BeerWise Podcast

Send us a text

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year here at the BeerWise Podcast because it’s time for our annual Tampa Bay Beer Week podcast. This year, I am joined by Elise Sweeney and Chris Fairchild from the Tampa Bay Beer Week Organization.

Chris and Elise are talking about what’s new for 2024, what they are looking forward to, the new Tampa Bay Brewers Alliance, and where the organization is headed in the future.

This podcast was recorded on Monday, February 26th, so I’m happy to release it faster than a hazy IPA.

Are there any guests you would like to hear on the show? Reach out! I’m on social media at FL Beer News or Mark at florida beer news dot com to let me know your opinion.

Please remember to like, subscribe, and follow BeerWise on your favorite podcast platform, so you don’t miss an episode. Also, please remember to review the show on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach new audiences.

Florida Beer News and this podcast are now on PATREON! I have begun new fundraising efforts for the website and podcast in hopes of making some updates and changes. Check out patreon dot com slash Florida Beer News (spelled out) for information on how you and your business can help fuel our growth and get some cool rewards.

That’s all for now, until next time when I’ll be back to talk about what’s going on in the world BEERWISE. Cheers and happy Tampa Bay Beer Week.
You can listen to the podcast online here or on your favorite podcast platform. Remember to subscribe or follow so you don’t miss an episode!

Thanks for joining us in the journey of the BeerWise Podcast, hosted by Mark DeNote – editor of Florida Beer News.

If you like the podcast, please tell someone. If you have constructive feedback or a guest you’d like to hear on the show, please email mark at floridabeernews dot com or follow the “Contact Us” link on the Florida Beer News website.

For more episodes, follow Florida Beer News on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your favorite podcast platform!

Send us a text

Before we get to our guest for this episode, I wanted to take a minute and thank those of you who carve out time to listen to this podcast every few weeks. It is a labor of love for me – and I get to have some great conversations with the fine people in the world of craft beer and beverages, but it is not my day job and it takes time to create this show.

Recently, the BeerWise Podcast brought home a Gold Crushie – an award for “crushing it” in the field of craft beer marketing. According to the Craft Beer Marketing Awards organization, a gold Crushie is given “To award a 2023 CBMAS Gold Crushie, the judges' panel will be seeking entries that meet or exceed the defined category objectives by using strategy, creativity, and innovative production techniques to achieve a perceived, higher level of uniqueness.”

I am extremely proud to have earned this award from those currently marketing in the beer industry, and excited to keep bringing you the words and stories of the amazing and awesome people in the beverage industry and beyond.

Speaking of the great people in the beer industry and their stories...

In this episode, I am joined by Ryan Sentz of Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park, Florida.

Ryan is the founder and soon-to-be-owner of Funky Buddha Brewery – a brewery that made a name by bringing intense flavors into beer that many could not believe. The beer that introduced many people to the brewery was Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, a beer that did not contain actual bacon, but made many wonder how such flavors were possible. From small beginnings, brewing beer in a lounge in Boca Raton to an expansion that brought the brewery into their current home, a 54,000 sq-ft facility with a 30-barrel brewhouse.
In 2017, Constellation Brands, the international company who imports Corona and Modelo beer brands, had recently bought Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego and then news broke that Funky Buddha Brewery was being acquired as well. Funky Buddha Brewery remained entrenched in their local community with Ryan and his team still running the brewery with Constellation Brands as the brewery's owner.

Fast forward to 2023 and Ryan and KC announce that they will be buying back Funky Buddha Brewery from Constellation Brands. Constellation Brands sells their craft breweries and exits the craft beer business, focusing on other brands of beer that they own.

Ryan and KC re-enter the world of brewery ownership in one of the most competitive times in history for craft beer. This was one of the focuses of our conversation. Ryan was also nice enough to give me his hot take about other news that broke this week – the news that Sapporo, the Japanese brewer who owns San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing, will be cutting back Anchor’s distribution to California only and will be discontinuing Anchor’s storied Christmas beer called Our Special Ale. I wanted his opinion on this topic as someone returning to brewery ownership after a hiatus.

Here's our conversation.
You can listen to the podcast online here or on your favorite podcast platform. Remember to subscribe or follow so you don’t miss an episode!

Thanks for joining us in the journey of the BeerWise Podcast, hosted by Mark DeNote – editor of Florida Beer News.

If you like the podcast, please tell someone. If you have constructive feedback or a guest you’d like to hear on the show, please email mark at floridabeernews dot com or follow the “Contact Us” link on the Florida Beer News website.

For more episodes, follow Florida Beer News on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your favorite podcast platform!

Join the BeerWise Podcast as we talk to Matt & Debbie McDonough, founders and head meadmakers at Pye Road Meadworks! Pye Road makes its home in Odessa, Florida - just a 15-minute jaunt from Tampa.
Matt & Debbie talk about what drove them to follow their meadmaking passions to become commercial meadmakers and start a business in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will talk about mead's place in the wider community, Matt's use of "nontraditional" ingredients like fruit candy and marshmallows in his meads, where they see the meadery progressing after opening.
Thank you for joining us for the BeerWise podcast! Please like, subscribe, and review the podcast, and send feedback to [email protected].

The BeerWise Podcast is the podcast that looks at what's going on in the world, BeerWise.
Join the BeerWise Podcast as Mark talks to Charlie Meers of Magnanimous Brewing.
Magnanimous Brewing is one of Tampa Bay's newest breweries, but its staff is full of familiar faces and friends who have worked around Tampa Bay for close to a decade.
Mark and Charlie talk about building and opening a brewery during the global pandemic of 2020 and what it took to get Magnanimous Brewing off the ground.
Charlie talks about his fondness for beer and people, how the brewery reflects its owners, and a man named Sprinkles.
Join us for our conversation, and if you like this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of our conversations about what's going on in the world, BeerWise.

Send us a text

In this episode, I am joined by Joe Scheibelhut of Arkane Ale Works.

Arkane Ale Works is celebrating six years on Saturday, July 9th and they have certainly made their mark on the Tampa Bay brewing community.

Arkane Ale Works is known for their Mango Habanero Berliner Weisse, their pie sours, their adjuncted barrel-aged stouts, and their eye for creativity and as Joe says, “some days we’re more of a sweet shop than a beer store.”

In our interview, Joe talks about his time in the beer industry making traditional beers as the head brewer of Rapp Brewing Company of Seminole, Florida, one of the breweries that helped bring gose back as a popular beer style. Joe talks about how he and business partner Dan Graston began Arkane Ale Works and what is happening with their current state of expansion and distribution and more.

In this episode, you will again hear a segment I am calling “The Six Pack.” These are six questions to conclude the episode, all related to the beer industry and what the guest has learned in the industry. The “six pack” gives a little more information about Joe and his beer beliefs.

You can listen to the podcast here, or on your favorite podcast platform. Remember to subscribe or follow so you don’t miss an episode!

Thanks for joining us in the journey of the BeerWise Podcast, hosted by Mark DeNote – editor of Florida Beer News.

If you like the podcast, please tell someone. If you have constructive feedback or a guest you’d like to hear on the show, please email [email protected] or follow the “Contact Us” link on the Florida Beer News website.

For more episodes, follow Florida Beer News on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your favorite podcast platform!

About Arkane Ale Works
Located in Pinellas County, Arkane Aleworks is a brewery founded by Joe Scheibelhut (actual spelling) and Dan Graston, and represents the culmination of years of passion and planning. It started as two poor kids with a dream and has grown into two poor kids with a dream and a Facebook page, but the best is yet to come!