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Laura Hoffman and Michael Oliveri purchased a 1950's Ford dealership in Fernandina Beach Florida inspired by its potential to become a sustainable cultural venue for Amelia Island. After speaking with many local business owners, residents and city officials, the concept of a craft brewery kept coming up. They researched the new city zoning and development plans for 8th street and decided to pursue the idea further.

 

They were introduced to Derek Imes by a mutual friend and quickly realized he was the perfect partner and master brewery creator to collaborate on the brewery vision.  Derek has served as an adviser to multiple craft breweries and is a co-founder and owner of Creature Comforts Brewing Company in Athens, GA, one of the most successful and fastest growing craft breweries in the United States. Within a week of learning of this opportunity, Derek visited Amelia Island, toured the building, and began the research and planning necessary to bring a world class craft brewery to Fernandina Beach. 

 

Mocama was founded by Derek and Michael with the assistance of a team of craft brewing industry professionals. Michael Oliveri, the founder of the ArtX program at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, has an extensive international resume as an artist, designer, and fabricator. He brings a passion that infuses unusual innovation into projects. Derek has over a decade of experience in creating business models, building teams, forging partnerships with distributors, and designing optimized production facilities that produce excellent beer. The founders have been working since June 2017 to design an aesthetically peerless taproom and production facility that reinforces an equally peerless brand, culture, and visitor experience. 

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Through Derek's strong connections in the craft brewing industry, our team rapidly grew to include Eric Kirchner, Chris Farmand and Kyle Cureton. Eric was for 10 years the Head Brewer at the famed Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, California, known for exceptional IPAs and sour beers, and often described as the most popular craft brewery in the world. Chris is the founder and CEO of Jacksonville based Small Batch Standard, the leading strategic advisory and accounting firm dedicated solely to serving craft breweries and distilleries. Kyle is the founder and CEO of BrewFab LLC, a fast-growing full-service brewery equipment manufacturer located in St. Petersburg, Florida.