Southern Fields celebrating 2 years of beer this weekend | Around the Brew Bend
We'll never forget the time we heard there was a new brewery coming to the 850 back in 2019.
"Where's it gonna be?" we asked the guy who was teasing us with the news. "Wakulla? Havana? Perry? Killearn?"
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"None of the above," he told us. "They're opening in Campbellton."
"Wait ... where?"
He then proceeded to pull out his phone and show us a video he'd taken recently as he drove through Campbellton.
"Ok, so I'm officially out of Marianna and driving into Campbellton now," he narrated on the video. "There's the sign for the town ... there's the only stoplight ... there's the water tower ... and ... that's it. I just went through Campbellton."
At the time, it was a bit of a head-scratcher to us that someone would open a brewery in a town the size of Campbellton — Population 208 (according to the 2020 Census) — but fast forward 2 years later, and we no longer feel that way.
Southern Fields Brewing, which opened their doors in the summer of 2020 — at the height of the coronavirus scare — is about to celebrate two years of beer Saturday, June 11, with a huge party, including a Grammy Award-winning musical act, several new beers and a BIG announcement (more on that in a second).
And we couldn't be happier for them.
Navigating shutdown
Not only did Southern Fields successfully navigate the shutdowns and lockdowns that the pandemic brought on, but they've built a strong loyal following — despite being located in a bit of a no-man's land 75 miles west of Tallahassee off Highway 231 — while picking up numerous awards for their beer along the way.
Owner and co-founder Brian Walker, a former Broadway actor-turned entrepreneur, is the first to admit there were definitely times when he wondered if this day would ever come.
"Well, to say that we feel very fortunate would be an understatement," said Walker, whose ownership group worked tirelessly from early 2019 to early 2020 to totally renovate a 100-year-old bank building in Campbellton and turn it into a full-scale production craft brewery with a large tasting room, a gorgeous private event space and a massive outside beer garden.
"We have been lucky considering what a strange few years and the economic climate being what it has been. We all worked so hard to get it open, only to shut down again and miss out completely on a honeymoon phase. If not for family, friends, and the community working with us and supporting us and cheering us on, I think we might not have made it," Walker said.
But they did. And now they're ready to party like it's 1999. Or, in this case, 2019.
Party like it's 2022
Saturday's 2-year Anniversary Party kicks off with a bevy of food trucks from all over North Florida coming to serve the crowds, including Funky Mermaid (Panama City), Huey's Walking Taco (Enterprise, Alabama) and Ghost Tacos (Dothan, Alabama). And all those food options can be paired with several anniversary beers Walker and his brew team are excited about.
"Saturday is going to be a fun one. We have three beers that we are releasing for our celebration," Walker said. "The first is a 'SmaSh' style beer (single malt and single hop) we have named 'Stellar Promises' coming in at 4.5% ABV; it is a balanced crusher with some nice Galaxy hop notes. The other two are some refreshing sours: 'Roadside Blackberry Cheesecake Sour' and a Key Lime Pie Sour."
But as the day turns to night, the celebration turns up.
Grammy winning entertainment
Southern Fields made a connection with Nashville-based Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Kendall Marvell, who has written for and tours with superstars Chris Stapleton, the Brothers Osborne, Blackberry Smoke and others.
Tickets for the show, which starts at 7 p.m., are $20 beforehand and $25 at the door. They can be purchased through southernfieldsbrewingco.com and they include an opening act named "Heyword," which is a local group from nearby Marianna.
So how did SFB score such a big name for their 2-year anniversary? Well, as Walker tells it, "it all started with beer."
"It always starts with beer, right?" Walker laughed, before adding: "We have some mutual friends down in the Port St. Joe area and got connected that way. We have hung out a couple of times and he and his wife stopped by the brewery on their way back from the beach to Nashville one time and he saw the layout. When he saw the courtyard and our stage, he turns and says, 'Man, this is a nice place. I should play here some time!' My immediate response was, 'Man, I see who you run with. We can't afford you!'
"But sure enough, we got him. And like I said he is a super talented guy and we are really lucky."
As the saying goes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. But in Southern Fields' case, they've been both over the first two years in business. They earned "Best Brewery" at the 2020 Tallahassee Beer Festival, then turned around two weeks later and won the same award at Brews By The Bay in Wakulla. Crazy thing about both those honors? They weren't even open yet!
Fast forward to the Destin Wine Festival in 2021, and they once again won "Best Brewery" among the crowd of fellow breweries on hand. Then just two months ago, their Russian Imperial Stout earned "Best Overall Beer" at the 5th Annual SGI Brewfest on St. George Island.
Secrets to success
When asked what he feels Southern Fields' secret to success has been in the early going, Walker gave all the credit to his brewing and hospitality team.
"Brantley Cook, our head brewer, is amazing at what he does. His recipe creation and execution are what you want if you are trying to put out an awesome product," Walker said. "Brendan Tracy, who handles the hands-on operations at the brewery, is like James Bond and the Energizer Bunny in one. The guy has no quit and doesn't like it when people around him do. Shannon Moore runs our front of the house, and whether she knows it or not, she IS our final say in beer quality control. We don't have a large group overall, but what's the saying? 'Small but mighty?' "
Small, but mighty is definitely the way we have described our beer scene over the years. And Southern Fields has fit right in. But don't think for one second they plan to put it in cruise control heading into Years 3,4, 5 and beyond.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Remember the "big announcement" we alluded to a few paragraphs back? Well, patrons during Saturday's anniversary party are going to hear ALL about it in person, but Walker gave us his blessing to go ahead and drop the news right here and now.
Something new
Later this year, Southern Fields is going to open a sister brewery in downtown Dothan, Alabama — just 17 miles from Southern Fields' current location in Campbellton — and they're going to call it "Circle City Brewing," which is an ode to Dothan's nickname and being the first city in the world with a four-lane highway that circles completely around the downtown area.
Walker plans to fill SFB's supporters in on all the details Saturday, but just know this: It's going to be located in the hottest of hotspots in Downtown Dothan: right next door to the award-winning restaurant "Eat KBC," whose head chef Kelsey Banard Clark won BRAVO's "Top Chef" competition in Season 16.
Walker said renovations are already underway, and the plan is to open "no later than September of this year."
As for the future of Southern Fields, Walker says there's plenty in the works there too.
"We are going to get our beer into cans this year — finally!" Walker exclaimed. "And yes, we are working on some connections to push our beer further down the coast and west of us. The response has been great. We are just growing as we go and trying to make the best decisions."
So far, so good! We hope you'll consider taking the short drive Saturday to Campbellton to help our friends at Southern Fields celebrate. It's been a wild ride these first two years, and we are happy to not only say SFB is still standing — they're thriving!
Congrats again on the milestone, Southern Fields — and here's to many more!
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Southern Fields Brewing celebrates 2 years of beer this weekend
