Lazy Magnolia Event at Redlight Redlight

Another successful event at Redlight and another list of "luv-its" for Lazy Magnolia.  This was the premier of the Lazy Magnolia label and we had the Southern Pecan, The Jefferson Stout, and the Indian Summer on draft.

For those of you who do not know about Lazy Magnolia, they are the only brewery located in Mississippi and have been around since September 2003.  The flagship beer of Lazy Magnolia is the Southern Pecan Ale, which uses actual roasted pecans in the beer.  This makes for a slightly nutty flavor which is not overbearing or artificial tasting.  This beer has done great for us around the state and I'm looking forward to what it can do for us in the future.  The Jefferson Stout utilizes sweet potatoes and milk sugar to add a backbone of sweetness to an otherwise dry stout.  This one has raised a ton of eyebrows and since it is only available on draft, it is a real treat to come across it in your local bar.  The third, Indian Summer, was introduced as a seasonal and is a pale wheat beer flavored with orange peel and coriander.  It is a very refreshing beer for the summer and it has sold like hotcakes in the locations we have gotten it in.    

Outside form parking lot

Inside the bar pre-event

A case of some rare stuff

Some of the Redlight guys

part of the draft board

We are hoping to get the Lazy Magnolia product consistently in the Orlando market and hopefully this is the first of many events for this Mississippi brew.

Tasting - Bon Cap Syrah

When ABBEY first opened, we carried a delicious Syrah that I loved, but never really caught on.  As such, I pulled a case back and put it at home to store.  Man, am I glad it didn't sell.

I brought it in before the bar opened on a night when I was going to do a beer event with Lazy Magnolia.  As much as I love beer, I am feeling very wine today and wanted to see how this was ageing.

I popped open the bottle around 3:30, before the bottle opened and shared a glass with Daneaux.  What immediately jumped out was massive amounts of blackberry to a tad of black cherry.  After a bit, Daeaux noticed some big clove flavors in it.  Truly a wine that held its integrity.  Very happy I saved a good number of them.

Spotlight - Stogies Jazz Cub and Listening Room

36 Charlotte Street 
St. Augustine, FL 32804
(904) 826-4008

I had not only the opportunity to do business with this great little place, but we are holding an event next month and I want to let you all in on this gem.

First of all, the interior is very spacious and makes the most of the small footprint that the building takes up.  You really appreciate the design when you realize that they have an extraordinary selection of wines, ports, beers, AND they have an on-premise humidor.  They carry 7 draft lines and I have always been treated extremely well.

In addition to all of this, they manage to squeeze live music in most nights to complete the atmosphere.

As you walk in, the feel is very dark and cool and you are immediately drawn to two facts:  1.  There is some REALLY comfortable looking seating here and 2.  There are stairs. Upstairs is more seating and they at times have music upstairs.  

On Monday, I went in with the on-premise craft sales rep from Champion Brands, Pete, and discussed some options that the Renegades have to add to their selection.  Our bartender, Tayler, was awesome and we actually were able to plan the event right then and there.  I am really looking forward to getting back out there and I want as many of you as possible to join me.

The event info is:

Wednesday, September 14
2:00 pm - midnight
Live Music starts at 9:00

We will be serving some treasures from Boulder Brewing and Lazy Magnolia and will be giving away lots of goodies.  There may even be some rare brews from my travels if you show up and mention you saw this post :-)

Check out this place if you're ever in St. Augustine!!!

Great Weekend

If you're anything like me, you have an experience every now and then that reminds you why you chose the profession you chose.  I was fortunate enough to have several this weekend and am energized to extremes.  

First, I took a trip on Thursday to Redlight Redlight in Orlando.  Brent, the owner, is a good friend of mine and someone I respect a bunch.  Every time I go to Redlight, I see in the faces of the staff and patrons the true love for beer and the intense desire to learn more about our liquid bread.  I always manage to run into some good friends while I'm there and Thursday was no exception.  When I walked in, I saw my good buddy Mike Wallace from Terrapin and he reminded me that it was National IPA day and he bought me a Hopsecutioner.  In addition to the fact that I love Hopsecutioner, there is something great about drinking a beer with someone who works for the brewery.  You can see a great level of interest when they watch you take your first sip and it makes me appreciate the pride and humility that is still very present in this industry.  

In the middle of my beer, Tom Moench walked in.  Tom owns the Orange Blossom Pilsner label and has been a great friend and ally from my first days as a bar owner.  I owe much of my success to Tom and I'll always be indebted to him.  After hanging with these two guys for a bit, my energy for the beer business was back to where I need it to be at all times.  We ended the night with a trip to Tom's house to sample some rare beers, but I will divulge that story on my next entry, as it will be a long story.

Next, Tropical Nights in DeLand on Friday night.  For the 5 years that I have been involved in the bar business in DeLand, I have despised this event.  For the first few years I was here, it was as if the crowd from TA Slammers turned into Gremlins, took a field trip to Victoria Falls, returned en mass to destroy downtown DeLand,  only to sink back into the woods waiting to ruin my night again the following year. It's not that I would find crack pipes on the ground after the event, it was just that I couldn't handle the "YOU DON'T HAVE MILLER LIGHT?!?!" question so many times without desiring that my potential customer take their business down the street to redneck bar numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.  

This year, the crowd was awesome!  I think ABBEY has finally locked in the crowd we were looking for, and as far as I know there weren't any fights on this side of Indiana Avenue.  It made me think of the dreams that we had when we were planning the bar and now to finally see it after 5 years is a revelation.  I am reminded that if you are diligent enough, eventually you can succeed.  It also reminds me of how easy it is for me to get down on myself and become frustrated.  Working on it.

So Saturday I was hung over as all get out and was supposed to leave for Tampa for the WaZoo Festival with Vinnie.  I was awoken at noon to Vinnie knocking on my door and answered hazily.  Luckily, I built in some extra time to the trip, so we weren't in any danger of being late.  This event, if anyone has not bee to it, needs to be attended.  This is one of the best events that I've ever worked and I'm greatly looking forward to next year.  Over 6,000 people attended this year (see pics below).  They gave us 3 volunteers and they were awesome.  I'm going to do a spotlight on the festival this week, so keep an eye peeled for it. 

I feel very fortunate to be where I am and I'm feeling good about the next few events we have coming up.  I will be updating this week on all that is going on, but I will mention that we have a Lazy Magnolia kickoff at Redlight Redlight on Monday, August 15th, and will be featuring the Jefferson County Sweet Potato Cream Stout on draft!!  Stay tuned.

Bloody Mary and Dolly's

We began a bit of a tradition for the Renegades and their followers, Pajamas and Blood Mary's at Dolly's.  We agreed to this on Sunday with Josher, Bobert, Dave, and Joe.  We're hoping to grow this group over time and, understandably so, the tradition is no good for 9-5'ers.  I'm thinking we will continue this as a Wednesday event.  First off, a few things about Dolly's:

I've been going to Dolly's for years.  For the first few, they did not have a liquor license and served only beer.  This was ok for me, as I would walk through the long list of "domestic" beers they had including Miller High Life and PBR before it was hip nouveau.  They had the great "swing the ring to the bulls-horn" game, and we could spend hours playing this game for beers.  All this while playing some ping-pong and I loved this place.

A few yeas ago, Dolly's got a liquor license, lost the ping-pong and revamped a little.  They also got rid of the bull head, but I can't blame them for that.  Since then, they have been making some mean bloody mary's.  One day while moving some furniture, Josher and I stopped in and saw that they had $2 wells.  We ordered Bloody Mary's and got a tab for $4!!  Let's just say that the first 6 ingredients are all added separately.  Order spicy, and you get fresh pepper, horseradish, celery seed, hot sauce, vodka, a fresh olive, celery, and the mix.  This is not a second-rate Blood Mary.

On Sunday, we all headed down to Dolly's for a Blood Mary and had a great time.  A pledge was made to meet up at noon on Tuesday in PJ's and get some Mary's.  Although only Joe, Bobert, and myself showed up, I think we have something going here.  I had 5 drinks from some very cool bartenders and my tab was only $15.  You cannot beat that!!

My plan is to meet up next Wednesday IN PAJAMAS and do some Mary's.  Please fan this page and we'll get going.  In fact, show up and I'll buy your first one. Next week, I will include pictures and tell the tale.