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🍺 Veteran-owned Florida brewery ‘showcases strength’ in non-alcoholic ale

Leader Brewery will be featured at ‘Science on Tap’ event in Orlando on Jan. 20

PALM BAY, Fla. – The Orlando Science Center is hosting its annual Science on Tap event in Orlando in January. The fundraiser is centered around beer.

One Florida company though, is encouraging people to take a break from alcohol, while still enjoying a good brew.

At Leader Brewing in Palm Bay, owner Max Green has non-alcoholic beer on tap and in cans.

“I was really into craft beer and had been home brewing for 20 years. Six years ago, I decided to take a break from drinking. It just didn’t match the performance I wanted... I slept better, worked out more, but I missed having that craft beer experience... the hops. The malt,” Green said.

So he started his own business in 2021, producing three non-alcoholic beers.

“We’ve got hoppy, we’ve got malty, we’ve got roasty,” Green said.

The names -- Danger Close, an american pale, Night Strike, an Irish-Style dark brew and Tracer Fire, an amber ale, an ode to his military background, having served 12 years in the Marine Corps.

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“We wanted to bring that to the forefront and really showcase strength in non-alcoholic beer. There’s a lot of stigma out there about people being weak if they decide to go to non-alcoholic beverages for whatever reason,” Green said.

Leader Brewing is one of dozens of Central Florida breweries participating in the Science on Tap event, with proceeds benefitting community education programs organized by the Orlando Science Center.

This year’s family friendly event includes lawn games, music, face painting food trucks and hands-on science activities for kids and adults.

“Beer-making is in itself science. A lot of the early biochemistry work done by Louis Pasteur was because he was trying to help a brewery figure out what makes brewing work,” Green said.

So what’s the process of making beer?

“We’ve got water, malted barley – sometimes we’ll add wheat or oats the recipe – hops, then adding yeast at the very end,” Greensaid. “We’ve got standard brewery operations here. We’ll take that barley, crush it up and put it into the mash lauter ton and put hot water to turn it into kind of an oatmeal structure. The starch will turn into surgars. We’re going to drain the liquid out, put it into our boil kettle, bring it to a boil, add the hops and once we’re done with that, cool it off, and add the yeast and let the yeast do it’s thing to turn into beer.”

So what’s the difference between brewing regular beer and non-alcoholic beer?

“By definition, I’ve got to keep it under a half percent alcohol by volume. Really, I’m doing everything a regular brewer does, except, they’re trying to get as much ethanol out of the mixture as they can, I’m trying to get as little ethanol out of the mixture,” Green said.

Green said his recipe and balancing act of ingredients make his brews taste just like alcoholic beer.

One of his beers, the Night Strike, already earning awards: a silver medal at the L.A. Spirits Awards in 2022 and Bronze at the American Beer Festival in 2023.

You can find Leader Brewing beers at bars and Total Wine & More across Florida. You can also try their beer during Science on Tap while supporting the Orlando Science Center Saturday, Jan. 20, at Loch Haven Park. General Admission tickets re $60, for those 21+, Designated Driver Tickets and minor general admission is $30.

This event features over 30 local breweries from around Central Florida who will be sampling some of their best beers. Sip your way through interactive science demos, enjoy live music, challenge your friends at fun lawn games, and enjoy a few of our favorite local food trucks offering tasty treats available for purchase.

This event is open to all ages, but minors must be supervised at all times. Minors 16 years or older must have a valid “Designated Driver/No Alcohol” ticket and be with a paying 21+ guest to enter.

Minors must be supervised at all times. Unsupervised minors will be required to leave the area.

All attendees with a beer sampling ticket must bring valid identification. IDs will be checked and entrance will be denied without proper identification, even with a valid ticket.

Proceeds from this event enable Orlando Science Center to inspire science learning for life for everyone through engaging experiences that build important skills and illustrate the power of science to address real world challenges. Please note tickets are for admission to the Science on Tap event in Loch Haven Park and does not include general admission to OSC.


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