Any whiskey drinker would leap at the opportunity to travel back in time to sit with Mr. Jack Daniels himself not long after he discovered his river/cave, began making his unrivaled Tennessee Whiskey, and share a glass of his product with him. Any wine drinker would love to have walked the Tignanello fields with Piero Antinori and sampled him famed wine when it was in its infancy. I recently had a chance to sit with a man who could one day reach fame and fortune on the backs of his Belgian-inspired brews, Mr. Bob Sylvester of Saint Somewhere Brewing.
This lucky opportunity came on a whim as I was leaving Dunedin, Florida and headed to a client in Tampa when I saw a check-in on facebook from Bob. The brewery was closed this day and I figured I'd ask if he was going to be there for a bit. As it turns out, he was just doing a couple of things to catch up after a busy week of brewing and invited me to come on over. I had never actually been to the brewery, although I had met Bob several times and carried all of his beers in my ABBEY ownership days. This being the case, I was just excited to see the brewery itself and say hi to the man himself. 
Saint Somewhere is located in Tarpon Springs, Florida, a beautiful town sitting on the west coast of the state and home of the famous "spongdocks." The brewery itself has been around for a few years, but their line of brews is consistently on my go-to list. To describe their beer, the description on their website puts it best - "Saint Somewhere Brewing Company is a brewer of traditional Belgian style Ales. We are small batch brewery, using only the finest ingredients available. Belgium malt and wheat, whole noble hops and open fermentation add to the complexity of our ales. Our beers are unfiltered and re-fermented in the bottle. We brew simply and authentically, the way beer was brewed 100 years ago." As for the Saint Somewhere brews:
Saison Athene is a 7.5% Farmhouse Ale which was the first I was ever able to try. We carried it in the 750 ml bottle when I owned ABBEY and it gained a serious cult following. The wonderful thing about this beer was that it appealed to wine drinkers as well as beer drinkers with its crisp apple aromas and dry finish. Every time I go back to his one, I'm reminded of those days and it just makes me smile. 
Lectio Divina was the much-anticipated second offering to come on-board and once again was a smash at ABBEY. An 8% Strong Pale Ale and slightly darker in color than the Saison, this one offers a little more dark fruit with a ton of additional complexity as the beer warms in the glass. Another great offering that did not disappoint.Pays du Soleil was the last one to be released and I was lucky enough to have this one straight off the tank during this visit. A nice, funky 8% Belgian Dubbel, the Pays du Soleil just blows you away with crazy complexity, fruit tartness, and a balanced yeastiness. Off the tank, hanging with the brewer, weather was great, birds were chirping - you get the point.
While we were enjoying our glasses of Pays and sitting in Bob's office, he explained something to me that I had not known in all these years serving his brew, but that is endlessly fascinating. Apparently the labels to his beers, which are beautiful in their detail, we actually used but the state of Florida to bring visitors to the state. While I had always seen these labels as fantastical and Tolkien-ish, they are actually depicting scenes that are taking place at springs in Florida. A whole new perspective that perfectly ties the beer to this locale and a note that I wish was more common in knowledge. The story itself is enough to sell more of this brew!
If you are ever in the area, please take time to visit the brewery and see what hands-on means. How Bob has time to do all he does, I have no idea. I'm just glad he does.
St. Somewhere Brewery
1441 Savannah Avenue, Unit E
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689
ph: 813-503-6181
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