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Florida’s first brewery dedicated to American wild ales is now open, north of Ft Lauderdale, in a revitalized industrial-chic neighborhood of Pompano Beach. It’s a long overdue addition to the Sunshine State’s craft beer scene and we expect it’s gonna take off.
The bastard love child of owners and brewers Matt Manthe and Dan Naumko, Odd Breed Wild Ales is South Florida’s first brewing operation totally dedicated to producing barrel-aged wild ales.
Florida’s craft brewing scene is known for a lot of excellent things, but up until now, breweries focused exclusively on producing wild ales that are fermented and aged in oak, hasn’t been one of them.
Forgoing the juicy IPA’s and the tropical lagers that now dominate Florida’s craft brewing landscape, partners Manthe and Naumko decided to follow their muse and join the small yet growing ranks of US brewers like Austin’s Jester King or SoCal’s Bruery Terreux who craft beers using a unique blend of wild yeast and souring bacteria and then age it in wood barrels to produce a tart and unique flavor profile.
And also a little ’odd’ is the fact that Odd Breed Wild Ales was designed to actually shop out the ‘base beer’ brewing chores to other local breweries…
According to the Miami New Times, South Florida breweries like Pompano Beach’s 26° Brewing and Bangin’ Banjo, or Boca Raton’s Barrel of Monks will generate the wort that spends time their stainless-steel fermentation tanks, before making its way back to Odd Breeds’ facility for the aging and blending process that will lead to the final beers that they’ll be offering.
Once back at Odd Breed tasting room those base beers will then be transferred to Oak barrels where they’ll age and continue to ferment anywhere from five month to three years before they are ready to serve. Some of those beers will be aged with fruit, while others will age in multiple barrels, or be blended to create something new altogether.
And like Bruery Terreux, Odd Breed has a Rare Bottle Club. And the $300 membership fee will allow members special access to limited releases, beer gear and events.
So yes, craft beer is getting a little wilder down in South Florida and Odd Breed’s Matt Manthe and Dan Naumko are committed to making sure things stay that way.
