Fermentation Lounge in Tallahassee, Florida

Most of the attention in Florida’s craft beer renaissance goes down south to big players like Cigar City and up-and-comers like J. Wakefield Brewing. Meanwhile, there’s a city on the northern border that’s quietly causing a stir. “Tallahassee will have two full-production breweries up and running by the end of the year,” says Jamie Hanuka, referring to GrassLands Brewing Co. and Proof Brewing Co.

Hanuka is the event and social media promoter, and a brewer, at Fermentation Lounge, Tallahassee’s go-to beer bar with 19 taps and 80 bottles. “Tallahassee beer culture has mirrored American beer culture since Ferm opened. There has been a desire to explore different beer styles and different examples of those styles.”

Pull up a fire-engine-red leather bar chair (part of the sleek Americana vibe, sans kitsch), and start that exploration with two taps dedicated to Fermentation Lounge “house biers,” brewed on-site. These taps change every two to three weeks, and include one of the brewpub’s flagship beers (like Black Lagoon, an Imperial Porter commemorating Creature from the Black Lagoon, which was filmed in nearby Wakulla Springs) and one experimental brew.

Since opening in 2008, Fermentation Lounge has grown right along with Tally’s beer scene. Bartender and general manager Andrew “Ace” Evans has worked there for nearly four years. There was a day, Evans says, that a beer like now-popular Stone Spröcketbier, a black Rye Kölsch-style beer, wouldn’t have sold. “It’s too light for some dark beer drinkers, too dark and flavorful for some light Kölsch drinkers, and has rye in it, which used to be an ingredient with a sort of stigma attached to it,” he says. “Now, it’s something the beer culture craves because it breaks the traditional rules of the styles it blends.”

The evolution of the patrons’ palates opens up Evans’ options for the draft list. “When I started, there was a bit of a struggle keeping brand-new craft beers rotating without occasionally having to come back to the same beer after a while,” he says. “Now, while we certainly have our crowd favorites that we rotate in more often, there is something new every week. It is at the point where I have too many choices.”

Fermentation Lounge regular Chris Kenworthy, a graphic designer, points to the brewpub as a godfather of sorts. “It’s hard to spend much time there and not talk to a stranger about what you’re drinking, and get suggestions on other great beers you might like,” Kenworthy says. “They are basically the hub of beer culture for Tallahassee.” ■