J Wakefield Releases

Almost everyone around me in the VIP line last year was selling their bottles

 

Anybody with a Cuvee notice a substantial amount of sediment that has gathered at the bottom?

I assume this is normal, right?

 

Substantial sediment in both miami madness and cuvee

 

Don't let the Kool-Aid settle--shake it up!

 

I drank my VIP bottles with friends at a share. Amazing.

I wouldn't be surprised to see people arriving to the bar in the afternoon the day before the VIP ticket sale at the brewery -- a result of the sale being announced so far out, giving the profiteers time to book cheap flights rather than gamble with the online sale. The line is going to end up being mostly non-locals and Broward guys who pay their Plantation/Davie/etc rent by selling beer IMO.

 

I tried calling but is J Wakefield open on Mondays?

Last time I tried to go on a Monday it was closed. Google says it is but dont want to make the trek down if its not.

 

Staying in Wynwood this coming weekend. Planning on hitting Wakefield and Kush. Any other suggestions for places we should try and hit up while in the area? We will have a car, so leaving the Wynwood area is an option as well.

Thanks!

 

You may want to consider checking out Boxelder (Wynwood) and Union Beer Shop (Little Havana). As far as other breweries, MIA has great food (opens at Noon), 40+ of their own beers on tap and about 10 guest taps. It's in Doral about 12 miles (~30 minutes depending on traffic) from Wynwood. Also, almost forgot Wynwood (in Wynwood, duh) walking distance from Wakefield does some solid beers (Pops Porter won GABF Gold in the past).

If you want to venture further, Funky Buddha (Oakland Park/Broward County) is about 45 minutes North of J Wakefield and Civil Society (Jupiter/Palm Beach County) is about 90 minutes North of J Wakefield (w/o traffic). Also in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale you have Riverside Market (food + huge beer selection, opens early), Craft Beer Cartel (to go beer/growlers), Laser Wolf (craft beer dive bar), Invasive Species (former Funky Buddha head brewer), Brass Tap/Flagler Village (3 Sons founder is one of the brewers there, also many local/distro taps + food/full liquor menu, etc)

 

Coyo Taco and Panther Coffee are at the end of 24th street heading west from J Wakefield and both are solid spots as well.

If you make it out to the Beach, hit up The Abbey (small brewpub) they have great Belgian style brews with Father Theodore's stout as my favorite - underrated gem. Purdy Lounge is a no frills bar/club that locals hit up and gets going in the wee hours.

 

Thanks guys! Great recommendations I'm sure this will keep us busy while we are down there.

 

Definitely hit up Union Beer Store! best tap list in town imo, great bottles on the shelf

 

Big fan of Kush's Kush and Hash Burger: a Wynwood special, burger served with hash, bacon, fried egg, and ketchup on a waffle bun with a side of maple syrup.

 

How is Thunderdome and what is the expecation for BB Thunderdome? Also how long past noon will it last you think?

 

I prefer Thunderdome to La Nada and people went apeshit over the recent barrel-aged La Nada. If the coconut holds up well it should be excellent.

 

Also curious about lines for this release, will be my first since not from FL.

 

The reviews for reg Thunderdome do not seem extremely favorable. I remember liking it but not blown away. Obviously would like to see what a barrel does to it.

 

I tried Thunderdome last year and thought it was great but I drank it very fresh. I believe I sipped my bottle with a buddy the same day it was released. J Wakefield made a beer called Master Blaster which has not been released in a while; and, I believe Master Blaster became Thunderdome based on the label description. If anyone has intel on this, by all means please share..

Anyways, when I tried Thunderdome a second time a few months after its release, I felt it was a nice beer but the adjuncts had fallen off a good bit. I had it with a few friends and this was the consensus. I remembered thinking the same with Master Blaster. The Barrel Aged version will definitely be an interesting one to see how that turns out but; given my experience, I'd drink sooner rather than later. Coconut adjunct imo tends to fall the quickest of any adjunct in beer world.

As for the release itself, it reminds me of and I suspect it will go a lot like Harbinger and BA Harbinger did last year. It's 1 bottle + its BA counterpart (core range Hops 4 Teacher IPA cans release as well but that's not going to raise any eyebrows) unless something else gets announced for release between now and then. For Harby, not many people were in line. No tents or camping out and I don't believe they had the baseball card ticketing system for it either. Not much whales bro trade hype for Harby post release despite it being excellent. I arrived at 11:30 and was able to get full allotment of both (2 regs and 1 BA) if memory serves me correct. Plus, there are a couple things going on that day which may make people shy away. First, I think there is a mead release at Garagiste the same day which some people are heading to based on comments I've seen on social media. Second, College Gameday is coming down for the UM - Notre Dame game and some folks may be heading out to that. Hope this helps.

 

Many breweries add the flavoring components after the aging is complete. Does JWB do the reverse by putting already flavored beers into barrels for aging?