Beer in Florida

Other than at a few special events, such as the annual Epcot Food and Wine Festival, craft beer and Florida theme parks generally have little to do with each other. But SeaWorld Orlando has successfully forged a partnership between the two that offers a chance for beer geeks and theme park fans to enjoy a day together in sunny Central Florida.

If you’re there for the beer, as I was on the Saturday I went, Bands, Brew & BBQ unfolds sort of like a Russian nesting doll.  Enter the park, and bear right till you get to the path that leads to Atlantis Bayside Stadium. Go down the path, and you’ll enter the festival grounds, with a small stage, the barbecue and other food vendors, and carnival games. Keep going and you’ll get to the entrance of the beer garden, on the right.

Whoever organized this is a beer geek at heart. About half-a-dozen booths serve more than 60 beers from 21 breweries. Each brew has an information sheet with the beer name, beer style, brewery, and the numbers for alcohol content and/or International Bitterness Units. Because the beers are broken up among the booths, waits are never more than a few minutes. Stand-up tables and park benches offer places to stop and chat with other beer lovers.

Although you’ll find some of the widely available imports, such as Bass, Beck’s and Stella Artois, the garden primarily features craft beer from such breweries as Starr Hill, Florida Beer, Victory and Blue Point. Most are on tap but some, such as Victory’s V-12 Belgian-style ale (12 percent alcohol by volume!), are poured from the bottle.

For $20, you’ll get a lanyard that lets you sample 12 three-ounce samples of beer. Although, you can buy individual cups, the beer sampler is the best deal. Because most of these beers are meant to be sipped and savored, it will likely take you a few hours to get through all 12.

The concerts take place at 4:30, just steps away from the beer garden in Bayside Stadium. Willie Nelson performed on the day I attended, and put on a great show. If you care more about the music – or the beer – than seeing the performance, you can still hear it as you sample because the music is piped throughout the festival area.

Two of the beers being poured are Effinheimer Ale and Effinheimer IPA, produced at Lagniappe Brewing Company in Minneola, which is just a few minutes away from my house. I was chatting with Brad Banker, founder and head brewer, the other day and he mentioned that it might be a smart thing for SeaWorld to keep the beer garden open all the time. Of course, I agree, but if that doesn’t happen, it would be great if SeaWorld could offer some of the craft beer options year-round at other venues throughout the park.

If your tastes run toward the blandness of mass-produced domestic lager, don’t worry: Plenty of AB-InBev products are available near the Festival Stage and throughout the park.

TIPS

• Bands, Brew & BBQ takes up a relatively small part of the park, and the rest of SeaWorld is business as usual. If you want to hit the coasters, rides and shows, get there when the park opens, then head to the festival area in the early afternoon. You might want to grab your barbecue plate first; those lines tend to get longer as the day goes on.
• Shows start promptly at 4:30 p.m. If you want a good seat, get there an hour early. If you want a seat, get there at 4. If you show up at 4:30, you won’t get a seat at all.
• Bring the kids. Though you need to be 21 to drink beer, there are plenty of family activities going on in the festival area, including carnival games, dance contests and lessons, and character appearances. Your young ’uns might even get to dance with Shamu!
• Though there are shaded areas in the beer garden, you won’t escape the sun. Be sure to use plenty of sunscreen.
• Prepare for a long wait in traffic after the park closes. That’s just the way it is.

THE 411

• What: Bands, Brew & BBQ
• Where: SeaWorld Orlando
• When: Saturdays through March 5. Remaining shows are REO Speedwagon (February 26) and Josh Turner (March 5).
• How much: Included in park admission. Various ticket and parking options are available.

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