Heads Up, Jax! Twas the Weekend Before Christmas in Local Craft Beer

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, Jacksonville! With all of the hustle and bustle this weekend heading into the Christmas Holiday, be sure to find some time for a local beer! There are still plenty of events on the way, so get your sleigh in gear, and enjoy!

The “Resilience IPA” sweeping the nation hits Jacksonville this week, with two local releases. The beer is the brainchild of Sierra Nevada Brewing, located in Chico, California, and over 1400 breweries across the nation brewed it. All proceeds benefit the Camp Fire Relief Fund. See the full story, including interviews with local brewers about why they brewed this beer. Look for “Resilience IPA” to make its debut on Thursday, December 20 at Atlantic Beach Brewing and Southern Swells Brewing. Bold City Brewery will release its beer in January.

If you’re around St. Augustine, check out the monthly “Dawgz for Dogz” animal welfare charity event on Thursday, December 20 at Brewz ‘N Dawgz on US 1. But, hey, it’s Christmas, so this month’s event also includes an Ugly Sweater Party!

V Pizza’s two Tap Garden locations in Mandarin and Fleming Island host a J Dub’s Brewing (Sarasota) tap takeover on Thursday, beginning at 6pm.

Brewz Atlantic Beach hosts daily Deals of Christmas at its location on Atlantic Blvd., in Atlantic Beach.

One of the area’s most anticipated bottle releases is Quetzalcoatl Day, at Green Room Brewing, Jax Beach. The event happens on Saturday, December 22, with variants on tap as well as the annual bottle release. Inspired by the Mayan culture, the beer is an Imperial Red Ale brewed with chocolate, cassava root and poblano and serrano peppers. It’s a taste treat!

Stop by Broudy’s locations in St. Augustine and Julington Creek on Saturday, December 22, 3-6pm, for free holiday tastings of spirits and beers.

Hyperion Brewing releases a new beer, Nor’Easter Robust Porter, on Saturday, December 22.

Crawl around Springfield on Saturday, Dember 22 at the Springfield Pub Crawl, starting at Crispy’s, with stops at Shantytown, Main & Six Brewing, Hyperion Brewing, between 4-8pm. No entry fee required. Main & Six Brewing also hosts an Ugly Sweater Party Saturday night, 8-11pm.

Happy Festivus Day on Sunday! (Is that a real thing, or just a TV thing from years ago?). Also on Sunday: Movie Night in the Beer Garden at Wicked Barley Brewing, 6-9pm; Christmas Carol-oke and pot luck at Green Room Brewing, starting at 6:30pm; Musical Santa Onesies, at Brewz ‘N Dawgz, St. Augustine, 7-11pm.

And, don’t forget Nights of Pints and Nights of Lights in downtown St. Augustine! This writer has already visited the trolleys and the breweries several times. The twinkly spectacle will have you in a festive mood! Don’t forget your sweater and Santa Hat!

Be sure to take a look at the full local events calendar, and 2019 Florida beerfest info, on brewnymph.com!

Cheers, Merry Christmas, Happy (hoppy) Holidays!

Linda Johnson, Certified Cicerone®

www.brewnymph.com

(cover photo by Linda Johnson, 2018)

Linda Johnson is a BUZZ Contributing Writer (beer!) and founder of the beer and travel website, BrewNymph.com, covering all things Florida beer from news to events. She is the first female Level 2 Certified Cicerone® in the Jax area (since 2015), one of seven in the metro area, and the only Level 2-certified independent beer writer in the state.