South Florida has a robust craft beer scene, and Gulf Stream Brewing Company has made its mark as an independent brewery with several award-winning craft beers and artisan Neapolitan-style pizzas. All their beer is brewed on site, with draft and packaged beer available throughout both retail and hospitality accounts from Orlando to Key West. They also have a limited cocktail menu exclusively featuring Gulf Stream Distillery spirits.
For our latest Drinking Buddies feature, we interviewed Sean de Vosjoli, Director of Sales for Gulf Stream Brewing Company.
Drinking Buddies Interview
How did Gulf Stream Brewing get its start?
“Our owners, Dr. Ty Eriks and his wife Sharee Eriks, moved to Florida from Seattle in 2012. Prior to that, Ty started making beer while in dental school in Boston because they couldn’t afford to go out and drink and eventually caught the bug.”
“When they moved down to Florida and started their family, it was always a dream in the back of Ty’s head to start a brewery and bring that kind of Pacific Northwest style of craft beer experience to this area. Then, in 2018, he founded Gulf Stream Brewing Company with a good friend. Ty and Sharee eventually became the primary owners and operators a few years later in 2022.”
“I jumped aboard about 6 months into them being open and helped them with their distribution footprint. We now service 600 bars and restaurants from Key West to Orlando, 380 Publix stores, and can be found in Whole Foods, Total Wine, and more.”
Can you tell us more about how you ended up linking with the brewery?
“I was working for a distributor called Brown Distributing at the time, and they opened a craft beer section, expanding their boundaries all the way down to Miami. Ty was my brother-in-law’s neighbor, and my brother-in-law kept telling me, ‘You have to check out Gulf Stream when it opens soon.’ When it finally did, I came by and tried to sell them cider that doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“Eventually, they asked me, ‘Hey, would you like to make no money and help us build this thing?’ I went home and told my wife, and cut to now I’m a minority owner. It’s been fun, challenging, and exciting.”
What is the creative process behind brewing?
“I think we have a tendency to go for cocktail-inspired beers. For example, we may do an Aviation Sour, which is based on an Aviation cocktail. One of the other things we try to strive for is balance. We’re in Florida, so we try to make Florida beers — beers you can enjoy out on the boat or in the sun.”
“We don’t try to make anything too strong. We reverse osmosis the water, so we don’t have to worry about covering things up. We brew the water and match it to where the beer style got famous. For example, if we do a German beer or pilsner, we’ll match it to Munich’s water profile.”
“We also do a lot of dry hopping with lagers and IPAs. Dry hopping is great for IPAs because it lowers the barrier of entry for common people, people who may not necessarily be hopheads, and it really allows you to enjoy those layers that hopheads go on about.”
What is the brewing and canning setup like?
“We currently operate a three-head canning line with a 10-barrel system and five 20-barrel tanks, two 10s, and a brite. We are pushing our equipment pretty hard with our volume, and so we have also invested in a 30-barrel brewhouse with a full canning line, grain handling system, and fourteen fermentation tanks. That equipment is sitting in a warehouse, and we are itching to get working on a full production facility when the right location arises.”
What has the process been like expanding your footprint and getting your product out into the market?
“Sales is not for the faint of heart, especially in a market as competitive as the beer space. When we are looking to expand, we have to go up against other local offerings AND the big guys. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve been tenacious about staying true to who we are. When we can get liquid to lips, we usually have an 80-90% closing rate. We’ve seen great success so far, but it’s definitely been quite a journey!”
What would you recommend for a first-timer?
“If they are into IPAs, Graphic, our hybrid IPA, is our flagship and would be a great representation of us. For something light, I’d say Hold My Beer, which is our craft lager, sort of like a crafty PBR, made with rice and grain.”
Can you tell us about the food options you have on site?
“We have Pizzeria Magaddino, which Tom [owner and operator] originally started as a pop-up back in 2018. He was reliable, on time, and made the best pizza we’ve ever had. After finding out he didn’t have a commissary kitchen, we offered to build him one on-site.”
“He gets all the accolades and has been featured on Local 10 News’ Clean Plate segment and won Best Bite at the 2026 Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival. He does a 48-hour cold ferment on the dough, which gives it a unique style that is very good.”
Gulf Stream Brewing Company has won several awards for its beers. What was that like?
“We’ve won some big ones! In 2022, we won the gold medal in the Best Florida Beer Championship for our porter with the Florida Brewers Guild and the Overall Best Small Batch Beer. Hold My Beer, our craft lager, and Transplant, our tropical pilsner, also won state awards. We’ve also had FOUR beers win national awards at the US Open Beer Championship.”
Is there anything about the South Florida beer community that stands out or informs your approach to beer?
“It really has a lot to do with the weather. It’s always hot, so we try to make beers that aren’t heavy. We focus on boat beers, a beer you can take to the beach, and we don’t go super high ABV either. We have fun with our sours and our cocktail-inspired beers. This is Florida beer, and it’s what we love to do.”
What about your staff at the brewery? How do they shape your identity?
“Our staff is everything. Ownership is really ride-or-die for everyone. Most of our people have been here for 5+ years, and a good chunk have been here since we opened our doors in 2018. That’s unheard of in the hospitality industry. I know everyone says this, but we really are a family here.”
How was business with the World Cup this summer?
“The World Cup was fantastic for us. We aired every game and had a great time with it. We’re not traditionally known as a sports bar, but between hockey and this World Cup we’ve found a niche crowd. It kind of breaks our owner, Ty’s, heart a little bit because he played American football for many years, but we only seem to draw in futbol and hockey fans!”
Gulf Stream has a lot of community involvement. What are some of those projects like?
“Our big philanthropy is with Abandoned Pet Rescue. They are a great organization that works really hard. We help them try to get dogs adopted from their no-kill shelter by hosting a monthly event where they bring all the dogs out for people to meet and hopefully adopt. We also do a yearly thing where people can submit their animals, and whoever wins gets their pet’s face on a run of cans. We are also sponsors with our local chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, an organization dedicated to the health and conservation of our marine resources, and we donate product to various charity fishing and golf tournaments, as well as first responder benevolent association events.”
Thank you to Sean for the chance to learn more about Gulf Stream Brewing Company. You can find more information on the rotating craft beer selection, events, and updates on their website. Be sure to check them out on Facebook and Instagram, and swing by if you are ever in Ft. Lauderdale.
If you are in Central or South Florida, you can find their products across bars, restaurants, and retail stores here.
