Florida Brew Pubs ~ Orlando Area

Hello! My hubby is headed (for work) to Orlando tomorrow morning and wanted to know the 'not to miss' brew pubs in the area...
Suggestions anyone?

Jacks 5th Avenue - Winter Park (about 10 min from downtown)
Underground Bluz - UCF area (about 20 min from downtown)
Orlando Brewing and Tap room - Atlanta Ave (about 5 minutes from downtown)
Lazy Moon Pizza - UCF area also


Those are the ones I frequent often. orlando sucks bigtime in so many ways its not funny. We have **** for beer pubs but the ones listed above (in that order) are the best we can offer.

Thank you so much! He's on a plane now but i'll let him know later on!!!

Could always try an area search on ratebeer.com or beeradvocate.com

Thanks again!

gonzoflick said:

Jacks 5th Avenue - Winter Park (about 10 min from downtown)
Underground Bluz - UCF area (about 20 min from downtown)
Orlando Brewing and Tap room - Atlanta Ave (about 5 minutes from downtown)
Lazy Moon Pizza - UCF area also


Those are the ones I frequent often. orlando sucks bigtime in so many ways its not funny. We have **** for beer pubs but the ones listed above (in that order) are the best we can offer.

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Any reason why you left "Your Place" off the list???

Well she said her "Hubby" now if she had said her 23 year old blond sister....then MY PLACE would have been #1

Why does Florida suck so bad for beer drinkers? Is it the high concentration of rednecks or the hot, humid days and nights? I just moved out to Tucson, AZ from Clearwater and man, they have some great beer places out here. In Pinellas county there was only one microbrewery, Dunedin Brewery and the amount of restaruants with a large beer selection was a minimum.

robbase9 said:

Why does Florida suck so bad for beer drinkers? Is it the high concentration of rednecks or the hot, humid days and nights? I just moved out to Tucson, AZ from Clearwater and man, they have some great beer places out here. In Pinellas county there was only one microbrewery, Dunedin Brewery and the amount of restaruants with a large beer selection was a minimum.

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I hear you....Craft Beer hell it is.

I was born and raised in Pinellas county. I think a big part of the lack of a beer culture in florida is that so many people just come to FL to retire and then die..

Pinellas county was like 60% 55+ and not saying that older men/woman dont like to drink beer, but I definitely think its more a younger man's sport. The weather here in FL is great (if you like hot summers) but I've been here 24 years and can't wait for a change. I think just about any other place I could move (with a few exceptions) would be better for a beer lover like myself.

Any of the above sell growlers?

You mean any of the above beer bars? I've only seen growlers at Orlando brewing. They have a neat little placemat with all 11 of their beers on it and yo-u can order the sampler with 4oz glasses of each. had it the other day and it was very good.

Yeah, one of our other obsessions is collecting growlers from different micro breweries. I think we're up to 14 or so and have them from MA, VT, NY, NV, RI, and CT.
Yes we're obsessed with our beer....

Come to find out that Orlando Brewing ran out of growlers and will be out of stock for 2 more weeks...
They told my husband that there are only 3 growler licenses in FL and they have one and AB has the other two.

wow...didnt know you needed a license to sell those.. i wonder how come.

Yeah, I've found that in other states as well. The growler license is a seperate liquor license.... from what i understand...

Now we won't have a Florida growler for our collection!

Well send me a PM in a couple of weeks and I'll go down and pick you up one. minus the tasty beer of course!!

Florida still has some remnants of the old blue laws in various counties and of course AB has huge lobby influence - it wasn't until just last year that the sizes that could available for retail purchase included 22oz, 500ml and other variations. They weren't allowed on a premise that consumers needed to be protected from too many choices type of thing. It kept a ton of imports and micros out of the state. I just purchased Leffe this past weekend (YUM!) for the first time at our local grocery. I had read about it but never seen it before.

Dead thread.


Moved to FL in 06'. Reminds me why I started brewing to begin with: BMC was only available option. Chain grocery store and chain mega liquor store only real places to buy beer. Some other spots to shop are an hours drive one way for larger selection, but terrible price. Used to be a brewpub, but went out of business in 04 or 05.

Why? Are the laws so onerous? It seems the distributors have all the legal perks!

I was able to discover if you are a manufacturer producing less than 10k barrels I think it's $500 license, plus a Consume on premises license sold in conjunction with that, but pricing varies by county. No idea on growler (consume off premises?)

Some days I dream about opening a small brewpub in town. I work full time though, and then some. It's a pipe dream, but on some grueling days, I think about taking a puff. Today I did a google search and can't figure out how to find out even where to get started to just explore the feasibility of a small brewpub.
I've read a couple threads about going pro. Want to find out more about the laws in FL and my county, but just going to the government website and trying to interpret all the legalese is impossible, and largely seems irrelevant to my initial questions.

For now then back to work and set aside the pipe dream..

TD

TrickyDick said:

Dead thread.


Moved to FL in 06'. Reminds me why I started brewing to begin with: BMC was only available option. Chain grocery store and chain mega liquor store only real places to buy beer. Some other spots to shop are an hours drive one way for larger selection, but terrible price. Used to be a brewpub, but went out of business in 04 or 05.

Why? Are the laws so onerous? It seems the distributors have all the legal perks!

I was able to discover if you are a manufacturer producing less than 10k barrels I think it's $500 license, plus a Consume on premises license sold in conjunction with that, but pricing varies by county. No idea on growler (consume off premises?)

Some days I dream about opening a small brewpub in town. I work full time though, and then some. It's a pipe dream, but on some grueling days, I think about taking a puff. Today I did a google search and can't figure out how to find out even where to get started to just explore the feasibility of a small brewpub.
I've read a couple threads about going pro. Want to find out more about the laws in FL and my county, but just going to the government website and trying to interpret all the legalese is impossible, and largely seems irrelevant to my initial questions.

For now then back to work and set aside the pipe dream..

TD

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Wow I saw this thread and got excited about it's contents.... Then I noticed if was dead . Anyhow I to am an Orlando Native and feel your pain (Besides Orlando Brewery) but have you tried this place? http://thehourglassbrewery.com/kettle/ I have not but I have heard very good things!

Hmm. Never been there. It's in longwood? I'm in lady lake, so it's a bit of a drive, but will have to support them when I get the time to make down there.


Florida, where people, and beer, go to die.

This hourglass place is promising. Wonder what their story is about getting started up.

Who I'd this thread was dead anyway...

TD

Why does Florida suck so bad for beer drinkers? Is it the high concentration of rednecks or the hot, humid days and nights? I just moved out to Tucson, AZ from Clearwater and man, they have some great beer places out here. In Pinellas county there was only one microbrewery, Dunedin Brewery and the amount of restaruants with a large beer selection was a minimum.

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OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!

It must have been a years since you've been in the Tampa Bay area. Also, Gonzo, you are in Orlando, not Tampa Bay, so please don't speak to our beer culture, because you don't know what you're talking about. I'm not mad at ya, but you must not get over here much. Orlando might be a craft beer blackhole, but I'd put Tampa Bay up against any city on the East Coast.

I live near downtown St. Pete, and there are actually a ton of small microbreweries and craft beer bars around town. There have actually been several national articles by the Huffington Post and New York Times stating that Tampa Bay is the current hotbed for the craft beer industry in the entire east coast.

Here's a list of breweries, all withing 20 minutes of my house: Yuengling (their biggest brewery, producing 60% of their product), Rapp Brewing, Barley Mow, 7th Sun, Saint Somewhere, Pegs/Cycle Brewing, Cigar City (debatably one of the top 5 breweries in the nation), Dunedin Brewery, Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Green Bench Brewing, Southern Brewing, Cold Storage, Big Storm, and I am sure I am forgetting a few.

There are also about a dozen great bottle shops in my backyard and about 25 legitimate craft brew bars and restaurants within 10 miles, with dozens more on the way.

There are 6 brew clubs in the two major metro counties, each with over 100 members each (mine has 108, covering lower Pinellas). We have a craft beer fest somewhere in town almost every weekend, each with several hundred attendees and some with multiple thousands of attendees, like several of the Tampa Bay Craft Beer week events (110 events in 10 days) from the first week in March. The Cajun Cafe beer fest that occurs in the Fall and Spring was rated as one of the top 10 craft beer festivals in the country by AHA.

Someone needs a proper craft beer tour of Tampa Bay. Don't tell me we don't have a proper craft beer culture!

HA! Just saw that this was a zombie reserrected from 2007.

My rant still stands I've seen quite a few people recently bad mouthing the Florida craft brew scene, so I have to keep my education campaign alive. Just because their town sucks doesn't mean all of Florida does.

Come hang out in Tampa/St. Pete!

Tampa is the exception that proves the rule!

Hah!

Glad you've got a great beer scene there. Jealous.

I'm in the country (not really but sure feels like it) and there isn't even a gas station for 5 miles.

The only brew clubs where I live are for the retirement community residents, but fishing, and shooting, and 4 wheeling are all more popular than home brewing for sure. Most restaurants have no craft beer, but things are slowly improving, looking back 5 years ago. At least I can usually get a Sam Adams, or yuengling product if nothing else.

There are no bottle shops, other than Publix, the publix owned liquor store, and the ABC chain liquor store. If I drive to Orlando or mount Dora the options improve but that's a good 1 hour drive each way.

Just curious if there are any legal barriers that exist in FL that make it harder for microbreweries and nano breweries to get started and stay in business compared with other states. There was a brewpub that closed shortly before I moved here. That bummed me out cause I was looking to try and score some fresh yeast off them for brew days...

I know there is a World O Beer opening in the Villages soon, yeah it's in the retirement community but WOB is always a great place to great a new beer.

Ddubduder said:

I know there is a World O Beer opening in the Villages soon, yeah it's in the retirement community but WOB is always a great place to great a new beer.

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There are already two but maybe even three WOB's in Orlando at the present.

We have two WOBs in Tampa Bay

There is actually 8 around Tampa Bay.

Seriously? I have been to the one in St. Pete and the one in Carrolwood, and I know they are building one in Brandon. Where are the others?

Yah I know there is a WOB opening in the villages. I'll be looking forward to it. Opening and staying in business are two different things in the villages.


TD

Man your right WOB is taking off, I just checked their website and they have 7 in the Orlando area and 7 in the Tampa area! I remember when they opened the first one it was a big deal, never heard much about the others opening.

My recommendations although its OBE...

cask and larder = winter park, FL. Has one of the best brewers in the state for unique beers. All small batch made on the premise. Food is execellent, everything is excellent. If you don't have dinner reservations in advance for thur - sun, you aren't eating in the dining area. period. Oh yeah, don't forget your american express, this place is expensive, expensive, expensive. Small portions too. You can drop a $100 and leave hungry. But it is top notch, not meant for anyone who looks at $18 appetizer and blinks.

shipyard emporium = winter park, FL. Obviously has the shipyard brews, good atmosphere, fair prices, good food, OK selection of visiting taps. Right across the street from Park Ave. Have a couple and walk it of doing some window shopping. Too bad the head brewer left for location above, but hey, he won't be leaving Orlando again, so we are all set!

Oblivion = Orlando. Awesome food. Unique approach to food and beer. Awesome selection of craft brews, ciders, meade. Goth theme, but whatever, its good. Best of breed.

WOB = Oviedo. Previously mentioned. No food = fail in my book. But the chain seems to be doing great!

Pioneer Kitchen = Oviedo. Never been but heard good things. Has some crafts on tap, but not a huge selection.

My .02

The WOB chain is hit and miss in my experience. The ones in Westchase and Carrollwood are decent but the one in downtown St. Pete and the one in South Tampa are both way too trendy for my taste. They have both turned into 20something pick up joints. When the signage out front is advertising $3 Becks and Coronas I'm moving on.
and Topher is right - the beer scene here in the bay area is HUGE. I live about three blocks from Barley Mow and if you haven't been there yet do yourself a favor. Their Nipperkin Porter won Gold in the pro division of the BFBC this year. Quality beers brewed two barrels at a time.

cclloyd said:

The WOB chain is hit and miss in my experience. The ones in Westchase and Carrollwood are decent but the one in downtown St. Pete and the one in South Tampa are both way too trendy for my taste. They have both turned into 20something pick up joints. When the signage out front is advertising $3 Becks and Coronas I'm moving on.
and Topher is right - the beer scene here in the bay area is HUGE. I live about three blocks from Barley Mow and if you haven't been there yet do yourself a favor. Their Nipperkin Porter won Gold in the pro division of the BFBC this year. Quality beers brewed two barrels at a time.

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Consider yourself lucky living near several quality microbreweries.

I am not sure what the WOB is going to be like near me when it opens (the villages), but I'm fairly certain it will not be a 20 something meat market. The villages is a 55+ retirement community and its huge (I think largest in the world pushing 90k) so there could be a 55+ meat market scene! Though I doubt that too, I will try to support it when it opens as it'll be the closest place for anything besides BMC or Sam Adams from the taps (besides my own home brew taps that is). Want to check out the hourglass place also in longwood.
Tried to plan a weekend getaway to Tampa with SWMBO but she didn't like the plan. Need to get some better options for relaxation to really pitch Tampa to her again. We ended up near fort Meyers beach (yech!)

TD

Give a Dunedin weekend a try, small town feel, couple good beaches and then not to mention several high quality pubs and Dunedin Brewery.