Bradenton brewery to evolve without Darwin
Bradenton brewery to evolve without Darwin
BRADENTON -- Darwin Santa Maria, the namesake and public face behind Brandenton craft beer maker Darwin Brewing Co., is leaving the company he helped found.
The Peruvian-born restaurateur said this week that he resigned his position as a partner with the business two months ago. He closed his Sarasota restaurant, Darwin's on 4th, in July.
Santa Maria said he decided to make his exit from the brewery public this week, just ahead of the brewery's Nov. 21 launch of a new bourbon-barrel aged stout. He said his former partners in the business, Bill and Matt Cornelius and Darwin brew master Jorge Rosabal, are taking the brewery in a direction that does not include him.
"I'm trying to make the best of it, us going a different way," Santa Maria said. "I have other things I want to do."
Darwin Brewing Co. got its start as an outgrowth of Darwin's on 4th. When the restaurant opened in 2011, Santa Maria worked with a brew master to develop and brew several beers in house. Ingredients from his native country, including Amazonian chocolate and peppers, were used to undergird the flavors of some of those early brews.
Demand for the beers grew. In May 2014, Darwin Brewing Co. opened a freestanding brewery and taproom at 803 17th Ave. W. in Bradenton to keep up with the demand. The company sells its beer out of its taproom and through distributors. It is currently open five days a week.
Matt Cornelius, who is the brewery's general manager, said Santa Maria has not been part of day-to-day operations for several months. His departure will not change the business, he said, but is "unfortunate."
"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Darwin," he said.
Santa Maria said he is proud of what the brewery has become. Its beers have won awards and have a loyal following. But now that he is no longer involved, he is setting his sights on new endeavors. He said he recently returned from a trip to Peru during which he and Charlie Papazian, president of the Colorado-based Brewers Association, learned about the growth of craft brewing in the South American nation.
Santa Maria plans to make a trip to Ecuador in the near future to learn more about food ingredients derived from the Amazon region.
"I'm reinventing myself," he said.
At the same time, Darwin Brewing Co. is moving ahead. Cornelius gives full credit to Rosabal and his brewing staff for the character and taste of the company's nine brews. He said the company will continue to add more beer labels to its roster as time goes on.
Cornelius' father, Bill Cornelius, owns the Darwin Brewing Co. property, as well as the restaurant space once occupied by Darwin's on 4th.
The brewery's off-season hours are 4 p.m. to midnight on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, noon to midnight on Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Taproom staff can be contacted at 941-747-1970.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Bradenton brewery to evolve without Darwin ."