We’re talking craft breweries: small, independent, and traditional. Fresh beer in Tallahassee hasn’t been the easiest to find in recent years, but that’s changing. Now there’s Proof Brewing Company, the city’s second brewery, formally known as Proof – an American Pub. But first there was Momo’s Pizza and Brewpub.
“About the time that we started brewing our beer, the interest in craft beer was spiking. And I think there’s also component of people wanting to support local businesses, our existing customer base was excited for the new offerings as well as it’s brought in new customers specifically because of the craft beer.” Says Momo’s Owner, Donny Die, in his brewery off Market Street. He says since they sold their first batch in October of last year, they’ve produced about twenty-five batches, ten varieties, and the customers are enjoying it in full force. He says there are currently twenty beers on tap. Only five of those are homebrews, but says they’re doing very well.
Over at Proof, the owner, Byron Burroughs, shows me their brewery. The machinery is the same you’d find at Momo’s: three big metallic silver fermenting tanks line up in a row. They both bought from the same California company. But that’s where similarities end.
“We plan to sell growlers and sell pints in house that will enable us to possibly get a few taps around town. And then we already have plans that if we hit capacity downstairs then to be a full distributing and proper brewery it’s gonna take some immediate expansion and we have some things planned for 2013 for that.” Says Burroughs. Unlike Momo’s, Proof plans to sell beyond their own bar customers.
Both Die and Burroughs say the demand is there for more breweries. They both sold craft beer prior to making their own and saw the huge demand well before fermentation began. Burroughs thinks Florida, with its laws conducive to brewing, even has the potential to be the next great craft brew state. Proof is holding its brewing launch party Wednesday night at 8 pm with 2 homebrews: an Americanized wheat ale and a hopped-up rye ale. In 2 weeks for national IPA day they’ll be releasing their own India Pale Ale and a hopped-up amber ale.