Florida breweries map

beer in floridaI haven’t posted for a while for various reasons. I’ve been on the road to other beer destinations, and I’ve been spending a lot of time at a place with spotty Internet access.

But the main reason is that I’ve been working furiously on a project that I’ve wanted to do since Beer in Florida was launched: a complete map and list of all the breweries in Florida.

This will be a permanent page on the site, with the link on the bar above. But though it’s permanent, it will always be in flux because of the number of breweries opening in the state is ongoing.

The initial map includes a few that are not yet pouring their brew on premise, but they are expected to be doing so within the next few weeks or months. However, the map does not include Florida-based brewing companies that have their beer made off premises – for now – such as Gordash Brewing, St. Pete Brew and Orange Blossom Pilsner.

I’m hopeful that you all will help me keep the map current and let me know if there are any errors. Beer bloggers or other media are welcome to link to it or embed it.


View Florida Breweries in a larger map

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Beer pairing dinners proliferate throughout Florida

When I started Beer in Florida in December 2010, a beer-pairing dinner was so rare that when I heard about one, it merited a separate post highlighting it.

Times have changed.

So many notices of these pairings of craft beer and food flow through my email, Twitter and Facebook feeds that I could probably start another blog just about them, if I had the time to do so.

I’m no expert in this field, though as my palate has evolved I’m learning more about which beers best complement the food I’m enjoying.

CraftBeer.com, the website of the Brewers Association, includes a very nice section on beer and food pairings. I suggest you visit there to increase your knowledge on the subject.

As is the case in so many other arenas, Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing leads the pack in bringing recognition to the Florida craft beer scene.

The brewery regularly schedules beer dinners throughout the state at various venues and restaurants, from burger joints to the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.

Of course, Cigar City is not alone.

Orlando Brewing holds beer pairing dinners at such venues as Portobello at Downtown Disney.

Swamp Head Brewing out of Gainesville holds beer-pairing dinners fairly regularly.

Jacksonville’s rapidly growing Intuition Ale Works has embraced dinners highlighting the “slow food” movement.

On and on.

Really, it’s too much to keep up with, which is a great thing. The more that people are aware of the varied and complex tastes of craft beer that make a meal so much more enjoyable, the better it is for all of craft beer geekdom.

Sure, you could spend your evenings watching reruns of your favorite zombie-heavy television, playing video games, or reading beer blogs. But every once in a while, make a reservation for one of the many beer dinners being held throughout the state.

You won’t regret it.

Please, though, keep reading local beer blogs.

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Cigar City Brewing opens brewpub at Tampa International Airport

Cigar City Brewing photo by Gerard WalenJust last December, Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing announced it would open a brewpub at Tampa International Airport.

It’s open.

Cigar City announced the official opening today on its Facebook page, along with a link to a local news report about the brewpub.

The Cigar City brewpub is in Airside C, part of nearly $6 million in concessions makeovers announced by the airport last year. The pub includes an on-site brewing system, and in a nod to local aviation history, the first beer made there is named after Tony Jannus, who piloted the world’s first commercial air flight between St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Unfortunately, because the brewpub is at an airside terminal beyond the TSA checkpoint, anyone wanting a taste of Cigar City beer at TIA must either be flying into or out of the terminal.

Airside C currently services AirTran, Frontier and Southwest airlines.

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