Matt Djerf still sees him, still hears him. He still turns his head, waiting for his friend and his boss, Shannon Yates, to march down the hallway at Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery, wearing his trademark clogs. Yates, the former owner, and head chef, unexpectedly passed away in August. Now, Djerf will build on Yates’ legacy as the new head chef at the popular downtown restaurant.
Djerf recently started his new duties, continuing a journey in the restaurant business that Yates inspired.
“I worked with Shannon for nine years,” Djerf said. “These are surely big shoes to fill. It is strange to be here, and he is not there.”
The Cape Coral native started as a dishwasher at Nevermind when Yates opened the business nine years ago. Djerf had zero interest in the food industry, but he needed a job, and Yates needed kitchen staff. At the time, Yates wasn’t sure how his fledgling restaurant would fly, and to start, he paid Djerf in beer.
Soon, Djerf was preparing food, operating the frier and then the grill. Then came a life-changing trip with Yates to New York over the Fourth of July holiday.
Djerf and Yates visited famous eateries, dined on the works of world-renowned chefs. It was the experience of a lifetime for Djerf, who left there knowing food was his destiny.
“It was my best four days ever,” he said.
For a brief time during the pandemic, Djerf left Nevermind to work for Lee Richardson at LeRoy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar in Punta Gorda. Now, the Ida Baker High School graduate looks forward to continuing Yates’ vision of providing unique dishes and his legacy as a community and business supporter.
“We will keep the same lamb burgers, crab rolls, and wings, but we will bring in some salads and different pasta dishes,” the 32-year-old Djerf said.
They also will introduce flatbreads to the menu. “That was something (Shannon) wanted before he passed.
“It’s his energy and his passion. He knows that quality. He feels it, he loves it,” said Yates’ close friend, Dewey Sanders, about the new chef. “That was Shannon’s biggest thing – that passion. “(Matt) is going to take Nevermind where (Shannon) wanted it to go.”
Djerf also wants to continue Yates’ tradition of bringing in guest chefs from other restaurants.
“Shannon was a genius when it came to marketing,” Djerf said. “He would market other people because he wanted their businesses to do well. He put Cape Coral on the map with good food.”
Bars in Florida will now be allowed to operate at 50% capacity beginning today, said Halsey Beshears, secretary for the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation.
The state rescinded the governor’s March emergency executive order affecting the way bars can operate in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bars and other alcoholic beverage vendors may resume sales of alcoholic beverages for consumption on premises provided that their operations comply with the parameters of Florida’s Phase 2 recovery plan. These vendors may operate at 50% of the facility’s indoor capacity, allow bar service to seated patrons and permit outdoor seating and service with appropriate social distancing.
Event planned Sept. 21 at Old Soul Brewing in Fort Myers during International Deaf Awareness Month
Mike Schmidt, 57, is constantly aware that he is probably missing something.
Talk too fast, and he might
misunderstand you, turn your head, and he most likely will miss part
of the conversation.
Schmidt, who opened Old Soul Brewing in
Fort Myers with his sons six years ago, is nearly deaf.
“Sometimes we’ll have a band and a
hundred people in here, and I miss a lot,” he said. “I’m deaf,
but I read lips and hear a little; it helps.”
When he was in his 30s, his ears
started ringing. By age 40, he had hearing aids. At age 51, he had a
cochlear implant in his right ear, a small, complex electronic device
that can help provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly
deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. Now he says testing shows he has
about 4% hearing in the ear without the implant, and goes from deaf
to hard of hearing on a daily basis.
“I’ve met people who went deaf
instantly,” he said. “My hearing degraded, and I was able to deal
and adjust.”
Schmidt thought shooting guns in the Air Force and as police officer may have damaged his hearing, but audiologists have told him that was not a factor. “Some people are just genetically destined to have poor hearing, like some people have a bad heart,” he said.
Even though he can hear a little with the implant, he’s an advocate for use and teaching of American Sign Language (ASL).
On Thursdays at Old Soul Brewing, deaf and hard of hearing patrons and people who know, teach, want to learn ASL are invited to gather informally. He spread the word about the casual weekly meeting through meetups and social media.
“By word of mouth,” Schmidt says, chuckling. “I guess that’s something we don’t often connect with deaf events.”
During International Deaf Awareness Month in September, Old Soul Brewing is holding a first-ever event called Deaf Life: Get to Know It on Sept. 21 with the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center, an organization working to improve the quality of life for deaf and hard of hearing citizens and their families through services, education, advocacy and community involvement.
Face painting, awareness activities,
speakers about deaf culture and ASL classes are planned at the event.
Anyone of legal drinking age who learns how to sign their name in ASL
will get one free beer. A beer release is planned for a bourbon
barrel aged stout called Grateful Deaf.
Donations will be
taken for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center, where Schmidt has
been taking ASL classes.
“It’s really an event for hearing
people so they can understand the nuances a little bit,” he said.
“I would like hearing people to see what it’s like to be deaf and
understand the benefits of learning sign language. It’s difficult
to empathize with something you don’t understand.”
When he first started losing his
hearing and told people, they would laugh it off saying they were
couldn’t hear well, either. “The biggest challenge is getting
other people to understand,” he said. “It’s hidden. I don’t
have a cane or something visible.”
When people do understand, it makes
life less challenging.
For example, when Schmidt checked-in
for a doctor’s appointment, he notified the front desk that he was
deaf so they would physically send someone to get him from the
waiting room. During his exam, the nurse made sure he could see her
face when she spoke.
“It was the best experience,” he
said. “When people have some training, it’s great.”
Yet, sometimes not even hearing family
members understand. Shockingly, 70% of hearing family members with
deaf family members don’t learn sign language.
“It not the deaf person’s
responsibility to communicate. It’s our mutual responsibility to
communicate with each other,” he said, “Even if you only know
just a few signs, it’s a start to communication.”
Deaf Life: Get to Know It begins at
noon, Saturday, Sept. 21 at Old Soul Brewing, 10970 S. Cleveland Ave.
in Fort Myers. The event is free and open to the public. Donations
will be accepted for the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Center. For information, call 239-334-4334 or visit Old
Soul Brewing’s Facebook page.
As the long
days and heat of the summer begin to take over Southwest Florida, you
may begin reaching for lighter, more refreshing styles of beer. A
style that fits this bill perfectly is the German Hefeweizen. This
style of beer has long been a popular and refreshing beverage for the
hot summer days of Bavaria. Hefe, meaning yeast, and Weizen, meaning
wheat.
In 1516,
Bavaria adopted the Reinheitsgebot or German Purity law, which
strictly regulated what could be used in the production of beer. The
three ingredients allowed were water, malted barley, and hops. You
may notice the absence of yeast. It wasn’t until Louis Pasteur
identified this microorganism in his work “The
Dieseases of Beer, Their Causes, and the Means of Preventing Them”
in 1859, that we began to understand fermentation and its vital role
in beer production.
The purity
law was put in place to ensure enough wheat and rye was available for
local bakers. Although, in reality, some suggest the restriction was
actually enacted by the Wittelsbach family in Bavaria, so they could
profit by selling special wheat beer brewing rights. During this
time, there was one brewery in the village of Schwarzach near the
Czech border that was allowed to brew Wheat beers. This brewery paid
hefty fees for the privilege, until 1602, when leadership changed.
The new man
in charge, Duke Maximilian I, quickly allowed other breweries to
begin production of wheat beers. During this time, the sales of wheat
beers accounted for one-third of the revenues for the state of
Bavaria, with the Wittelsbachs owning all of the breweries. This
style of beer continued to see success through the Thirty Years War
(1618 – 1648), purportedly funding the Bavarian Army with brewery
profits.
In the late
1700’s, dark lagers began to come back into style and, in order to
improve the popularity of wheat beers, the law was amended in 1798 to
allow any monastery or burgher to brew the style. However, by 1812,
there were only two wheat beer breweries left and, in 1856, the
Wittelsbachs sold to George Schneider I. As the style came back in
the mid 1950’s, Schneider Weisse became one of the most popular
breweries in the world.
Wheat (or
Weisse) beers encompass many styles, however, Hefeweizen is one of
the most popular. It is an unfiltered wheat beer which has a
distinctively hazy appearance from the low flocculating yeast and
wheat. The yeast produces incredibly unique esters of cloves, banana
(isoamyl acetate) and bubble-gum during fermentation. The wheat malt
used gives the beer higher protein levels, which leave it with a
thick, pillowy, white head when poured.
The flavor
should be close to the aroma with notes of banana and clove being
prominent; there should be some breadiness from the wheat and low hop
characteristics. It should be highly carbonated, with an almost chewy
texture and it should be incredibly thirst quenching.
If
you’re looking to give this style a try, Schneider Weisse still
produces a fantastic hefeweizen and can be found at most bottle
shops. Weihenstephaner is the oldest brewery in operation, since
1040, and their HefeWeissbier is also highly recommended and easily
obtained. The only issue with imports is that it is often hard to
find fresh examples. With the craft beer boom in America, you can
find very fresh examples of this style, which is meant to be consumed
young. Scotty’s Bierwerks often has a refreshing example on tap, as
do other local craft breweries and beer locations.
Berliner Weisse is an enigmatic style of beer that originated in the early 1700s. It still takes many different forms, flavors, and appearances today. In 1809, Napoleon dubbed this style the “Champagne of the North.” As the name suggests, Berliner Weisse hails from Berlin, a city that began its brewing tradition in 1572, and its wheat beer brewing tradition in 1642.
Initially,
these beers were brewed with up to 100% wheat malt, however,
something between 50% and 70% was more typical. The grains used were
under-modified, which would leave less starch to be converted to
sugar for the yeast to consume and more proteins in the beer, which
act as foam stabilizers, giving the beer good head retention.
Typically,
Berliner Weisse would be low alcohol, 3% abv. This allowed them to be
consumed in place of water, which was typical in many areas of Europe
at the time. The beer was also brewed using wooden barrels. Brewers
would take fresh hay and lay it inside the barrel in order to act as
a filter when extracting the sweet wort from the mash. The hay worked
well, leaving the wheat behind. Now, you typically don’t see a
grist profile above 50% wheat malt. That is because with the advent
of new brewing technology, the typical mash tun is unable to filter
the wheat as well as fresh hay can.
From
the mash, brewers would typically skip the boil, and thus skip the
addition of hops, which as you may know act as a preservative and
inhibit certain types of bacteria. Because Berlin in the 1700’s was a
relatively new brewing town, they would have yeast brought in from
other brewing towns. Although, it wouldn’t be until 1857 when Louis
Pasteur outlined the role of yeast in brewing.
Brewers
at this time knew that adding the “left over” slurry from a
previous batch would help make a new batch. The yeast was typically
transported in baskets and would be checked, via smell method, to see
if it had soured or developed unpleasant odors.
After
mashing out, brewers would run the sweet wort down copper pipes
filled with cool water in order to cool the beer. Some of these
cooling mechanisms are still in use or are still part of traditional
breweries today. Brewers would also employ something called a
coolship, essentially a large, shallow, copper pan. Because of the
increased surface area of coolships, brewers were able to cool large
batches overnight. From here, it was typically transferred to
fermenters and yeast was pitched.
Traditional Berliner Weisse is unique. It is a wheat beer, like many styles of German beer, however, it has a reserved lactic sourness. This is likely due to the lack of hops, which often work as an inhibitor for lactobacillus, the main souring agent in beer.
Along with the lack of hops and multiple opportunities of long-term exposure to air, this beer was known as being tart, bone dry, highly effervescent, with a long lasting white head. It often had the essence of peach or apricot from the alternative yeast Brettanomyces that was found in the beer.
The
fermentation of this beer was usually pretty quick. From there, it
was bottled in champagne bottles to high levels of carbonation and
served. During the 1800’s, this style became high-class in Berlin. It
was common to have 9-year-old bottles that had been buried and aged
in clay available. Typically, higher-end locations would offer fruit
liqueur along with the beer. Because of the co-fermentation with
Brettanomyces and souring bacteria, some have suggested it is similar
to a young Lambic style beer.
With the advent of Lagers in the early 1900s, this style almost became extinct. By the 1980s, all but one Berliner Weisse brewery had closed. Kindl Weisse is the only surviving historic example, however, it does not represent the majority of historical Berliner Weisse. It is back sweetened and not fermented with a mixed culture.
With
the brewing renaissance, many American breweries began to research
and revive this style of beer. Unfortunately, even now it is
difficult to find a true historic example of a Berliner Weisse beer.
Many of the breweries that make this style utilize a souring method
patented by Otto Francke in 1906. This “kettle sour” method
employs souring for 24-48 hours in a boil kettle, then boiling to
kill off the bacteria, and finally pitching typical brewers yeast.
This method gives the beer a clean lactic sourness but typically
misses the head retention and peach and apricot essence of
co-fermented Berliner Weisse.
Tasting Notes
Berliner Weisse should have a thick, long lasting white head. Typically it is clear due to the acidity level. Peach and apricot should be present, along with lactic acid, sometimes a lemon quality.
The beer should be subtly tart with no bitterness and finish bone dry. It should be well carbonated, up to 4 bars of pressure, low abv, and very drinkable.
It
pairs well with fruit such as cherries, strawberries, or melon.
Havarti and aged ham or pretzel work as well.
The Vienna
Lager is a crisp, clean, and incredibly drinkable beer first brewed
in Europe in the 19th
century. When we talk about a Vienna Lager, we’re diving into a
history of malted grain. It gets its name from the Vienna malt that
is used as the primary source of sugar for the production of this
style of beer.
Vienna malt
came about after new kilning technology came to England. Kilning is
the process of malt production where the grain moisture content is
reduced, stopping the germination process. This is done by passing
heated, dried air through a shallow bed of malted grain.
Previously, all malt was kilned over a fire, which tended to produce a darker and sometimes smoky malt. The new technique used circulated, heated air instead of direct heat.
The Maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that give browned food its distinctive flavor (think seared steaks, toasted marshmallows, or malted grain), was not as intense and lighter-malted grains became available.
Around this
time, Anton Dreher was traveling with his friend Gabriel Sadlmayer II
of Spaten Brewery to learn about the brewing process in order to take
over his family’s brewery, Klein-Schwechat Brewery. During his time
in England he learned about this new process of kilning grain. There
are even reports that they went as far as stealing samples of wort
and yeast from breweries they visited to take back for analysis.
Once back
in Vienna, Dreher began to experiment with this new English process.
He started creating very lightly kilned grain. Eventually, he settled
on an amber malt that is just slightly caramelized. Not surprisingly,
this new malt became known as Vienna malt. Subsequently, he combined
this lightly kilned malt with lager yeast and in 1841, the
reddish-copper Vienna style lager is born. This revolution in beer
led to Anton Dreher becoming known as the “king of beer.”
Unfortunately, the Vienna lager did not last long. World War I left the entirety of Europe in tatters and the already waning Vienna Lager almost completely disappeared.
However, thanks to an earlier migration from Europe to Mexico, this style of beer was able to make a comeback and thrive once more. In 1861, when Napoleon III invaded Mexico, a new regime was established there and Maximilian I, from the Austrian Royal House was brought in to rule. Although, his reign was short, it brought an influx of art, food, and craft from Austria, including brewers.
Vienna
Lager, the beer of choice at the time, led to various iterations of
it being produced in Mexico. In Mexico, the Vienna Lager had an
easily available adjunct, flaked Maize, added to its grain bill. This
adjunct allowed it to be lighter and more easily drinkable than the
original produced in Vienna. In 1926, Cerveceria Modelo opened in
Mexico City and began producing an adjunct version of the Vienna
Lager, Negra Modelo, which is still produced today. Now, with the
boom in American Craft beer, it is possible to find the Vienna Lager
on tap in your local brewery or in bottles at the store.
This style
of beer is very similar to the Marzen or Oktoberfest style, which
reportedly came about from Sedlmayr’s experiments with the new
kilning method. He developed a Munich malt, which is kilned to a
slightly higher degree. He then used lager yeast to create what we
know today as Marzen. It is thought that Sedlmayr decided to market
his beer as “Marzen gebraut nach Wiener Art” or “March beer
brewed in the Viennese way,” suggesting he was copying Dreher’s
Vienna Lager.
Tasting Notes
The Vienna
Lager should have a thick, long lasting off-white head and should be
orange copper and clear. Malt aromas of toast and bread come through
predominantly with a light floral or spicy hop character. The beer
should be creamy with a complex toastiness and bitter hop balance. It
pairs well with bratwurst, chicken wings, or just about any grilled
meat. Vienna lager can pair well with a mild Gruyere, Pepper Jack,
Emmantal, or Stilton.
A
Local brewery from Bradenton FL, Motorworks Brewing Company, won a
bronze medal for V Twin, a Vienna Lager at the Great American Beer
Festival in 2014 for their rendition of the style.
