The U.S. state of Florida is home to over 250 breweries. The state's first brewery, Florida Brewing Company, opened in 1896. The industry was dominated by mid-sized regional breweries until the 1950s, when national macrobreweries came to the fore, and built their own facilities in the state. Since the 1980s, and especially since legal changes in 2001, Florida has become home to many brewpub restaurants and craft breweries.
Florida state licensing provides for two types of breweries: brewpubs, or restaurants that produce limited quantities of beer primarily for sale on premises, and production breweries that distribute beer offsite. By state law, Florida production breweries may have on-site taprooms, and some brewpubs also distribute offsite.[1] A three-tiered distribution system governs offsite sales: breweries must sell their beer to a distributor who then sells it to retailers.[1]
The Brewers Association defines several categories of breweries, all of which are present in Florida. Craft breweries are independently-owned breweries producing under 6 million barrels a year using traditional processes; most of these are microbreweries producing under 15,000 barrels a year. Regional breweries produce between 15,000 and 6 million barrels a year. Macrobreweries, also called megabreweries, produce over 6 million barrels a year.
The earliest brewery in Florida was Tampa's Florida Brewing Company, a regional brewery founded in 1896. Another regional brewery, Jax Brewing Company, opened in 1913 in Jacksonville. Both shifted to other products during Prohibition, and recommenced brewing when it ended. Several additional regional breweries opened in Florida after Prohibition.
From the 1950s, Florida's regional breweries suffered from competition with large-scale national breweries, and all ultimately closed. National companies built their own breweries in the state: Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company built a brewery in 1958 in Tampa, now owned by D. G. Yuengling & Son, while Anheuser-Busch built breweries at Busch Gardens Tampa in 1959 (now closed) and in Jacksonville in 1969.
Brewpubs emerged in Florida during the microbrewery boom of the 1980s and '90s, but growth remained limited by state laws banning non-standard container sizes popular among craft breweries. Governor Jeb Bush signed legislation reducing these restrictions in 2001, and from about 2005 the state saw substantial growth in brewpubs and craft production breweries. According to the Brewers Association, there are 151 craft breweries in Florida, 11th most in the United States, but 43rd per capita; these breweries produce 1,207,936 barrels a year and have an annual economic impact of over $2 million.[2]
Name | City | County | Opened | Type | Notes | References | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 Daughters Brewing | 2012 | |||||||||||||
3 Keys Brewing & Eatery | 2016 | [3] | ||||||||||||
3 Sons Brewing Co. | 2016 | [4] [5] | ||||||||||||
7venth Sun Brewery | Dunedin(original location) Tampa (2nd location) | Pinellas(original location) Hillsborough (2nd location) | 2012 (original location) | |||||||||||
81Bay Brewing | 2016 | [6] | ||||||||||||
Aardwolf Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Alligator Brewing Company | 2011 | Alligator is the brewing operation of Tall Paul's Brew House. | ||||||||||||
American Icon Brewery | Vero Beach | Indian River | 2017 | Brewpub | Constructed in the historic Vero Beach Diesel Power Plant. Currently under final construction. To open November 2017. | [7] | ||||||||
Ancient City Brewing | 2015 | Opened in the same location as Mile Marker Brewing, which closed in 2014. | [8] [9] [10] | |||||||||||
Angry Chair Brewing | 2014 | |||||||||||||
Anheuser-Busch Brewery | 1969 | Owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev. It is Florida's largest, and oldest continuously operating, brewery. | [11] | |||||||||||
Arkane Aleworks | 2016 | [12] | ||||||||||||
Bangin' Banjo Brewing | 2015 | [13] | ||||||||||||
Barley Mow Brewing Co. | 2011 | Closed 2018, consolidated with The Raven Brewery | [14] | |||||||||||
Barrel of Monks Brewing | 2015 | [15] | ||||||||||||
BarrieHaus Beer Co | 2019 | Lager house in Ybor City. | [16] | |||||||||||
Big Bear Brewing Company | 1997 | |||||||||||||
1996 | Owned CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, and located at Disney's BoardWalk Resort. | |||||||||||||
Big Storm Brewing Co. | Odessa (originallocation) Clearwater (2ndlocation) Cape Coral (3rdlocation) | Pasco (originallocation) Pinellas (2ndlocation) Lee (3rdlocation) | 2012 (original) 2016 (Clearwater location) | [17] | ||||||||||
Big Top Brewing Company | Sarasota (originallocation) Gainesville (2ndlocation) Pensacola (3rdlocation) | Sarasota (originallocation) Alachua (2ndlocation) Escambia (3rdlocation) | 2013 (Originallocation) 2018 (2nd & 3rdlocations) | |||||||||||
Bog Brewing | 2016 | [18] | ||||||||||||
Bold City Brewery | Jacksonville (2 locations) | 2008 (original) 2016 (2ndlocation) | Jacksonville's first production craft brewery. Its second location, Bold City Downtown, opened in 2016. | [19] [20] | ||||||||||
Bone Island Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Bottlenose Brewing | 2017 | [21] | ||||||||||||
2012 | Also a tour company and former contract brewer, it acquired Florida Avenue Brewing Company in 2015. | [22] | ||||||||||||
Brewers' Tasting Room | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Brewzzi | 1997 | Formerly had a second location in West Palm Beach. | ||||||||||||
Broken Strings Brewery and Black Cauldron Brewing | 2016 | Broken Strings and Black Cauldron are two breweries that share a location. | [23] [24] [25] | |||||||||||
Bugnutty Brewing Company | Cocoa | 2013 | ||||||||||||
Bury Me Brewing | 2015 | Originally located inside the Gulf Coast Town Center mall's House of Brewz, now across the street. | [26] | |||||||||||
Canopy Roads Brewery | 2014 | Craft brewery | [27] | |||||||||||
Calusa Brewing | 2013 | [28] | ||||||||||||
Cape Coral Brewing Company | 2015 | [29] | ||||||||||||
Cask & Larder | 2012 | |||||||||||||
Central 28 Beer Company | 2015 | [30] | ||||||||||||
Charlie & Jake's Brewery Grille | 1996 | |||||||||||||
2009 (original) 2012 (AirportPub) 2013 (Brewpub) | Craft brewery and brewpubs | Cigar City has two brewpubs, Cigar City Brewpub and Cigar City Airport Pub at Tampa International Airport. The company sold to Fireman Capital Partners in March 2016. | [31] | |||||||||||
Civil Society Brewing | Jupiter & West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | 2015 & 2019 | Craft brewery | Original Location is in Jupiter, FL. A 2nd location opened in West Palm Beach in February 2019 | [32] | ||||||||
Clermont Brewing Company | Clermont | Lake | 2019 | Craft brewery | [33] | |||||||||
Cocoa Beach Brewing Company | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Concrete Beach Brewery | 2015 | Owned by Alchemy & Science. | [34] | |||||||||||
Copp Winery & Brewery | 2012 | Copp Winery opened in 2007. | ||||||||||||
Copperpoint Brewing Company | 2012 | [35] | ||||||||||||
Coppertail Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Corporate Ladder Brewing Company | 2018 | [36] | ||||||||||||
Crooked Can Brewing Company | 2015 | |||||||||||||
Crooked Thumb Brewery | 2015 | |||||||||||||
Cycle Brewing | 2009 | Originally located in Peg's Cantina in Gulfport. | [37] | |||||||||||
Darwin Brewing Company | 2012 | Formerly operated a brewpub in Sarasota. | [38] | |||||||||||
De Bine Brewing Co. | 2016 | [39] | ||||||||||||
Dead Lizard Brewing Company | 2016 | [40] | ||||||||||||
Deadly Sins Brewing Company | 2016 | |||||||||||||
Deep Brewing | 2017 | Craft brewery | [41] | |||||||||||
Destin Brewery | Destin | Okaloosa | 2015 | Craft brewery | Formerly production-only. Tasting room opened 2016. | [42] | ||||||||
1996 | Oldest production craft brewery in Florida. | |||||||||||||
Engine 15 Brewing Company | Jacksonville Beach (original) Jacksonville (2ndlocation) | 2010 (original) 2013 (2ndlocation) | [43] | |||||||||||
Fat Point Brewing | 2014 | [44] | ||||||||||||
First Magnitude Brewing | 2014 | [45] | ||||||||||||
1997 | Florida's largest craft brewery besides Yuengling, it also provides contract brewing for several other companies. Formerly located in Melbourne. | |||||||||||||
1973 | Previously named Fair Point Brewery, it is currently a subsidiary of Cervecería Polar, and primarily makes Venezuelan brands such as Polar. | [46] | ||||||||||||
Florida Keys Brewing Co. | 2015 | [47] | ||||||||||||
Fort Myers Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Boca Raton (brewpub) Oakland Park (production) | Palm Beach (brewpub) Broward (production) | 2010 (brewpub) 2013 (production) | ||||||||||||
Golden Horn Brewing Company | 2012 | Craft brewery | Golden Horn is the brewing operation of Fermentation Lounge. | |||||||||||
Grasslands Brewing Company | 2015 | Craft brewery | [48] | |||||||||||
Grayton Beer Company | 2011 | |||||||||||||
Green Bench Brewing Company | Pinellas | 2011 | ||||||||||||
Green Room Brewing Company | Duval | 2013 | ||||||||||||
Great Chicago Fire Brewery & Tap Room | Lake | 2016 | A Chicago-style hot dog stand with pizza housed in a nano-brewery; opened in 2016. | [49] | ||||||||||
Grove Roots Brewing Co. | 2016 | Winter Haven's first craft brewery. | [50] | |||||||||||
Gulf Coast Brewery | 2016 | [51] | ||||||||||||
Gulf Stream Brewing | 2018 | Craft brewery | [52] | |||||||||||
Hell 'n Blazes Brewing Company | 2016 | [53] | ||||||||||||
History Class Brewing Company | 2020 | Celebrate Bay County's contribution to WWII, the civil rights, and more in this historic building, half history museum/half brewpub. | [54] | |||||||||||
Home State Brewing Co. | Winter Garden | Orange | 2021 | Craft brewery | Florida craft brewery located in the Horizon West neighborhood of Winter Garden. https://www.homestatebrew.com/ | [55] | ||||||||
Hourglass Brewery | 2012 | |||||||||||||
Hyperion Brewing | 2017 | |||||||||||||
Idyll Hounds Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
If I Brewed the World | 2016 | St. Pete's most unique craft brewery. | https://www.chamberofcommerce.com/united-states/florida/saint-petersburg/brewery/2008042341-if-i-brewed-the-world-breweryhttps://Www.iibtw.com | |||||||||||
Intracoastal Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Intuition Ale Works | 2010 | Florida's first craft brewery to use cans. | ||||||||||||
Islamorada Beer Company | Islamorada (original) Fort Pierce (2ndlocation) | Monroe (original) St. Lucie (2ndlocation) | 2014 (original) 2016 (2ndlocation) | The Islamorada location was a contract brewer until the Fort Pierce location opened. | [56] | |||||||||
J. Wakefield Brewing | 2014 | |||||||||||||
JDub's Brewing Company | 2014 | |||||||||||||
Karibrew | 2009 | Karibrew is the brewpub operation of Café Karibo. | ||||||||||||
Kelly's Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery | 1992 | |||||||||||||
Lagerhaus Brewery & Grill | 2007 | |||||||||||||
Lake Tribe Brewing Company | 2016 | Craft brewery | [57] | |||||||||||
LauderAle | 2014 | First full-sized craft brewery in Fort Lauderdale | [58] | |||||||||||
Mack House | 2012 | Mack House is the nanobrewery operation and taproom for Holy Mackerel Beers. | ||||||||||||
Mad Beach Craft Brewing Company | 2014 | Affiliated with Florida Winery. | [59] | |||||||||||
Marco Island Brewery | 2010 | |||||||||||||
McGuire's Irish Pub & Brewery | Pensacola (original) Destin (2ndlocation) | Escambia (original) Okaloosa (2ndlocation) | 1989 (original) 1997 (2ndlocation) | Brewpub and craft brewery | The original McGuire's opened in 1977 and installed brewing in 1989. It is Florida's oldest brewpub. | |||||||||
MIA Beer Company | 2014 | Production brewery with taproom. | [60] | |||||||||||
Miami Brewing Company | 2012 | Part of Schnebly Redland's Winery & Brewery, founded in 2006. | ||||||||||||
Momo's Pizza Market Street Brewpub | 2011 | |||||||||||||
Motorworks Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Mount Dora Brewing and Rockin' Rabbit Brewery | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Naples Beach Brewery | 2011 | |||||||||||||
New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company | 2014 | |||||||||||||
NOBO Brewing Company | 2017 | Craft brewery | [61] | |||||||||||
Ocean Sun Brewing | 2016 | [62] | ||||||||||||
Orchid Island Brewery | 2014 | Indian River County's first craft brewery. | [63] | |||||||||||
Organic Brewery | 2011 | |||||||||||||
Orlando Brewing | 2006 | |||||||||||||
Ormond Brewing Company | 2013 | Volusia County's First Craft Brewery | [64] | |||||||||||
Pair O Dice Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Pareidolia Brewing Company | 2014 | [65] | ||||||||||||
Pensacola Bay Brewery | 2010 | |||||||||||||
Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company | 2014 | [66] | ||||||||||||
Pinglehead Brewing Company | 2011 | Pinglehead is the brewing operation of Brewer's Pizza. | ||||||||||||
Playalinda Brewing Company | Titusville (2 locations) | 2014 (original) 2016 (BrixProject) | [67] | |||||||||||
Point Ybel Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Proof Brewing Company | 2012 | Tallahassee’s First and Largest Independently-Owned Production Brewery | ||||||||||||
Props Brewery & Grill | 2011 | |||||||||||||
Prosperity Brewers | Boca Raton | Palm Beach | 2018 | Nano Brewery | Prosperity Brewers is a "nano-brewery" with a tasting room located in East Boca. | [68] | ||||||||
R Bar | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Ragtime Tavern Seafood & Grill | 1994 | Ragtime opened as a restaurant in 1983, and added brewing to become the Jacksonville area's first brewpub in 1994. Currently owned by CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries. | [69] | |||||||||||
Rapp Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Rebel Dog Brewing Co. | 2016 | Craft brewery and brewpub | [70] | |||||||||||
Redlight Redlight Beer Parlour | 2014 | Opened as a beer bar in 2006. | [71] | |||||||||||
Reprise Brewing | 2016 | [72] | ||||||||||||
RipTide Brewing Company | 2016 | [73] | ||||||||||||
River City Brewing Company | 1993 | |||||||||||||
Sailfish Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Saint Somewhere Brewing Company | 2006 | |||||||||||||
Saltwater Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Sarasota Brewing Company | 1989 | |||||||||||||
Sea Dog Brewing Company | 2013 | Owned by Sea Dog Brewing Company. | ||||||||||||
Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery | 1999 | Owned by CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries. | ||||||||||||
Six Ten Brewing Company | 2014 | |||||||||||||
Southern Brewing & Winemaking | 2011 | |||||||||||||
Suncreek Brewery | 2018 | [74] | ||||||||||||
St. Pete Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Brewing Company | 1996 | Formerly had a second location in Coral Springs. | ||||||||||||
Tampa Beer Works | 2013 | ESB Brewing until 2016. | [75] | |||||||||||
The Tank Brewing Co. | 2016 | [76] | ||||||||||||
Tequesta Brewing Company | 2011 | |||||||||||||
The Abbey Brewing Company | 1995 | Oldest brewpub in the Miami area. | ||||||||||||
Titanic Brewing Company | 1999 | |||||||||||||
Tomoka Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Two Henrys Brewing Company | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Southern Swells Brewing Company | 2017 | [77] [78] | ||||||||||||
Swamp Head Brewery | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Ulele Brewery | 2013 | |||||||||||||
Urban Comfort | 2016 | |||||||||||||
Veterans United Craft Brewery | 2014 | [79] | ||||||||||||
Veza Sur | Wynnwood | Miami-Dade | 2017 | Crafy Brewery | ||||||||||
Walking Tree Brewery | 2016 | [80] | ||||||||||||
Waterfront Brewery | 2015 | [81] | ||||||||||||
Wicked Barley Brewing Company | 2016 | Craft brewery and brewpub | [82] | |||||||||||
Wild Rover Pub and Brewery | 2013 | Craft brewery and brewpub | ||||||||||||
Wynwood Brewing Company | 2013 | Miami's first craft production brewery. | ||||||||||||
Ye Olde Brothers Brewery | 2015 | [83] | ||||||||||||
Yuengling Brewery | 1999 | Owned by D. G. Yuengling & Son. The facility first opened in 1958 as a Joseph Schlitz brewery and changed ownership several times, making Pabst and Stroh's. It is Florida's second largest brewery, and largest craft brewery. | - | Zeke's Brewing | 2013 | --> | ||||||||
Zeta Brewing | 2015 | Now named Ruby Beach Brewing after renovations |
Name | City | County | Opened | Closed | Type | Notes | References | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 2017 | Owned by CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries. The restaurant ended its brewing operations in January 2017, but remains open. | [84] [85] | |||||
American Brewing Company (Regal Brewery) | 1939 | 1974 | The facility opened as Wagner Brewing Company in 1934. It was acquired by the American Brewing Company (New Orleans) in 1939 and was known as Regal Brewery. It was later purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 1958 and The National Brewing Company in 1961 before closing in 1974. | [86] [87] | ||||
Anheuser-Busch Brewery | 1959 | 1995 | Macrobrewery | Featured Busch Gardens, which evolved into the modern theme park. | ||||
Atlantic Brewing Company | 1937 | 1954 | The Atlantic Brewing Company building later housed Marlin Brewing Company. | |||||
DeSoto Brewing Company | 1934 | 1936 | ||||||
Flamingo Brewing Company | 1933 | 1935 | Miami's first brewery. | |||||
Florida Avenue Brewing Company | 2010 | 2015 | Originally Cold Storage Craft Brewery; acquired by Brew Bus Brewing. | |||||
1896 | 1961 | Florida's first brewery. The name changed to Tampa Florida Brewery in 1933. Its building is a landmark in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood. | ||||||
Gold Top Brewing Company | 1936 | 1937 | Succeeded Miami Brewing Company and Hialeah Brewing Company. | |||||
Gould Brewing Company | 1936 | 1938 | Succeeded Sunshine Brewery, later bought by Tuna Brewery. | |||||
Hialeah Brewing Company | 1934 | 1934 | Later bought by Miami Brewery and then Gold Top Brewing Company. | |||||
Hops | Clearwater and various locations | Pinellas and various locations | 1989 | Various | Brewpub chain | Hops grew into the United States' largest brewpub chain, with over 75 locations in the early 2000s. The company subsequently went into bankruptcy and most locations closed. | [88] | |
1913 | 1956 | Originally Jacksonville Brewing Company, it was Jacksonville's first brewery. It sold the naming rights to Jackson Brewery when it closed. | ||||||
Lagniappe Brewing Company | 2009 | 2014 | [89] | |||||
Marlin Brewing Company | 1954 | 1956 | Opened in the former Atlantic Brewing Company facility. | |||||
Miami Brewing Company | 1934 | 1936 | Succeeded Hialeah Brewing Company; was later bought by Gold Top Brewing Company. | |||||
Miami Brewing Company | 1996 | 2005 | Acquired by Florida Beer Company, which continued its brands. | |||||
Mile Marker Brewing | 2011 | 2014 | Ancient City Brewing opened in the same location in 2015. | |||||
Southend Brewing Company | 1999 | 2005 | Brewpub | Located at the Jacksonville Landing, it was replaced by the Copper Cellar Grille and Tavern from 2005 to 2007. | [90] [91] | |||
Southern Brewing Company | 1934 | 1963 | Sold to International Breweries in 1959. | |||||
Spearman Brewing Company | 1933 | 1964 | Sold to International Breweries in 1959. | |||||
Sunshine Brewery | 1934 | 1936 | Later bought by Gould Brewing Company and then Tuna Brewing Company. | |||||
Three Palms Brewing | 2012 | 2015 | [92] | |||||
Tuna Brewing Company | 1938 | 1939 | Succeeded Gould Brewing Company and Sunshine Brewery. | |||||
Ybor City Brewing Company | 1994 | 2003 | Tampa's first craft brewery, it was acquired by Florida Beer Company, which continues its brand. | [93] |