Each year on December 25, families gather around the tree, and at some homes, among the presents are oblong boxes that when unwrapped reveal a plastic jug, some extract packets, and a few brushes. The Mr. Beer kit is the impulse buy for the beer lover in your life, conveniently stacked near the register of Bed Bath and Beyond. Most recipients will give it a try; some might even take up homebrewing as a full hobby graduating to better equipment; fewer will actually use it as the impetus to go pro; and still fewer will have the impact that Jonathan Wakefield has had on the brewing industry.
He is the namesake of J. Wakefield Brewing of Miami, Florida, the street-art decorated brewery in the city’s trendy Wynwood arts district—the place that attracts beer fans from all over the country in search of two very specific styles: the fruited Berliner weisse and the flavored stout.
Wakefield has accomplished a lot in a very short period, propelling parts of the industry forward, but so much of the success he has gained came from looking to the past. “During my homebrew days, I did a lot of research and background digging into ales that aren’t brewed anymore,” he says, remembering making Kottbusser, a German ale made from Kölsch yeast with oats, molasses, and honey. Or the Kentucky Common he made while working at Cigar City Brewing in 2013. “It’s the old, dead styles that I find interesting.”