Prison Pals Brewing - Argentinian craft beer in American

Prison Pals Brewing makes a break for it in Miami

In 2018 Argentinian businessman and race car driver Juan Pipkin was dreaming of starting a business in America.  He’d grown tired of the challenges in his home country and feeling like a prisoner in his own land.  After some consideration he decided craft beer was the goal.  Pipkin admits he had zero background in beer before the idea for Prison Pals Brewing started, but he saw a great opportunity and he knew how to put a powerhouse team together.

Pipkin reached out to Diego Setti and Bruno Laperchuck to join him on the adventure and the duo joined as Brewmaster and Head Brewer/Lab Manager to open their brewery in Miami.  Originally, the plan was to operate much like breweries in Argentina – skipping the taproom and brewing beer to send out to bars and restaurants in distribution.  Prison Pals started under that model but quickly realized a taproom was the key to success for American craft beer.  Now they have two, with more on the way.

Setti brings an impressive list of credentials to the team.  He’s a BJCP Beer Judge and has served as the Latin America Regional Representative and Associate Director since 2019, a Certified Cicerone, Doemens Akademie Biersommelier, and started Zeta Atelier de Cervezas (a beer education institute) and Mental Brewing Co., a gypsy brewery only brewing historical beer styles.  Deep breath… And, he’s participated in major competitions such was the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, and Brussels Beer Challenge.  Whew.

Prison Pals Brewing Diego Setti and Bruno Laperchuck
Prison Pals Brewing’s Diego Setti and Bruno Laperchuck. (Photo: Prison Pals Brewing)

Don’t fight the Smoothie hype

Given his choice, Setti would stick to brewing classic beer styles and exploring his love of lagers.  When he was first asked him to brew a Smoothie beer he responded with an emphatic, “No.”  Prison Pals now has a line of Smoothie beers with plenty of hazy IPAs and heavily fruited sours in the lineup.  You gotta give the people what they want, Diego.

We also learn a bit about the craft beer scene in Argentina.  The most popular style is Honey Beer, typically a Blonde Ale with honey, it’s the beer that pays the bills for most breweries.  Argentinian brewers struggle to get imported ingredients and have to rely on limited availability of malts and yeast.  Of course, as it goes with craft brewers, this brings in a lot of creativity to get the styles they want.  Setti tells us the quality is still top notch and they are starting to see some growth in domestically available ingredients.

Due to time, we had to cut some info on what’s next for the brewery.  Pipkin tells us they’ll open more taprooms offering their beers and some tasty eats, brew more beer, and expand distribution.  Things are just getting started for Prison Pals.

The Beer List

  • Resident Culture Radical Empathy Pilsner
  • WhistlePig Piggy Back canned cocktail Blackberry Lemon Fizz (Damn tasty, highly recommended.)
  • Monday Night Blind Pirate blood orange IPA
  • Great Notion Pink Sabbath Black IPA

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https://beerguysradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Prison-Pals-Brewing-Wide-Cover-1-800x450.jpghttps://beerguysradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Prison-Pals-Brewing-Wide-Cover-1-150x150.jpgTim DennisShowsDiego Setti,florida,Juan Pipkin,Miami,Prison Pals Brewing,Smoothie beer Prison Pals Brewing makes a break for it in Miami In 2018 Argentinian businessman and race car driver Juan Pipkin was dreaming of starting a business in America.  He'd grown tired of the challenges in his home country and feeling like a prisoner in his own land.  After some consideration...Cold beer, hot conversations, stupid jokes.