While the food scene in the Space Coast is impressive, Bonnie King, deputy director, Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism, said, “We’re exploding with breweries.”
In Cape Canaveral, the Florida Beer Company’s Tap Room features a panoramic view of all the action, with the craft-brewing equipment producing some of the 28 varieties of ales, lagers and ciders. The Tap Room offers tours Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Housed in a renovated 120-year-old hardware store, Hell ’n Blazes Brewing Company in historic downtown Melbourne serves up to 18 unique house beers at a time. Seasonal brews include Like a Rolling Stone Fruit Double IPA. The Vault Room seats 10 to 15 guests with table space, and for larger groups, the taproom can be rented during off hours.
In May, the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier opened the all-new Rikki Tiki Tavern. The new tavern spans the end of the Pier and includes seating for more than 100 guests, a thatched roof covering the entire deck and tasty fish sandwiches. It’s also a great place to watch rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center.
In Daytona Beach, a fun activity for groups is a trip on a Florida Brew Tours bus, according to Linda McMahon, director of group sales, Daytona Beach Area CVB.
“We often do a tour with groups before we take them to dinner,” she said.
The bus can accommodate up to 25 for tastings at three area breweries.
There are also the some great craft breweries on the Daytona Ale Trail including Daytona Beach Brewing Company serving Daytona Beachin’ Summer Ale and Beach Town Pale Ale; Seabreeze Taphouse, also in Daytona Beach, which serves more than 100 craft beers, 25 of them on tap; New Smyrna Beach Brewing Co., with a 900-square-foot taproom located in historic downtown New Smyrna Beach, and Tomoka Brewing Company in Port Orange, which has seating indoors for up to 70. Tomoka’s beers, like the Twist of Cane and Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich Brown Ale, go nicely with the Lunar Eclipse Stout barbeque Smokin’ Tomokin’ Wings.
