Yesterday was a big day for an ex-Marlins pitcher, but it had nothing to do with baseball -- it's all about the beer.
Three north county brewmeisters, one of which is ex-Marlins right-handed pitcher Chris Volstad, 28, a Palm Beach Gardens high school graduate who also played for the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, took the intital step towards bringing beer brewing to Jupiter Tuesday. If his group gets their wishgoing forward, Jupiter will be home to the newest Florida craft brewery -- the Civil Society Brewing Co.
See also: Lawsuit Challenges Legality of Florida Brewery Tasting Rooms
The Jupiter Town Council gave the initial approval Tuesday to move forward on the Civil Society proposal after the planning and zoning commission voted December 9 to recommended the plan to move forward. The trio is looking to open their Civil Society Brewing Company establishment in the area, complete with a tasting room that will serve beer to the public. If the council gives its final approval on February 17, Jupiter will be home to South Florida's newest brewery.
Jupiter would just be the latest to join the craft trend, following Miami, which has recently jumped on the fast moving small brewery trend itself with the opening of businesses like the Wynwood Brewery, and others on the way or already open.
"We're from Jupiter. We want to bring Jupiter the best brew we can," said Karl Volstad, 32, a graduate of Jupiter Christian School and cousin to Chris Volstad.
Nearby Tequesta Brewing Co., located on the east side of U.S. 1, across from Tequesta Drive, has been the de facto home brewery for Jupiter residents, but it is technically located in Tequesta, as the name suggests. It's success is what has city officials in Jupiter considering the Civil Society Brewing Companies proposal to set up shop in the area.
"We haven't decided on any names for the beers yet. We're having lots of fun trying to figure out what to call them," Volstad recently told the Palm Beach Post. "We're hop heads. We like lots of hops in our beer. But we'll make other beers, like brown, big stouts and Belgian beer. We'll incorporate lots of different flavors in our beers."
The brewery would not be set up to serve food, just beer and merchandise related the the company -- with future plans to be to sell their beer to bigger establishments.
"It's not going to be a big brewery. It's something different. It would be a good addition to Jupiter," said Patrick Rutter, vice chair of the planning and zoning commission.
It seems like almost every city in Florida now has a craft breweries or brewpub; Gainesville has Swamphead and Alligator Brewing, Tallahassee has Proof and Momo's Pizza, Boynton Beach has Due South, Delray Beach has Salt Water, Tampa has Cigar City, Melbourne has Florida Brewery, Sarasota has Darwin's on Fourth, Marco Island has the Marco Brewpub, Hourglass Brewery is opening in Longwood, Winter Park has Shipyard, Brandon has Three Palms Brewery, and both Boca and Oakland Park have Funky Buddha to name a few. The list only continues to grow as more and more cities jump on the craft beer trend. Tuesday, Jupiter took a step in the direction of being the next one to do so.
Follow @CleanPlateBPB
