Juicy Brewing to take over the former Avid Brew Company space in the Grand Central District
/Juicy Brewing will open at 1745 1st Avenue South, formerly Avid Brew Company, in the Grand Central District of ST. Pete | AB3 Visuals
Juicy Brewing, a popular craft brewery in the Washington DC suburb of Herndon, Virginia, is set to open its second location in the Grand Central District of St. Pete.
Hoping to open in February, the brewery will occupy a 3,600-square-foot building formerly home to Avid Brew Company at 1745 1st Avenue South.
“We are so excited to be part of the St. Pete community,” said K Scarry, who owns the St. Pete location with her husband Jake Killian, Joshua Newlon, and the founder of Juicy Brewing Anton Sagan.
Since debuting three years ago, Juicy Brewing has become known for its hazy IPAs and fruit-forward sours.
“Before Anton started Juicy Brewing, he was in the hops business,” says Scarry. “He was one of the first people who introduced New Zealand and Australian hops to the United States market and has a very high standard for his IPAs.”
Juicy Brewing’s Oppaque, a New England-style double IPA | Juicy Brewing
Juicy Brewing’s Opppaque series, which denotes a single, double, or triple IPA by the number of P’s in the word “Opppaque” always starts with the same base beer, but then varies based the type of hops used.
The brewery is also known for its fruited sours which are released under the Mega Fruit or Mega Fresh series, the latter of which is made with lactose making the beer smoother and creamier.
“The smoothie sours are thick and juicy. You can barely believe it’s beer,” says Scarry. “These beers have actually expanded the community of beer drinkers in Herndon because it doesn’t taste like a typical beer.”
The brewery is constantly iterating on the fruited sour, rarely even using the same combination of fruits twice. Over 40 varieties have been created to date.
Juicy Brewing’s Mega Fresh PiMP, a fruit-forward smoothie sour made with pineapple, mango, and passionfruit | Untappd
One of the most popular fruited sours is the Mega Fresh PiMP, made with pineapple, mango, and passionfruit. Other varieties include Guava Strawberry and Triple Berry Chocolate, which is made with raspberry, strawberry and blackberry and then blended with three types of premium chocolate (white, sweet, and dark).
If IPAs or sours aren’t your thing, Juicy Brewing also brews other styles of beer, such as pilsners, stouts, hefeweizens, and more.
Based in Virginia, an expansion to St. Pete wasn’t an obvious one for Anton, who discovered the former Avid Brewing space while browsing online one day.
“He stumbled across the listing and decided to travel down to St. Pete to check it out,” says Scarry. “He came home raving about St. Pete’s cool vibe and insisted we all fly out to see the space.”
K Scarry and her husband Jake Killian, who own Juicy Brewing’s St. Pete location with Joshua Newlon and the founder of Juicy Brewing Anton Sagan | Juicy Brewing
The group visited in May and that sealed the deal. Blakemore Kearney of Vector Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord in the lease transaction.
“We love how St. Pete is so community-focused,” says Scarry. “We really want to create a space where people can come together and connect with one another. We want to be good neighbors and get involved in the local community.”
The Juicy St. Pete experience will partly depend on what customers are looking for and may evolve over time.
“We don’t want Juicy St. Pete to be a carbon copy of the original Juicy Brewing. Instead, we want St. Pete to take on a personality of its own while also staying true to the heart of what makes the original Juicy so special.”
Juicy Brewing is hoping to open in February at 1745 1st Avenue South. Be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date on grand opening plans and new beer announcements.
A selection of Juicy Brewing’s canned beers | Juicy Brewing
