Cheers to Good Beer!

Some like it golden and mild, others prefer it dark and heavy, many people enjoy it festively flavored and most will drink it as long as it’s frothy and cold. Ale is America’s favorite beverage and it’s taking the community by storm.

Just as restaurants are opting for more health-friendly, organic and locally grown ingredients in their food, businesses are looking to revitalize their beer selection, and in some cases become brewmasters themselves.

“We use fresh and locally grown ingredients in our beer just like we do for our dishes,” said Darwin Santa Maria, who owns Darwin’s on Fourth, a restaurant and microbrewery in downtown Sarasota.

After two years in business, Santa Maria, 36, considers his company a success and now he’s looking to take it to the next level. He plans to open a production brewery center in Bradenton, and distribute his product all over the state.

Santa Maria says he has the location under contract, but won’t reveal the exact location yet because “he doesn’t want to jinx it.”

Two more microbreweries are set to open in Bradenton in the next few months. Motorworks Brewing Co., 1014 9th St., in August, according to their Facebook page, and Little Giant Brewery, 301 7th St. E., in October.  And several others, including JDub’s, 1215 Mango Ave., and Big Top Brewing Co., 6111 Porter Way, will be opening in Sarasota by the end of the year.

If you ask Michael Wagner, owner of Motorworks Brewing Co., the homemade beer extravaganza that seems to be taking the community by storm is far from a trend.

“Before prohibition, there was a small brewery in almost every neighborhood,” Wagner said.  “It’s taken us 100 years to get back to where we were.”

Wagner said that while the increase in beer-producing businesses seems like a fad, it has actually been a slow build-up over the last couple of decades. Wagner feels that only recently have aspiring brewers actually had chance to open up shop in their communities and make an impact.

“We are slowly catching up to the rest of the country,” he said. “Soon enough we will have beer flowing.”

However, beer producers aren't necessarily new to the area. Sarasota Brewing Co., 6607 Gateway Ave., has been in business for over two decades. But according to brewmaster Vince Pelosi, there is a vast difference between the veteran alehouse and the new wave of breweries.

“We are only allowed to sell to our customers and our main focus is our food,” Pelosi said. “That’s where these new places differ, they’re predominately focused on making beer.”

Whatever the case, Sarasota and Manatee county residents can get ready to consume a lot more homemade ale. And who knows, pretty soon even the most faithful of Budweiser fans could become newfound connoisseurs. Cheers!