At a whopping 97 degrees, Saturday was as seasonably and uncomfortably hot as ever. Yet thousands of people continued to pour into First Magnitude Brewing Company’s brewery barn, where beer and good company took precedence over sweating.
After more than two years of planning, FM Brewery, 1220 SE Veitch St., opened its doors and served the public Saturday, enjoying an opening more grand than expected.
“It was amazing. Better than we could have dreamed of, as cheesy as that sounds,” Meg The Losen, FM Brewery president, said.
The doors opened at 2 p.m., and just fifteen minutes later, The Losen was getting texts from her team saying the parking lot was already full. Soon the line was out the door — and stayed that way throughout the day.
Named after the powerful first magnitude springs of North Central Florida, FM Brewery started out as just an idea in March 2012, when four friends talked about opening a brewery together in Gainesville.
Head brewer and former associate director of the UF Honors program, John Denny, had been telling his students to follow their dreams for more than 13 years. Knowing he would live with regret if he didn’t follow his own, the beer aficionado took his own advice and moved forward with opening a brewery.
“It was as good of a start as I can imagine,” he said. “I’m very grateful for all the support.”
Throughout the opening weekend, he and his partners, including his wife, Christine Denny, The Losen and her husband, Wells The Losen, sold about 3,000 beers, serving more than 1,500 people. They even ran out of a few of their specialty beers.
FM Brewery has high hopes for the future, like selling to restaurants and creating a beer garden with outdoor seating, live music and old-fashioned games like ring toss.
But even nearer is the excitement of the first Gator game of the 2014 football season, even though the brewery doesn’t have a great sense of what to expect.
“It will be a very different game than what I’m accustomed to,” John Denny said. “I hope people come and enjoy the game with us.”
The brewery will be open Saturday from 2 to 9 p.m., and it plans to have a large TV broadcasting the game.
Ameraucana Wood Fire food truck will serve food, the bar will be fully staffed and legal-sized growlers can be filled for customers to take to tailgates. FM Brewery will also have =its own labeled growlers.
“We’re hoping people can stop by for a pint,” Christine Denny said. “We’re excited and ready to pour.”
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 8/28/2014 under the headline "First Magnitude Brewing Co. enjoys successful grand opening "]
