Florida and North Carolina both have good craft beer scenes. They are just at different levels of development. I had my first craft beers (then called micro brews) in NC in the early 90's. In 1994, I had a book with listings of microbreweries nationwide. Florida wasn't even listed! The early years were fun; I used to plan trips around where a microbrewery might be. In Boone, a hillside Mexican place brewed their own beer. In Asheville, Barley's Tap Room opened and had 24 taps, all with names I didn't know. From that start, the Asheville beer scene has become one of the best in the entire country. "Beer City USA" now boasts over 15 local breweries, and several national breweries are moving in. This is all in a metro area of 250,000 people. Florida has a very different history. There were many false starts and brewers that were there before their time. There was a brewpub in South Beach before South Beach was "cool". On trips to the car races in the Tampa area, we discovered a small package store that sold many singles, called the World of Beer. Many early places are gone; the WOB is now a nationwide chain of beer bars and Florida is now on the craft beer map. The Florida craft beer scene has exploded in the last 10 years. Cigar City, Due South, Swamphead, Barley Mow and many more breweries are here, and more will be opening. The statewide count is now over 65, but the human population is more than 15 million. Looking north to Asheville and the numbers there, the Florida craft brewers are just warming up. So, get ready, Florida, there will be a craft brewery opening near you very soon! Many of them will start small, and the good ones will discover that they need to expand capacity sooner than they thought. I really do like some of these small guys; hidden in out-of-the-way small towns and making good beer; friendly, cool places with small bars that might only seat 10 people. Grab a beer and head outside to a beer garden and support the local food trucks. This is what is so cool about the craft breweries- everyone has a different idea of what they should be. No two are the same and the beer variety is almost limitless. Enjoy your summer and try to get to some of these different breweries wherever you are. You will find good people drinking good beer anywhere you travel in the U.S.

The Beer Blast is taking the summer off. I will be spending time in the mountains of NC and in Florida as well. There will be new breweries visited and some old favorites as well. In early August, I will be at the final stop of Beer Camp across America, at the new Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River, NC. For more on that, see below. I want to attend the Hourglass Brewery's 2nd anniversary this summer. They are one of those small out-of-the-way breweries in Longwood, FL. I should have plenty of stories about new breweries and will try as much beer as I can. Some of this will make future editions of The Blast or will be on the GBL Facebook page or Twitter account @goodbeerlarry.

The "Style of the Season" is Hefeweizen, a German wheat beer from Bavaria. The traditional Hefeweizen is served in a tall glass with a big head. The yeast used will produce phenols of banana, clove and medicinal flavors. All of these are a result of fermentation; nothing is added to the four allowable ingredients in all German beers, those being water, hops, barley, (or wheat) and yeast

The Featured Beer Bar is the "World Famous' Thirsty Monk in downtown Asheville. On three levels, there is a beer for any taste. The lower level is a great Belgian beer bar. The second level (street entrance) is an American craft beer bar, and the Top of the Monk has classic cocktails and bites. During Asheville Beer Week, I attended the "Drinking in the Dark" beer event on the third level.