Raike began brewing beer 20 years ago while studying for his Master's from the University of Central Florida in computer engineering. He realized his passion for brewing beer, and has been brewmaster at Shipyard Brewing Company for more than a decade. He is one of the few Certiļ¬ed Cicerone's(tm) in the state of Florida, and for more than 10 years has been teaching graduate level students at the University of Central Florida Rosen School of Hospitality Management about the art of brewing English Ales, Belgium Ales and Belgium Sours. Raike recently won "Best of Show" at the 11th annual Best Florida Beer Championships 2012 in Tampa.
He recently toured Belgium to gain more experience in the Belgium style of brewing, which no one is doing in the Southesat, according to Raike. He plans to work with the kitchen using local ingredients to be a truly local Orlando brewpub.
"It's exciting to be working with James and all the chefs from Cask & Larder,” says Raike. “I'm really looking forward to brewing the best beer possible and bringing truly great beer to Orlando – I’m following my passion to make awesome beer to go with awesome food.
