San Marco will be the home of the next great brewery to enter the northeast Florida/Jacksonville market. The long-awaited Aardwolf Brewing Company helmed by Michael Payne has signed a lease for a building on Hendricks Blvd. next to the railroad tracks. The building was previously a tile and granite retailer as well as an icehouse. The location is also across the street from the San Marco Station project and Panera Bread Company.
Payne is previously responsible for the brewing program at Brewer’s Pizza in Orange Park. There he established a robust program that has produced favorite brews such Pinglehead Red, Moondance Stout, and Tailhook Brown. He refined his brewing knowledge at the Siebel Institute in Chicago and Doeman’s Academy in Munich. The Siebel Institute was found in 1872 and is the oldest operating school dedicated to beer brewing science in the United State. Doeman’s was founded in 1895 by the pharmacist Dr. Albert Doemens as a training center for the brewing industry. Also Payne’s resume is a stint at Terrapin Beer Company in Athens, Ga., brewers of exceptional beers like Wake n’ Bake, Hopsecutioner, and Rye Pale Ale.
A tap room and regional distribution is planned for the brewery when it is up and running. How soon that will be depends on zoning and build out, but Payne already has financing in place so it is just a matter of pushing past those hurdles.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Roger Bull of the Florida Times-Union for breaking the news and users of MetroJacksonville.com for details.
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