It may have taken awhile to jump onboard, but the South Florida craft beer scene is booming these days.
That's in no small part due to the big beer events at Fort Lauderdale brew haven Tap 42.
And the mastermind behind it all has been the bar's creative director and craft beer director, Lauren Bowen.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end: The Tastemaker recently left the bar to move onto greener -- or just different -- pastures at her favorite brewery, Harpoon.
See Also: 23. Lauren Bowen of Tap 42
Although Bowen was sad to leave the Fort Lauderdale hot spot, she's excited to try her hand in a new arena of the craft beer world.
"I love Tap," she says. "I would do anything for them still. Andy Yeager has been my mentor in my business life for the past three years. It was hard to leave; I'm really grateful for the career they helped me to develop."
On Monday, Bowen starts as the South Florida sales representative for Harpoon Brewery. She plans to expand the brand's presence in the area.
"My goal is to get more Harpoon products, because they don't get ordered," says Bowen. "I'm going to be working with Gold Coast Distributors to try to get the entire portfolio down here."
A fan of the brewery for years, Bowen thinks the brand fits well in South Florida.
With East Coast-style brews, which focus on balance over the aggressive flavors that dominate in West Coast beers, Bowen believes the offerings will sell really well in Florida.
"It's a very Floridaesque style of beer," she says.
Bowen's first item on the agenda is to try to bring down some of the smaller batch beers, such as the Leviathan, all of the UFO, and the 100 Barrel series.
"The first thing I did when I started working at Tap was put Harpoon on draft," says Bowen. "I think everyone who knows me suspected I would eventually work for the brewery."
Many of the future beer events at Tap 42 have already been planned by Bowen, but going forward they should remain much the same. According the Bowen, the staff at the restaurant is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the craft beer industry.
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