@floridabeer – A Major Thank You For #BBC11

First off, apologies for not putting up my other #BBC11 related posts.  I have about 2-3 written as well as a vacation and conference recap.
Now, onto the real reason for this post.
The Assistant Director at my wife’s gallery happens to have a close relationship with the powers that be at Florida Beer Company.  Before I left for my Seattle/Portland vacation culminating in the 2nd Beer Bloggers Conference (#BBC11), they agreed to ship out 12 bottles of their award-winning Swamp Ape Imperial IPA (10% ABV & 85 IBUs).  To my great surprise, Eulan Middlebrooks, their Marketing & Promotions Manager, also sent a really amazing zip up polo shirt proudly featuring the Swamp Ape logo.
Fast-forward to the “Night of Many Bottles”.  I managed to snag a glass, which was of course delicious.  The hops were kickin’, but the malt backbone gave it great balance.  It’s easy to see why it won the Silver Medal at the US Open Beer Championship.  Out of a total 12 bottles of Swamp Ape, all but one were consumed within the first hour of the tasting!
The raffle for the donated shirt also received a bunch of entries.  On Sunday morning, Florida craft beer advocate Gerard Walen (@roadtrips4beer) of Roadtrips For Beer drew the winner out of the envelope.  Jon of The Brew Site (@brewsite) is now the proud owner of the shirt, as seen below.
(image courtesy of The Brew Site)

If you are on the road in Florida, do your best to go and taste some Swamp Ape or the other great beers from Florida Beer Company.