Five Miami Stories to Sate Your Thirst for Beer Knowledge

Miami's beer scene grows weekly with breweries, festivals, and new releases. Here are five local beer stories that prove the Magic City's suds just keep getting better.
Miami Brewers Collaborate on Beers to Help Hurricane Relief Efforts. In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Miami brewers have collaborated on several beers whose profits will be donated to relief efforts in Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys. M.I.A. Beer Co. in Doral has teamed up with breweries from the Tampa area — Coppertail, Green Bench, Cycle, and 7venth Sun — to make IRMA IPA. Proceeds from the sale of the beer will be donated to the nonprofit Feeding Florida.
Funky Buddha Beer Release Celebrates the Undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. Ask any Miami Dolphins fan under 40 and they'll tell you the same thing: The Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season seems like a myth. The team going an entire season without losing a game doesn't seem possible. Not according to what these fans have witnessed in their lifetime. Ask any Miami Dolphins fan over 50 and they'll tell you the same thing: The Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season happened and, dammit, it was glorious. Fourteen wins, zero defeats. Super Bowl champions. Literally perfect.
Islamorada Beer Company Brings Relief to the Keys. The little yellow house by the sea in Islamorada was a total wreck. Irma's winds had torn the hurricane shutters from the French doors. Huge ocean waves had pushed through and buried the interior in at least two feet of sand and punched holes in the drywall. A wicker chair and a white bedroom set were piled on the front lawn, still covered with sand. The driveway was buried, and the seawall had broken away and lay in the yard like a discarded child's toy. Jose Herrera, a stocky, bearded, bald beermaker, stopped his neon-yellow Dodge Ram pickup out front and walked through the mess.
Bousa Brewing Co. Taproom Opens in Little River. Less than two weeks after Hurricane Irma blasted Miami, Bousa Brewing Co. quietly opened its taproom September 22. The 12,000-square-foot warehouse and adjacent 1,500-square-foot tasting room are located in the Little River business complex near to the train tracks. Cofounders Enrique Garcia and Juan Pablo Vergara brought on brewmaster Jack Sparks, who previously brewed for Nine Band Brewing Co. in Allen, Texas, and worked as a consultant for breweries in South America.
Grovetoberfest 2017: The Best Beers to Drink This Fall. Grovetoberfest returned to Coconut Grove this past Saturday with more than 100 brewers pouring hundreds of beers. The lively event, held in Regatta Park, was a good way for newly opened establishments such as NightLife Brewing Co. and Bousa Brewing Co. to show off their beers alongside South Florida veterans like Concrete Beach and M.I.A. Beer Company. Once again, local breweries continue to impress with barrel-aged stouts, sours made with local fruit, and hoppy IPAs. Even with a plethora of beers to choose from, there are always standouts. Here are the beers and beverages to thirst for.