Mark Stillman, the brewer and businessman who brought Jacksonville Beach its first craft brewery and taproom, Green Room Brewing, is preparing to retire from the brewery, revealed coverage by the Jacksonville Business Journal last week. The beloved brewery will be taken over by Charli Ryan, who has been working as a bartender and brewer at Green Room in recent years.
“I’ve been with Green Room for about five years, starting as soon as I moved here from New York,” Ryan told What Now on Wednesday. “Mark has been a mentor to me. He is extremely business savvy—he knows exactly what he’s doing—and he’s a great brewer. He taught me everything I know.”
What can we expect to see change about Green Room through the transition? What Now asked.
“I definitely want to keep what is great about Green Room. We have some really, really good beers that have been around for fifteen years. I would never get rid of those. But we are going to try to introduce a few new innovative things. And there will maybe be some cosmetic changes. A bit of a woman’s touch.”
Popular Brews by Green Room include Count Shakula (A Frankenstein of our ever popular Oatmeal Stout made with Chocolate) and Ryan’s personal favorite, the Blueberry Diamond, a Blonde Ale with blueberry.
“I live in Kansas City, a mecca of craft breweries,” says one 5-star review by Nathan F. on Green Room’s Yelp page. “I grew up during the craft brewery boom so I’m not [a] stranger to craft beer. So when I say the Green Room has great craft beer, I mean it. I’m in JAX two to three weeks a year for work and I take as many of my coworkers there as I can to chat over beer.”
We’re wishing best of luck to Green Room Brewing and its new ownership!
You can keep up with all things Green Room Brewing by following @greenroombrew on Instagram.
