We’re big fans of the staycation here at the Weekly. Why spend all that money to pack up and go to some far-flung locale when there are so many adventures waiting close to home? For instance, you could have yourself a lost weekend – you could probably have a whole lost week – touring the region’s burgeoning brew scene. We tasked a small cabal of booze nerds to find as many local breweries as they could that have tasting rooms, and we’ve organized them into three staycation brew-tour lists: One for breweries right in Orlando’s backyard, perfect for an afternoon adventure; one for breweries a little further out that make for the perfect day trip; and one for when you need a debaucherous, beer-saturated weekend getaway. Get ready to hit the road – with your designated drivers or Uber apps, please – to experience some of the best beer Central Florida has to offer.
(Note: There are other breweries in the region that don’t have tasting rooms – some of them will be pouring at the Orlando Beer Festival on Nov. 14.)
Perfect for a nooner
Bowigens Beer Co.
1014 State Road 436, Casselberry; 407-960-7816; bowigens.com Beers you should try: Bow 9 Citrus Pale Ale, Lost Anchor IPA, 7 Layer Stout, Toasted Almond Brown Ale, Green 18, Hefe’n Awesome
Crooked Can Brewing Co.
426 W. Plant St., Winter Garden; 407-395-9520; crookedcan.com Beers you should try: Domestic Bliss Belgian Golden Strong Ale, High Stepper American IPA, McSwagger’s Own Amber Ale, Axum Chocolate Coffee Stout
The Hourglass Brewery
480 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd., Longwood; 407-262-0056; thehourglassbrewery.com Beers you should try: Four core beers: Zanloper, Prestissimo, Seminole Trail, Brown Beer
Mount Dora Brewing
405 S. Highland St., Mount Dora; 352-735-1111; mountdorabrewing.com
Beers you should try: Dora Drawdy Drool, Beauclaire Blond Ale
Orlando Brewing
1301 Atlanta Ave.; 407-872-1117; orlandobrewing.com Beers you should try: Blonde Ale, Chocolate Girl Stout
Red Cypress Brewery
855 E. State Road 434, Winter Springs; redcypressbrewery.com
Beers you should try: Death Roll Nitro Milk Stout
Redlight Redlight Beer Parlour and Brewery
2810 Corrine Drive; 407-893-9832; redlightredlightbeerparlour.com Beers you should try: Cimarrones Berlinerweisse
Ten10 Brewing Co.
1010 Virginia Drive; 407-930-8993; ten10brewing.com Beers you should try: East-West IPA, I Totally Can’t Even (Pumpkin ale with Lineage coffee), Chronically Mismanaged (coffee-infused red ale)
Reprise Brewing 1124 Pennsylvania Ave., St. Cloud; 224-280-9113; reprisebrewing.com
Beers you should try: Americana, Sweet Chariot
Winter Park Beer Co.
1809 E. Winter Park Road; 407-913-2739; winterparkbeer.com Beers you should try: Dave’s Pale Ale
Wop’s Hops Brewing
419 S. Sanford Ave., Sanford; 407-878-7819; wopshopsbrewing.com Beers you should try: Scottish Ale, Roman Red IPA, Sweet Potato Ale, Ode to Joy Christmas Ale
Coming soon: Orlando has a few new breweries that are getting ready to open their doors. You can’t add them to your drinking itinerary just yet, but check their websites for more information and projected opening dates. Black Cauldron Brewing (facebook.com/blackcauldronbrewing) and Broken Strings Brewery (facebook.com/ brokenstringsbrewery.com) will share a space at 1012 W. Church St., right near the new Orlando City Soccer Club Stadium. Ocean Sun Brewing (oceansunbrewing.com) plans to take over the space at 3030 Curry Ford Road right next to Rogue Pub. Dead Lizard Brewing Co. (deadlizardbrewingcompany.com) plans to open at 4507 36th St., not far from the Mall at Millenia.
Day tripping
Bugnutty Brewing Co.
715 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island; 321-452-4460; bugnutty.com
Beers you should try: Dark Matter Black IPA, Rhesus Peanut Butter Cup, Zombie Blood IPA
Cocoa Beach Brewing Co.
150 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach; 321-613-2941; cocoabeachbrewingcompany.com
Beers you should try: Cocoa Beach Pale Ale, Not Just Some Oatmeal Stout, 888 India Pale Ale
Florida Beer Company
200 Imperial Blvd., Cape Canaveral; 321-728-4114; floridabeer.com
Beers you should try: Florida Lager, Swamp Ape Double IPA, Sunshine State Pils, Gourd Shorts Pumpkin Ale
Funky Buddha Brewery
1201 N.E. 38th St., Oakland Park; 954-440-0046; funkybuddhabrewery.com
Beers you should try: Hop Gun IPA, Floridian Hefeweizen, Doc Brown Ale, Nib Smuggler Chocolate Milk Porter
Intracoastal Brewing Co.
652 W. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne; 321-872-7395; intracoastalbrewingcompany.com Beers you should try: The Ghost of Annie, Watermelon Wheat, Taproot
Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co.
111 W. Georgia Ave., DeLand; 386-973-7350; persimmonhollowbrewing.com Beers you should try: Beach Hippie, Daytona Dirty Blonde, Funky Freddie Fitz, Paddle Wheeler
Playalinda Brewing Co.
305 S. Washington Ave., Titusville; 321-225-8978; playalindabrewingcompany.com You should try: Bottomless Blonde Ale
Swamp Head Brewery
3650 S.W. 42nd St., Gainesville; swamphead.com
Beers you should try: Stump Knocker Pale Ale, Big Nose IPA
Tomoka Brewing Co.
4647 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Port Orange; 386-256-4979; tomokabrewingco.com Beers you should try: Mutha Fuggle EPA, Picnic Pils, McCarthy’s Irish Red Ale, Hop Quest IPA, Hazy Sunrise Wheat Ale, Lunar Eclipse Stout, Pumpernickel Porter
Make it an overnighter
Angry Chair Brewing
6401 N. Florida Ave., Tampa; 813-238-1122; angrychairbrewing.com Beers you should try: Ascension IPA
Big Top Brewing 6111 Porter Way, Sarasota; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com Beers you should try: Circus City, Trapeze Monk
Cigar City Brewing
3924 W. Spruce St., Tampa; 813-348-6363; cigarcitybrewing.com Beers you should try: Jai Alai IPA, Florida Cracker Belgian-style Ale, Puppy’s Breath Porter, Cucumber Saison
Coppertail Brewing Co.
2601 E. Second Ave.,Tampa; 813-247-1500; coppertailbrewing.com Beers you should try: Free Dive IPA
ESB Brewing Company 333 N. Falkenburg Road, Suite 407, Tampa; 813-990-0700; esbbrewing.com Beers you should try: Pieces of Eight, Don Bosco, Roasted Walnut and Butternut Squash Ale
Florida Avenue Brewing Co.
4101 N. Florida Ave., Tampa; 813-374-2101; facebook.com/floridaavebrewco Beers you should try: Florida Avenue Ale
Hidden Springs Ale Works
1631 N. Franklin St., Tampa; 813-226-2739; hiddenspringsaleworks.com Beers you should try: Deja Moo, Sweet Potato Barley Wine
Pair O’ Dice Brewing Co.
4400 N. 118th Ave., Suite 208, Clearwater; 727-755-3423; pairodicebrewing.com Beers you should try: Clearwater Honey Cream
Three Palms Brewing
1509 Hobbs St., Tampa; 888-813-4856; threepalmsbrewing.com Beers you should try: Brew Baby Milk Stout, Caramel Apple Stout
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This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2015.