With a focus on healthy eats and local drinks, Roger Lim and his team at Brewz |n| Dawgz are committed to bringing new and exciting takes on American classics in St. Augustine.
Tending Bar Since: 1994
Opened Brewz |n| Dawgz in: July, 2015
When did you get a taste for craft beers? I’ve been drinking European/Craft Beer for as long as I can remember! I really got a taste for the American Craft Beer movement in 1999 when my roommate at the time brought some beers back from Oregon and introduced me to Rogue!
Why all the local brews? Our entire concept is focused on offering locally and regionally as much as possible. So, why not introduce people to a wide array of beers from their own back yards that they may or may not have been aware of or able to get hold of and with 24 FL crafts on draft, there is something for everyone!
What kind of food can we munch on while trying all those beers? We focus on American comfort food specializing in a variety of gourmet style Franks, Brats and Sausages, as well as organic chili, organic french fries and house-made organic coleslaw, and everything we offer is as ‘clean’ as possible. We only use fresh or local organic/non-gmo ingredients and all of our meats are from real farms that are trusted to provide the best humanely raised/grass-fed meats without any antibiotics, hormones or nitrates/nitrites* *(except those that are naturally occurring from celery/salt) We also offer many vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options!
How do you introduce the non-beer drinker or classic brew drinker to the new stuff? Anyone who says they don’t drink beer, just hasn’t had a good one that’s right for them! I can narrow it down to taste by what they normally drink (even if they only drink liquor or wine) and then start the process of elimination by styles of beer or what they are in the mood for (sweet, light, fruity, dark, etc).
What’s your favorite beer on tap? Radegast (Czech Pilsner) on tap is one of my all time favorites, but has not been available locally for many years. It is just a straight up refreshing Czech Pils with the right amount of bite and enough alcohol% to keep things interesting…But, most recently my favorites have been Intuition (JBW Collabo) Milk Bar Imperial Rye Milk Stout, Funky Buddha Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bench Colliding Galaxies Sour IPA and Miami Brewing’s Little Havana Cafe con Leche.
What do you enjoy most about the Brewz |n| Dawgz clientele? I enjoy our steady core of enthusiastic regulars that have been coming since day one. Also, the new faces that find us and become regulars because they understand what we are doing with our ‘cleaner and healthier’ Hot Dog options. They are one of the many reasons we are so lucky to be doing what we do on a daily basis.
Most challenging part of your job? Being a business owner is always challenging and time consuming, but the hardest part is keeping up with the constantly changing draft line up and making sure it is up to standards, which may include me having to test each beer we bring in…It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it!
What makes Brewz |n| Dawgz different than other restaurants/bars in town? We are a niche destination that offers a ‘cleaner and healthier’ option in a category of food that most people would never know there were better options. Another thing is our staff, they are our family and they care about the image and success of Brewz |n| Dawgz as much as we do! Of course, again, our regulars…as well as, focusing on being a locals and in the biz/hospitality oriented destination as opposed to the tourist driven establishments in and around town. We pride ourselves on giving back to the community with a 15% food discount for police, fire and military personnel in uniform and our ‘Dawgz for Dogs’ charity that benefits local pet rescues! We also support other locals that are in need of fund raising for various reasons, such as the cancer benefit we did for a local St. John’s County Firefighter Pat Taaffe and most recently we hosted a fund raising benefit with Christina’s Joy Moja, which raises funds for education in Tanzania.
Brewz |n| Dawgz
1974 US1 South
www.brewzndawgz.com
Photography by Brian Miller
