Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Baker.
Hi Jeremy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My mom is from England so we used to go every couple of years to visit family. The drinking age is lower there so I sort of fell in love with pub beer as a patron but never did much home brewing, maybe a couple of kits. The family of one of my bandmates at the time, started the first craft microbrewery in Jacksonville so I was able to get on as a backup bartender and eventually worked my way into the cellar. It was mostly production brewing but I kept working my way up until they opened a second location with a smaller system. By that point I had made my way to the head brewer position so I was able to create my own recipes and try some things out on a smaller scale. I think I fell in love with that type of pub style brewing because it allowed me to be more creative and I found a lot of similarities with making music. Since I was a musician before I was a brewer, when I was ready to start my own brewery I knew I wanted to have it be music themed. That’s how Grace Note was imagined.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. Breweries are expensive, need specific construction elements and equipment, and truthfully it takes a lot of dedication. There were many hoops to jump through with zoning, permitting, and ordering specific things that made the first phase feel like it was never going to end. Right as we were opening, we saw two or three in the area close so that was worrisome as well as the overall feeling that the craft beer industry was not booming the way it was before Covid.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Grace Note is owned by two long time friends and band mates in the local rock band, Inspection 12. We are a music themed brewery at the historic Sadler Point Marina. We try to offer something for everyone, so while we specialize in what we affectionately call boat beers, we don’t shy away from any style and just try to make everything we do the best it can be. Not everyone enjoys the same style of music or beer but most people can recognize when something is done well in those categories.
How do you define success?
Being able to support my family and my employees while contributing to our neighborhood and city in a positive way.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@gracenote.beer
- Instagram: @gracenotebrewing
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094226294102
