Brews with a Twist

JUPITER, FL – January 5, 2017 – Whether the clock just struck five o’clock after a hard day’s work or if you’re on your way home after a routine outing at the Jupiter sandbar on Saturday, there’s always a good excuse to enjoy the taste of a frosty beer. With respect to the myriad avenues that lead to a cold brew, however, the taste that certain local connoisseurs – self-appointed or not – crave and prefer might not always be found at a nearby grocery store or gas station. That is why many Palm Beach County residents tend to gravitate towards their very own local breweries – and one in particular: Twisted Trunk Brewing, Co. Located within a large saloon decorated in a Georgia-based 1926 barn motif and a backdrop of heavy-duty tanks wherein the beer is produced daily, Twisted Trunk provides an almost perfect haven for relaxed, scintillating conversation while sipping on some of the finest craft pints available.

A DEMAND FOR BREW

Merely a year after it officially opened its doors, Twisted Trunk has positioned itself not only as a marquee brew house in South Florida, but across the country. Located in Palm Beach Gardens, the brewery gathers folks from all ages and all walks of life to enjoy a taste of local exclusivity. Twisted Trunk came to fruition when owners Fran Andrewlevich and Matt Webster decided to expand on the success of Tequesta Brewing Company (TBC), their first brewery in the Sunshine State just 10 miles down the road from Twisted Trunk; now a social staple in the town of Tequesta, Florida.

“We were at capacity the first year we opened TBC,” says Andrewlevich. “We needed more space in order to make more beer and different kinds of it, so we figured a second location nearby made sense. That notion was kind of the brain child of Twisted Trunk.”

Twisted Trunk obtains its name by way of a tribute to the emblematic 80-year old Banyan tree of Palm Beach Gardens that its founder John D. MacArthur planted at the entrance of the city at the intersection of Northlake Boulevard and [then] Garden Boulevard (now MacArthur Boulevard).

TWISTED OFFERINGS

Hops. Malted barley. Water. Yeast. These are the four critical beer-making ingredients that go into Twisted Trunk’s brewing tanks, which range from 600 gallons to 1,700 gallons in capacity – the latter equating to 100 kegs of beer – and after an eight-to-10-hour fermentation process that provides the beer with the ideal temperature, the end-product is put into a fermenter to generate one of the various types of beer that Twisted Trunk offers. The brewing process actually takes up to a total of two weeks from start to finish, from the initial production to the glass, pint, or growler, prompting Andrewlevich, Webster, and the rest of the Twisted crew to brew their beer two to three times a week to make sure they have enough beer for their customers at all times.

“We set up the brewery so that people can actually see and smell the beer being brewed; we love the interaction when people ask questions about the process,” says Andrewlevich. “It is a fascinating education that they can pass on to others.”

As far as what’s on tap, Twisted Trunk offers a variety of beers to suit all taste buds, from bitter to sour, and everything in between. According to Andrewlevich, there are five core beers that are rotated consistently, and these are: The “IPGA,” an American IPA; the “Palm Beach Pilz,” a German Pilsner; the “Watermelon Saison,” which contains a hint of fresh watermelon and zest; the “Finn McCool,” an Irish Red Ale; and the “Rasta Stout,” an English Stout beer. Aside from these staple brews, the Twisted Trunk staff combines their expertise with creativity to render new brews on a constant basis. For example, right before Halloween, they brewed, quite fittingly, a pumpkin-flavored lager.

“Here in Palm Beach, we have such an eclectic crowd that we think it warrants different types of beers,” says Andrewlevich. “You never know who’s going to come through our doors; it could be a banker, or a carpenter, or what have you but they are like-minded in the sense that they all want to try something that is a bit out of the box; just a different type of beer. We are thrilled to be able to offer that.”

BEYOND THE PINTS

By every sense or measure, breweries adhere to one rule – they exclusively serve beer, so before you wander into Twisted Trunk and ask for a Jack on the rocks, be forewarned: You will be turned away. However, Twisted Trunk does have two exceptions to this rule since they do serve wine and cider. They also have live music twice a month. As far as getting a bite to eat whilst there, Twisted Trunk doesn’t exclusively serve food, yet they keep a selection of menus from neighboring restaurants that will deliver food. Every Sunday, they have an exclusive Detox Yoga event – which, quite appropriately, ends with a pint of beer…or a Kombucha for the health nut.

Then, there are a slew of special themed events and product releases that Twisted Trunk hosts depending on the time of the year. If there’s a significant hop harvest, then Twisted Trunk will host “Oh, Hoppy Day,” featuring unique beers on tap that contain significant wet-hop and dry-hop treatments. While observing Oktoberfest, Twisted Trunk hosted “Gardens Day,” a charity event that began with a 5K marathon, followed by a photo release delineating the history of Palm Beach Gardens, and was capped off with the launch of “Gardens Gold,” a Vienna-style lager beer, which became the first can beer in Palm Beach Gardens’ history.

“Whether it’s in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Tequesta, or West Palm Beach we love to give back to our customers because they give so much to us,” notes Andrewlevich.

So, there you have it. If you’re a beer enthusiast and live in Palm Beach County and somehow have not checked out Twisted Trunk yet, you now know where your next beer should be.

For more information, please visit www.twistedtrunkbrewing.com. http://www.twistedtrunkbrewing.com/