My Florida Beercation. So Many Beers…So Little Time…

So…my beercation was the bomb. Besides tasting and buying beer all over Florida…I slept in my car, stayed in a hostel and wasn’t arrested. So all in all, a good time was had. I’m including just a few photos in this blog. All the rest of the trip photos can be found on my Facebook page Facebook/AdventuresnAles.

Florida is a big azz state and driving from the top to the very bottom and back was no easy feat and I LOVE driving. Just when you think you are close, you have another 4 hours to go. So…

I land in Tampa.

I changed my clothes in the car in the parking lot and walked into Cigar City. Although I had a timed schedule I still didn’t stick around as long as I could have…about 20 minutes because I just plain wasn’t having a good time.

Due to my Detroit Tigers commercial shoot this morning, I had to take a later flight, so I had already missed the tour and the crowd really sucked. I didn’t even realize how unfriendly they actually were until I went to the next brewery.

I speed to St Petersburg.

My next two places were Cycle Brewing and Greenbench Brewing. I have never been to St Petersburg but I’m glad I came! What a cute little town with SUPER friendly people! I had a great feeling as soon as I walked into Cycle Brewing and it didn’t hurt that the bartenders were friendly, the people at the bar were super gracious and the beer was delicious. This place truly lived up to the hype. I wanted to get a few crowlers to go but because of the heat was afraid the beer wouldn’t last. So a lady at the bar whom I chatted up, volunteered to send me a few! Can you believe that? I’m so glad I left Cigar City early because I was having a great time, didn’t want to rush and still had two more places to hit.

Next was Greenbench Brewing. I had heard that I “shouldn’t waste my time there” but they were wrong. The tap room was hella cool and the beer was great as well! AND they were located next to an awesome Mexican joint where I got cheese and beef empanadas for the last leg.

I head to Bradenton.
This part of the drive was a bit tougher because I was tired and had started my day super early. I was headed to The Lost Kangaroo, a bar that had hard to find beers. I wish I would have known about ‘Total Wine and More’ before I came here…but I digress. They had a great selection on their web page and I had written out a nice list but of course when I got there and gave the bartender my list, 3/4 of the beer was not there and the list was “just updated yesterday”. Here is the beer I got.

Kind of a waste of time but…there is a story… A really young guy asked if he could sit next to me. I said “the seat is open” and went back to my IPad. He started talking and it took me about 15 minutes to realize he was hitting on me! He was a baby! So, Im drinking my Cigar City Florida Cracker, chatting with the bartender and doing a little work and this kid keeps talking and sitting. He is friendly and seems to be thrilled that we have a few things in common..like beer. (But Im in a beer bar so go figure that one out.) When I’m ready to purchase some beer from my list the kid walks with me to the side counter. The bartender says “so are you two in town long?” I say, “I have no idea who this kid is. He just sat next to me about an hour ago. We are not together.” The funny thing is the kid dosen’t say any thing or leave, he JUST KEEPS STANDING THERE. I buy my beer and the bartender asks if he is going to carry it and I say emphatically, “No. I don’t know him. Like I said, he just sat next to me an hour ago.” So the bartender hands the box to me. I start walking out to get a cab and, no joke, the KID FOLLOWS ME. Even I can’t believe he has hung on for so long. I walk to my cab and say ” So long, kid”. He says “this night didn’t end like I had hoped it would but I hope you have a nice night.” And he walked off. I HAD to tell that dumb confusing story.

On to Boynton Beach!

But first to Waffle House…

I was gonna skip Due South and head straight to Miami but I heard it was amazing…and it was. Due South had some of the best beer I had on the entire trip and I went way over my allotted time there ’cause I was having such a great time. It is located in a large warehouse, off the beaten path and once again, I met some super great people that I still keep in touch with. They hipped me to the electronic festival that was going on and let me know if I tried to get to Miami now I would never get there.

So instead…

Onward to Ft lauderdale!

Funky Buddha Brewing. Of course they didn’t have Last Snow or the Maple Bacon Porter but the beers they did have on tap weren’t bad. I took a tour with tasting samples. I wasn’t over thrilled, so immediately after the tour I continued to…

Miami!

That means J. W. Brewing. Amazing beer. Amazing people. Amazing overall. I was picking up a friend at the airport at 1am and headed to Key West so I had a good amount of time to just CHILL OUT and have a great time. Wish I lived in that area. That would be my SPOT!! I had to miss Wynwood Brewing because I was having such a great time and didn’t want to leave. THEN…I realized it was a little after 12am and I STILL had to drive back to West Palm Beach and pick up my friend at the airport.