Last summer, you never would have heard me telling you to drink local, because you couldn’t. Thankfully, that all started to change in April, when Swamp Head Brewery brewed its first batch of beer. Founder Luke Kemper returned home from his undergraduate work in beer-soaked Boulder, Colo., and saw Gainesville to be lacking. In his own words, “I realized how great it would be to have a local beer in Gainesville.” Last Friday, I had the chance to sit down with Kemper and Swamp Head master brewer Craig Birkmaier to sample the beer and talk shop, and let me assure you, it is great to have a local beer in Gainesville.
The Beer Is Good – With five very distinct brews from Swamp Head, it’s easy to find something to love. For those who prefer a light, crisp taste, we have the honey cream ale, Wild Night. For the wheat lover there is Cottonmouth, a Belgian wheat with some elements of a hefeweizen. Midnight Oil packs an incredible amount of coffee flavor into an already solid oatmeal stout. The pale ale, Stump Knocker, is hoppy enough to satisfy yet easy to drink. Swamp Head’s flagship beer is Big Nose, a fantastic India Pale Ale that pairs a massive shot of hops with a full body.
It’s Only Getting Better – The only thing I liked more than Big Nose IPA was the new and improved Big Nose IPA, soon to replace the old recipe. Birkmaier is always playing with the main lineup and creating new beers. Kemper, always tweaking the business aspect of the brewery, is working on certification to bottle and sell Swamp Head in stores.
The Work of Men, Not Machines – Birkmaier is as much an artist as a scientist. His recipes have been tailored from years of award-winning amateur brewing and are not just based on some generic algorithm. Several started as copycats of big name beers, but as Birkmaier says, “Why try to clone it when I can do better?”
Keeping It Local – The guys at Swamp Head let their beers showcase the products of North Central Florida. Wild Night is flavored with Tupelo honey, world famous for its quality but collected exclusively in Florida. Midnight Oil uses locally roasted organic Sweetwater coffee. “It’s expensive,” Kemper said, “but we figured we should use the best.”
This Is Your Beer – Put Swamp Head among the ranks of Tim Tebow, championship rings and Burrito Brothers as reasons you are proud to be a Florida Gator. As an early adopter, you get bragging rights for all time; you can tell your kids that you drank Swamp Head back in 2010. When you are proud of what you drink it tastes so much better.
Drink Swamp Head exclusively at Stubbie Shirt Pub, Satchel’s Pizza, Alcove, The Laboratory and The Market Street Pub.
