Carib Brewery - Sunshine State

This amber lager has pulled in several awards for Florida Beer Company over the years, including gold at the 2015 and 2013 US Open Beer Championships and bronze at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival. Sunshine State pours a lightly hazy medium amber color with a fluffy head of beige foam. On the nose, look for a healthy dose of Hallertau and Northern Brewer hops to offer up a pleasant noble hop aroma conjuring grass and hay-like notes, touches of earth and spice, some woody hints, and a bit of stone fruit – all atop a prominent undertone of toasty caramelized malt. There’s plenty of toasted bread crust and caramel on the palate, too, while the hops balance nicely with moderate bitterness, earthiness, and a hint of minty herbaceous character. Amber lagers are food-friendly brews, so pairing options abound; the brewery recommends BBQ ribs, chili, burgers, onion soup, jack cheese, spice cake, and classic American dishes in general. Cheers!

The history of Florida Beer Company (now Carib Brewery) firmly places them among the leaders of Florida’s craft brewing renaissance. Founded originally in 1994 as Ybor City Brewing Company by Humberto Perez, a third generation brewer (his grandfather began one of Venezuela’s largest breweries back in 1929), the company grew to feature several different beer brands, with each offering a sense of Floridian pride in their beer names and label art. Around 2003, Perez moved brewing operations from their original Ybor City location to another brewery on the other side of the state in Melbourne, FL: Indian River Beverage Corp., mid-way down the state’s Atlantic coast.

Not long after, Jim Massoni and Ed Scott purchased the company and renamed it Florida Beer Company. Between 2012 and 2014, after reaching capacity at the old Melbourne location, brewing operations transitioned to a new, much larger facility in Cape Canaveral. In 2016, the company merged with Caribbean Development Company, a long-established Trinidad & Tobago brewery founded after WWII by Sir Gerald Wight, a Brit who brought the European-Continental method of brewing to the West Indies. In 2021, Florida Beer Company officially adopted the Carib Brewery name to embrace the expanding international brand.

If you’re ever in the Cape Canaveral area, drop by their Taproom to enjoy fresh beer and tons of weekly events, food truck festivals, and more. For more information visit them at caribbreweryusa.com.