Local Breweries in Orlando

Local Breweries in Orlando

When it comes to providing a really good pint, Orlando used to be like most of America – you had the choice of Budweiser and Miller Light, and maybe a few other big-name brands. But not anymore.

Nowadays, you are more likely to find beers like Cloud Chaser, Lone Palm, Adrenaline Nightshift and Stairway to Nothing, among an ever growing array of local breweries that are consistently turning out fabulous products.

From IPAs to porters, and sour ales to ciders, there is now something for all tastes among the 20 plus choices for individual, locally sourced and created alcoholic varieties, most of which are very decently priced.

Where Can You Find the Craft Breweries?

Almost literally, everywhere. From downtown Orlando to small towns like DeLand, Winter Garden and Mount Dora, Central Florida is bursting with unique - and tasty - beer producers that have ploughed their own hoppy and malty furrows.

The Orlando Brewing Company (founded in 2001) is the oldest of them all hereabouts, but recent arrivals like Rockpit Brewing and Twelve Talons Beerworks are equally as tempting and just as inviting.

In fact, the phenomenon has become so widespread that a local company has created the Hop On Central Florida Brew Tours, which offer five different regional circuits to enjoy three breweries per tour, providing the transport, entertainment, and, yes, plenty of beer along the way.

Even better, places like Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld all stock a variety of local ales in their bars and restaurants, so you should always have the choice of something fresh and Floridian rather than the identikit offerings of Bud and Co.

Sip, Sample or Take a Brewery Tour

If all of this is music to your ears (or tastebuds), you’ll be delighted to know that every brewery comes with its own taproom or tasting lounge, often with a patio or other outdoor area for al fresco supping.

From Sanford to the north of Orlando to Lake Nona in the south, and from Winter Garden in the west to Oviedo in the east, you are never far from one of these modern day paragons of the home-brew lifestyle. Not all serve food, but you should still find a handy food truck or two to provide something to soak up the suds.

You can even learn how it’s done on a FREE tour at the city’s oldest brewery. Orlando Brewing Company – which is a strictly organic brewer in keeping with Germany’s Reinheitsgebot Purity Law of 1516, using only hops, malted barley, water and yeast - offers guided tours of its extensive facility in the south downtown area every Monday to Saturday at 6pm (first come, first served).

The best thing about visiting one of the breweries, though, is that they all offer beer flights, a four or five-ounce pour of a selection of their wares, meaning you can try a good cross-section of what’s on offer without breaking the bank (or your waistband!).

Great Examples

Ten10 Brewery was founded in 2014 in the vibrant Mills 50 district of downtown Orlando and has quickly become a go-to choice for locals and visitors alike, with a terrific lineup of ales, ciders and even wines from the nearby Quantum Leap Winery, which is another Floridian success story.

While it isn’t the oldest, or the newest, Crooked Can Brewing Company – home of the excellent Cloud Chaser – is doubly worthy of attention as it is situated in the lovely Plant Street Market in Winter Garden (which we featured in a previous blog), and is one of our favourite off-the-beaten-track hot-spots.

Head north to the city suburb of Apopka and you’ll find the truly original Three Odd Guys Brewing, a real locals’ hangout but with plenty of welcoming style, not to mention four year-round brews plus a regular supply of seasonal and guest brew choices (try their Fence Check brown ale for a real taste sensation).

For that ‘something different’ factor, you should definitely visit the Tactical Brewing Company, in Orlando’s Baldwin Park district, which insists it produces “strategically chaotic beer.” Don’t be fooled, though. This is a wonderfully creative and imaginative brewer, as evidenced in their Velour Roar, an imperial stout aged in blackberry brandy barrels, then conditioned on cocoa nibs and Turkish figs. Yum!

And there are several dozen more, all with a similar distinctive style and specialities. For more choices, see VisitOrlando.com’s dedicated section on local breweries.

Have you tried one of Orlando’s craft breweries? Tell us what you think on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.