Thursday, June 20, 2002

After Dark, a New World of Beer

By Robin Sloan
Points South Staff Writer

CENTRAL AVENUE–The master list now goes from No. 1, Abita Turbo Dog, to No. 178, Saxo. No. 35 is Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale from Colorado, and No. 131 is Liefman's Frambozen, a Belgian import. A stack of cases is waiting to be stored in coolers: Franziskaner Weissbier, La Fin du Monde from Quebec, Birra Moretti with red and green stripes, Fuller's London Porter. It's all beer, 178 different kinds of it–and it wouldn't have been possible a year ago.

But Bud Light isn't on the list at Fortunato's After Dark on Central Ave.

This is not a quality issue, nor one of panache; rather, it is a point of politics. "I'm against their whole philosophy of business," co-owner Keith Alterac says of Anheuser-Busch. For decades, Anheuser-Busch's lobbying dollars sheltered a law that kept foreign beer out of Florida. But in 2001, State Sen. Tom Lee of Brandon used his clout as chairman of the Rules Committee to make sure the Senate voted on a reform bill. Both Senate and House passed the bill, and it became law Oct. 1. The market opened up and, in March 2002, so did Fortunato's After Dark.

The old Florida statute only allowed beer in 8-, 12-, 16- and 32-ounce containers. This effectively outlawed European beers, which are manufactured in metric sizes. Domestic microbreweries were off-limits, too, if they sold beer in non-standard sizes such as 22 ounces. But when the law changed, bars and liquor stores could sell any beer in any container smaller than 32 ounces. Indeed, they could even sell Rochefort 10, the most expensive beer in the world, the product of Trappist monks, shipped from a single monastery in Belgium, $17 for 11.25 ounces of 11 percent alcohol.

Not everyone is interested in doing this, but not everyone is Keith Alterac. New legislation or not, there wouldn't be 178 different kinds of beer on the menu without him.

Back in 2001, Vinnie Fortunato hired Alterac to expand the sandwich selection at Fortunato's Italian Market. He didn't know Alterac was a longtime beer connoisseur, didn't know Alterac chafed under the old Florida law, didn't know Alterac is, in his own words, "always looking for a new taste." Ultimately, though, Fortunato is a man who likes new ideas as much as Alterac likes new beers. They decided to go in together on Fortunato's After Dark.

The beer roster, a huge poster taped up behind the bar, has been modified heavily since Fortunato's After Dark opened in March. Some beers have been crossed out. Many more have been added, most just written in with a black marker. When Alterac recently wedged another 12 into the margin, Fortunato called him "an addict." But hops speak louder than words: "I sent him home with the most expensive beer in the world," Alterac says. "He came back and had another one."

Fortunato's After Dark has attracted a broad clientele, from college students to Central Avenue employees to, yes, national beer judges. There's a colony of them in nearby Dunedin. Upscale beer distributors are excited, too: Michael Lentini of Miami-based Southern Wine and Spirits cites a 40 percent increase in his company's portfolio of handpicked beers, now about 40 in all. The new law "gave us an opportunity to bring in a lot more sizes," he says. Regarding Fortunato's After Dark, he says, "Nobody has a selection like this."

Down the street, Mike Amico, the cashier at Detroit Liquor and Fine Wine, says that nine times out of 10, people find the beer they're looking for at his store. Not that many people are prowling Central Avenue for Rochefort 10. But, back at Fortunato's After Dark, Patty Alterac thinks people enjoy the variety. She says "they love the fact that they can try lots of different beers from lots of different places and enjoy them." Behind the bar, Keith Alterac talks about "artisan ales" and "the art of beer."

The roster rises up behind him, and beneath it is a long row of bottles, all different. Next to the bar, a stack of cases still needs to be unpacked: Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss, New Castle Brown Ale, Corsendonk Abbey Pale Ale, Dinkel Acker, and on, and on.