US is flavorful and unique styles brewed by brewers that give a shit. Not beers made by chemical engineers at the insistence of accountants and marketers.

[fieldafm]

I would definately consider AB a major part of Jax's 'beer culture'.

I didn't use the word 'positive'   

[Purplebike]

I voted. We have a way to go but our progress has been truly impressive.

+1

[thehill]

Not to highjack the thread, but I am curious. I know AB-INBEV and the like are heavily involved in lobbying through various organizations at the state and federal levels. Do the various craft brew associations engage in similar political action?

[Brian Siebenschuh]

We have a ways to go as a "Beer City" if AB is considered a positive influence to our beer scene. It's the equivalent of wanting to call your city "Cheese City USA" and bragging about having a Kraft plant in your town.

Also, AB and it's Florida Wholesalers are no friend of any Craft brewery in the state of Florida.

They want to distribute our beer through their legally mandated distribution system and detest the idea of any brewery in the state selling beer directly to their consumer. They would love for our taprooms to go away and it burns their hide that the law written for Busch Gardens is now being used by us to sell direct to consumers.

They are single handedly preventing us from changing our dumbass container laws that prevent us from selling half gallon growlers but allow us to sell gallon growlers.

Budweiser intentionally brews popular styles of beer and sells them at a cheaper price than their craft beer counterparts to "kill the category".

The future of beer in the US is flavorful and unique styles brewed by brewers that give a shit. Not beers made by chemical engineers at the insistence of accountants and marketers.

Yeah.

[simms3]

So voting suprised me a little, but also appeared to not be entirely a popularity contest.

GR definitely deserves (2,709).
Austin yes (166).
DFW yes (140).
Albuquerque yes (138).
Durango yes (260).
Madison yes (132).
Minneapolis yes (262).

Then we get to Charlotte with the 5th most votes  (253)  I live 3 hours away in the Piedmont region, as well, and I just had no idea both Charlotte and Raleigh (136 votes) were beer cities.  I've been to both a couple times, drank in both (especially Charlotte), and it did not strike me as having a large local scene.

DC???  We've all been to DC and I have certainly gone out and drank in local bars (my cousin lives right in Georgetown), and once again it does not strike me as having a beer culture, yet it received 313 votes.

Maybe I'm blinded and a little baffled that Atlanta didn't receive more votes (26 total) - Sweetwater, Terrapin, Jailhouse, Atlanta Brewing, Max Lager, and the list goes on?  And most have been around for more than the "countrywide explosion of the last 5 years", and at least 2 are notably good and are quite large.  I always thought that the Athens-Atlanta line had a lock on the brew scene in the south outside of Asheville - I guess Charlotte and Tampa are queen and king (who knew?).  And Louisiana is underrepresented, too.  Nashville has Yazoo, which is alright at best, but I've at least heard of it and tried a few Yazoo beers whereas I couldn't tell you one damn thing that comes out of Charlotte or Raleigh.

Also - Tampa - had no idea (212 votes).  I mean I can see it, breweries popping up in Ybor and in the inner areas and industrial parts, and I know they're "proud" of their Yuengling plant near Busch Gardens, but I guess I'm just a little jealous for Jacksonville's sake.  I hope that Jacksonville makes the list next year - to me Jacksonville has a good scene going and good brews.  I happen to really like Bold City and I know many like Intuition.

Tampa, though, seemed like a popularity contest.  Tons of Tampa people left comments, whereas GR had comments from unbiased people all over.

[fieldafm]

Raleigh has close to a dozen craft brewers, has an impressive annual beer week and hosts the World Beer Festival. 

Tampa is home to Cigar City... Possibly one of the top 5 craft brewers(in terms of quality, not sales volume) in the country. 

[Tacachale]

Ah simms, so much to learn.

Atlanta has some good breweries and beer bars (including the best beer bar I've been to or heard tell of, the Brick Store in Decatur), but for such a large metro it's pretty middling compared to what's going on in NC right now (and Athens locals will tell you that Athens is *not* Atlanta ). Asheville is the undisputed heavyweight of the East. The Raleigh-Durham area is killing it as Field says. I wouldn't quite put Charlotte at that level but really they just suffer by comparison.

In Florida we've been way behind, in large part due to regressive laws lobbied for by a certain Belgian macro conglomerate that has a large presence here. But Tampa has been the shining light in the heathen darkness. In her wake other areas of Florida, Jax in particular, have really started taking off.

Our progress in Jacksonville has been very impressive over a short span of time. By the end of this year we will have 4 good sized, quality production breweries in town - all established in the last four years. Add to that Brewer's Pizza, which will start some production soon, other options in the metro like Mile Marker, and the various brew pubs and bars around, and our beer culture is really taking off. Brings a tear to my eye.

[fieldafm]

Our progress in Jacksonville has been very impressive over a short span of time. By the end of this year we will have 4 good sized, quality production breweries in town - all established in the last four years. Add to that Brewer's Pizza, which will start some production soon, other options in the metro like Mile Marker, and the various brew pubs and bars around, and our beer culture is really taking off. Brings a tear to my eye.

This is what happens when you let entrepreneurs do what they do best... innovate and adapt. 

Why in the world the city doesn't get out of the way and let small business create commerce organically is beyond me. 

[simms3]

Yep - my little knowledge on the topic has at least kept me in the loop on Asheville's scene, and I have been quite a few times, but I just never imagined Raleigh or Charlotte being beer cities.  Perhaps Durham, but Raleigh??

Besides, for me taste is enhanced by the source.  That's why I think Jacksonville has potential.  The old brewhouses in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh just seem to make the beer taste better (I've actually been to a few of the breweries in Milwaukee).  A brewery in an aluminum siding shed just seems kind of blah to me.  I want my beer to come from an older, industrial town - one with warehouses and smokestacks and water towers.  Aardwolf opening in that old brick building would not only be a good use for the building, it certainly is a cool place for a brewery and to me it may make the beer taste better

I just could not imagine Raleigh having a beer scene.  I get up there quarterly and get around, and outside of the airport there does not seem to be any redeeming qualities to the city (besides educational attainment, incomes and jobs, lol) and there certainly does not appear to be any semblance of culture outside of Durham (which the locals seem to consider ghetto and dirty - which it is compared to the shiny new blah that is Raleigh), or Chapel Hill (which is also considered dirty and grimy by coincidence).

[Know Growth]

Soon- 60 Beers at one Avondale location. Multiple quarter kegs.
( more selection than convenient parking spaces!  'We walked three blocks from our vehicle for a beer!' Great headline)

Roving Downtown Beer Trucks.

Fun.
I vividly recall the creation of the area's first beer machines, Ragtimes.

Red Brick.

Now everywhere.Recently met Rosselle Street Beer (& Wine) making supplies person.Perfect compliment to back yard chickens.

"Hit me with 'da Brick!"