Local breweries made a new beer for first Miami Beer Week

Adrian Castro, a confessed lover of locally brewed beers, asks the question though even he doesn’t know the answer: How many breweries are in Miami?

As little as five years ago, you could count them on both hands with fingers left over. Now, with more than 20 and new microbreweries popping up almost every month, it’s harder to keep track.

And that’s why Miami Beer Week exists.

Miami’s many breweries — from small, independently owned spots like J. Wakefield to larger corporate-owned places such as Veza Sur — have come together to put on 18 special events, and counting, starting April 20. A list of the events is available on Instagram, @MiamiBeerWeek.

“Miami has one of the best beer scenes in the country and it’s about wanting to showcase our city,” said Castro, bar manager at Union beer bar in Little Havana, where he also cooks some of Miami’s best pan con bistec sandwiches weekly.

Events kickoff at Lokal burger and craft beer bar in Coconut Grove, an early acolyte of bringing craft beers from around the country to Miami, helping to start the craze. 23.

“We saw beer weeks in other cities and thought, ‘Why not in Miami?’” said Tripping Animals coowner Ignacio Montenegro, a Venezuelan immigrant who helped start the brewery nearly four years ago.

Lager Me, Bro is a beer many of the Miami breweries came together to brew at Tripping Animals that will be available at many Miami-area bars and restaurants during Miami Beer Week.

This was no small feat. Beer nerds can be as obnoxious as Star Wars or comic book fans when it comes to gatekeeping — and that’s another reason for Miami Beer Week, which actually will run through May 1.

A totem the beer lovers created — a trophy with a golden moka pot atop — will show up around town at the events, like the Stanley Cup.

“We don’t want to be snooty or pretentious,” Castro said. “We want to represent Miami.”

MIAMI BEER WEEK

Dates: Special events run April 20 through May 1.

More info: MiamiBeerEvents.com or Instagram: @MiamiBeerWeek

Carlos Frías: 305-376-4624, @Carlos_Frías