Old Coast Ales: The Men Behind the Barrel

By Monika Bernthal

Matt Hooker and Jon Boisclair’s story begins where many successful ones do: in a garage.

Insert home brew kits, a bunch of beer-loving guys and the contagion of the home brew bug. What started with kits and downloaded recipes quickly progressed into building a home brew system from scratch and developing their own formulas for beer deliciousness.

When they started six years ago, they brewed 10-gallon batches every two to three weeks. The demand of family and friends for their beers became steady – and grew – as micro brews weren’t yet readily available in stores and there were no breweries in St. Augustine. So they started brewing 15-gallon batches but still weren’t keeping up with the demand.

Of course, Matt and Jon have always aimed to please and wanted to make sure everyone in the community was satiated and happy. They took a couple years to read books, listen to podcasts, analyze projections, attend conferences, visit breweries and “sample” beer all over the country (the heart of R&D!). The result of all this hard work and their passion for brewing culminated in Old Coast Ales.

Old Coast Ales opened its doors February 1, 2017 with Jon taking on the brewing responsibilities and now brewing 200 gallons at a time. Their bootstrap and hard work approach continues as they bring a wide selection of locally-crafted beers to our community.

They strive to provide guests the widest range of styles of beer with their well-balanced draft list. From malty stouts, porters, IPAs, brown ales, reds, classic ESB to wheat ales, there’s something to please every palate. They focus on old-school flavors and provide guests traditional tastes. (Sorry, no pumpkin spice beer available here.)

But Matt and Jon haven’t just nailed art of brewing. They’ve created a fun neighborhood taproom. Located on Anastasia Boulevard, Old Coast Ales provides all of this locally-crafted goodness in a Cheers environment.

Guests sip on brews while sitting on the patio or challenging others to a game of Jenga or ping pong. In keeping with their motto to “share the beer”, a chalkboard tab makes it possible to buy a friend a beer on their next visit. Those who arrive at OCA by bike receive a discount on their pint. Non-beer drinkers can enjoy wine and cider. Kids (and adults) love the Kombucha and natural sodas. Even dogs are welcome!

Old Coast Ales is open seven days a week so stop by anytime and enjoy a fresh pint. Cheers!