opinion

Margolis: Keep Florida beer local

Funky Buddha joins the list of Florida craft breweries to be acquired by a beer conglomerate. Constellation Brands, owner of Modelo, Corona and Ballast Point, acquired Funky Buddha for an undisclosed sum.

Although I am happy for owners KC and Ryan Sentz, and the whole Funky Buddha team, a selfish part of me is upset with the transaction and the Florida craft beer industry in general.

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My biggest issue is that the entire craft industries was conceived as a "middle finger" to big beer giants like InBev and MolsonCoors. Floridians were tired of 3.5 alcohol by volume beers being produced in the United States. Others either wanted access to or to replicate European beers that were not importable.

These beer enthusiasts tinkered and toyed around with their own mixtures of hops and malts, adding in flavors no large beer company dared to add. They created beers like the now famous "Maple Bacon Coffee Porter" (Funky Buddha), the award-winning "Mexican Standoff" (Due South), and my personal favorite "Creatures in the Dark" (Proof Brewery).

Breweries started to spring up everywhere, bringing with them a variety of different tastes and stories. We brought our own stories with us as we enjoyed the beer. I especially have fond memories of fighting through the lines at the Proof location on Tennessee Street to get a free glass and a great beer.

With more than 250 breweries in the state of Florida, there are a lot of stories accompanying the thousands of beers. By allowing these big beer conglomerates to buy our Florida craft breweries, aren't we allowing those stories to be bought as well?

I remain hopeful that these breweries will keep their middle finger attitude and not allow themselves to be just another subsidiary of InBev, Molson Coors or Constellation Brands.

Matt Margolis is a recent Florida State College of Law graduate and an avid craft beer drinker.