In this week’s edition of Beer Run, we check in on the new kid on the downtown block: Citizens Co-Op.
You might not think of a neighborhood food cooperative as a spot to find a nice selection of craft beer, but at Citizens Co-Op, located at 435 S. Main St., the mission is to give the people what they want.
Filling five shelves right behind the checkout counter, the co-op’s beer, wine and cider collection is a welcome sight to beer lovers who also want to help support the local economy. Although there aren’t any Gainesville-produced beers just yet, the selection still sticks close to home, with beers hailing from Tampa, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
“We would like to get local beer if we could, but for now we just try to get as much regional beer as we can sell,” said Shanna Meyer, a co-op staff member. “We can only offer so much since we are a small store, but we like having it here for customers.”
Besides the bombers and six-packs from Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing and Athens’ Terrapin Beer Company, there are also popular brews like Abita’s Turbodog and Restoration Pale Ale sitting next to a variety of bottles from Rogue Ales.
There’s even some canned beer like Oskar Blues’ Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub Scotch Ale, an award-winning beer that is big on malts and offers a hint of chocolate and coffee flavors.
The lineup just wouldn’t be complete without the impressive selection of organic and gluten-free beers. Boasting beers from Peak Organic, Bard’s Malt Beer, Samuel Smith’s Organic Ales, New Planet and Eel River Brewery, the styles available all look worthy of a try — even if you don’t care much for the organic label.
Between the Peak Organic Oak Aged Mocha Stout and the Blonde Ale from Eel River Brewery, I had a hard time picking which six-pack would be the best addition to my fridge, so I got both. The prices are reasonable, with members wanting to keep the price tags competitive to other beer selections in town.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the co-op yet, Shanna recommends stopping by one of the store’s monthly beer and cheese tasting events. The event usually corresponds with the downtown art walks and features hunks of cheese and small kegs of beer — this month featured Gainesville’s own Swamp Head Brewery.
Learn more about when the next tasting, or other fun events, is set to happen at http://www.citizensco-op.com/.
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Also, if you would like another chance to get some Swamp Head beer in your life, head over to Gainesville House of Beer Tuesday night for the Swamp Head tap takeover. The event will start at 8 p.m. and will feature a variety of Swamp Head’s fleet of beers, glass and t-shirt giveaways and a chance to meet the team behind the beer. Learn more at the Gainesville House of Beer Facebook page.
Filling five shelves right behind the checkout counter, the co-op’s beer, wine and cider collection is a welcome sight to beer lovers who also want to help support the local economy.
