Cigar City Brewing is known as the best craft brewery in Florida for a reason. In less than 10 years the brewery went from producing a few core beers and 1,000 barrels to over 70,000 barrels in 2016, plus 6,000+ variants since opening— all without losing the core of their craft.
Scaling up so quickly can mean sacrificing flavor and integrity; Not to Joe Redner, who realized the only way to grow was by sticking to his roots and seeking out the help of people doing large-scale production the right way— which landed him in the hands of Oskar Blues in 2016. And anyone savvy in the craft beer industry knows that an acquisition doesn’t have to mean losing your identity. This was crucial to the fifth-generation Floridian founder.

A little history . . .

While Jax Beer Week may be young in roots, it’s roots are deep in the community. Jacksonville is home to 8 breweries and that number only continues to grow. These breweries do more than produce really good beer, they also positively affect the Jacksonville community. It only seems fitting we’d celebrate the Jacksonville craft beer scene for an entire week. Big shout out to Jax Beer Society for bringing this to reality