My hectic summer travel schedule was both good and bad for the Boa Beer Blog. On the positive side, I explored a lot of new brews, but on the negative side, I had no time to write about them! I’ll try to catch up from the summer beer-drinking season with a series of posts for my beer travelogue…

MIAMI, Florida, August 5 — I’ve been impressed with the burgeoning beer scene across the Sunshine State and was anxious to try a new Florida brewery during my visit to Miami.

The New Brew Experience:  J. Wakefield Brewing in an eclectic art district called Wynwood

Beers Sampled: I grabbed a seat at the bar of the brewery tasting room and worked my way through two 4-beer flights.

• Hop for Teacher IPA (6.0%)
• Symbiote Black IPA (8.0%)
• El Jefe Hefeweizen (5.5%)
• Detention Double IPA (9.0%)

• Not Even French Saison (7.5%)
• Amber Waves (6.9%)
• Peach Fuzz Blonde Ale (6.0%)
• Have You Seen My Stapler? (Belgian Tripel, 10.5%)

Favorite Beer: Hop for Teacher. After my flights, I probably would have stayed for a pint of the IPA, except the bartender had the movie “Batman and Robin” showing on the TV, with the sound up high. Worst Batman movie ever, but for some reason, everyone at the bar seemed transfixed. While I loved the beer, it was a weird scene so I decided to split.

I was most impressed with: The huge murals of Star Wars characters enjoying beer that were covering the walls of the tasting room. According to J. Wakefield, the tap room is decorated in a blend of “industrial chic with a side of geek.” The interior, along with the mural on the outside of the brewery (below), definitely gave you the sense of being in an artsy neighborhood.

And oh by the way: The J. Wakefield Brewing tasting room doesn’t serve food, but there was a hot dog cart set up in the parking lot. The hot dogs smelled good enough, but I was starved so I walked around the block to The Butcher Shop Beer Garden & Grill. This Beer Garden had my kind of vibe, and I enjoyed the friendly bartender, a Bacon Gorgonzola Burger, and local brew from nearby Wynwood Brewery. The view from my bar stool: