The demand is so great for craft beers these days that the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando created its own signature craft brew. Titled Phins and Feathers after the resort’s two namesake animals, the pale ale features a robust complex taste with tropical citrus and floral notes. The brew can be found at all of the property’s restaurants, as well as incorporated into special group events.
“Developing Phins and Feathers was a true passion project,” said Tony Porcellini, director of food and beverage for the Swan and Dolphin. “After years of developing our own signature dishes and cocktails, it was a natural progression to do our own brew. With the proliferation of craft breweries, it is now convenient to partner with the locally based BrewHub [large-scale production brewery] to develop and produce the quantity we need for a resort of our size. Our guests are looking for unique food and drink experiences and this is one more way for us to give that to them.”
At hotels across the state, beer tastings are planned for locals and meeting-goers alike. The Sheraton Bay Point Resort in Panama City Beach stages a Craft Beer & Company monthly happy hour at the resort, inviting local craft breweries to showcase their specialty beers for resort guests. While sampling specialty blondes and lagers, guests learn about the local craft beer industry and deepen their connection to the destination.
Florida’s craft beer industry produces more than 1.1 million barrels of beer each year, according to the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, and the number of craft breweries in the state has been increasing steadily in recent years, with a focus on local ingredients, unique flavors and cool venues. Orlando, especially, has a growing thirst for local brews.
One of Orlando’s newest local breweries, Ocean Sun Brewing, is located in the heart of Orlando. It provides a unique drinking environment with local food and entertainment and offers on-demand brewery tours daily.
Of note: Ocean Sun Brewing names its beverage selection after local Orlando streets and roads.
Ten10 Brewing Company is located in the Mills 50 District in downtown Orlando and constantly adds to its ever-changing menu. It is one of the newer Orlando breweries and uses a wide variety of ingredients from other local businesses to help Orlando’s economy thrive. Wine barrels from Orlando’s Quantum Leap Winery are used to ferment and age Ten10’s beers, and the brewery’s partnership with Lineage Coffee Roasters allows it to utilize the rich flavor of the coffee bean to demonstrate how the contrasting flavors work together.
In Pensacola, attendees can explore the Pensacola Bay Brewery, Gulf Coast Brewery, McGuire’s Irish Pub and Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, with more than 112 beers on tap, including hard-to-find gems from across the globe.
Jacksonville’s Intuition Ale Works opened this past October and offers a taproom and rooftop bar in the heart of the Sports Complex in downtown Jacksonville. Great river and stadium views are paired with the best local brews in town.
In Miami, brewery options include the Wynwood Brewing Company in the Wynwood Arts District, which touts itself as the city’s first micro-brewery. North of downtown, this area was once the garment factory district and is now home to a large Puerto Rican community that settled here in the '70s and '80s. The brewery’s owners, the Brignoni family, felt they needed to come to this neighborhood and help create jobs for the locals and help support the community. Other brewery options for groups include J Wakefield Brewing’s on-site brewery and tasting room as well as Concrete Beach Brewery.
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Several cities offer bus tours for groups that want to experience more than a few breweries, such as Brew Bus Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida Brewery Tours, or for those who want to drive, The St. Pete/Clearwater Craft Beer Trail runs north to south from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg—an hour’s drive end to end. Along the trail there is an array of small, independent breweries crafting fresh artisanal beers. With Florida’s oldest craft brewery, Dunedin, it’s only fitting that the St. Pete/Clearwater region boasts the biggest craft beer scene in the state, with more than 30 craft breweries.
Cocktail Craze
Hotels are finding that having their own signature cocktail or cocktail tasting is “a must,” and are offering guests a way to engage with the staff in a fun way.
“I love the guest interaction,” said mixologist Rodney Cherry from the new Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach. “I like to ask guests what kind of drink they’re looking for and be able to then provide that satisfaction based off of ‘I like something sweet.’”
Coincidentally, his favorite drink to make is an Old Fashioned: whiskey with a twist of orange and cherry as the garnish.
Tequila Tasting Tuesdays at the Sheraton Bay Point Resort offer guests an engaging opportunity with expert mixologists to sample the top-shelf tequila brands available at the resort. A highlight is trying the signature tequila cocktail, the Golden Margarita with Patron Silver Tequila, Grand Marnier and its house-made habanero-infused simple syrup, fresh lime with a touch of Tajin spices and salt sprinkled on the rim.
“Our ‘In the Mood for a Cocktail’ drink menu reflects our desire to indulge our guests and group attendees with the experiential ambience they are seeking,” said Bob Weil, director of food and beverage, The Resort at Longboat Key Club. “Whether it be a celebratory round of cocktails after a business meeting or for a couple sipping cocktails at sunset, there is no doubt the right cocktail can certainly accent the mood of the moment.”
A few of their specialty cocktails to fit each mood include the Relax: Cilantro Ginger Cooler; Celebratory: Rock a Rita; The Mood Swing: Mood Ring Cocktail; Sophisticated: Gentleman Manhattan, Ocean Royal; and On a Desert Island: Tropical Dream Coconut Daiquiri.
Tours of distilleries have become as popular as brewery tours, and at Jacksonville’s Manifest Distilling, a visit is a great way to learn about distillation and craft spirits.
The Manifest Distilling experience demonstrates the distilling of potato vodka, made from non-GMO potatoes, and gin. Manifest is locally owned and operated and is just a stone’s throw from the Jacksonville Ice & Sports Complex and the St. Johns River.
The St. Augustine Distillery utilizes Florida ingredients to produce whiskey, rum, vodka, gin and bourbon in handcrafted small batches. Since opening in 2014, the distillery has already won awards along with fans of its products. Housed in a historic building that once served as an ice plant, guests enjoy the free tours and tastings daily. Last fall, the distillery launched Florida’s first legal bourbon since Prohibition, and in November 2016, USA Today named St. Augustine Distillery’s Gin the No. 1 Craft Gin in the country.
The St. Augustine Distillery and the Florida Citrus Council collaborated to create the A1A Cocktail Trail, where at each stop the master mixologists at restaurants and bars serve an all-Florida specialty cocktail using fresh Florida citrus paired with St. Augustine Distillery spirits. Responsible imbibers bring their completed trail passport to the St. Augustine Distillery for an A1A Cocktail Trail T-shirt as well as a custom drink coaster.
