Table of Contents:
POST PROHIBITION.
NEW FLORIDA BREWERIES
SUMMARY.
Wines of Florida Taste Florida Florida Spirits,
Old Florida Beer.
The early history of beer in Florida is murky. We know that the British open a brewery at Jekyll Island in Georgia circa 1738.
We know that Florida is a significant source of supplies to the British during their squirmish with the colonies. If they were not producing beer, they were importing it.
By 1810, there at least 132 known breweries operating in the United States. This figure may not include those in territories like Florida.
A Brewery
Florida’s first commercial brewery, the Florida Brewing Company, begins bottling in 1897 in Ybor City (Tampa).
The owners are a group of cigar industrialists who note there is no competition in the Southeast market.
They do not have much competition until Florida’s second commercial brewery opens seventeen years later.
Jacksonville Brewing is the creation of William Ostner. He happens to marry the daughter of Jacob Schorr of St Louis’s Schorr-Kolkschneider Brewing Company.
In Northern Florida, they participate in prohibition, and Jax Brewing switches to producing ice, soda, and near-beer.
The Florida Brewing Company was still brewing until 1928 when the city finally raids and shuts them down.
For the remaining years, local bootleggers, rural moonshiners, and rum-runners from Cuba take up Tampa’s slack.
Tampa, run by local Italians, and Al Capone’s Miami become two of the wettest cities in the U.S.
Post Prohibition
Florida beer takes off after prohibition. The Florida Brewing Company gets new owners who renamed it the Tampa Florida Brewery. Besides the southeast market, they become the leading U.S. beer exporter to Cuba.
Jacksonville Brewery, seeing the end of prohibition near, scales up and increases their production capacity. In the 1940s, they change the name to Jax Beer. Post-WWII, they rule the Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina beer market.
Tampa’s Southern Brewing Company opens at the end of prohibition. It gives Tampa Florida Brewery a run for its money in Central Florida.
Another upstart in the same year is the Spearman Brewing Company in Pensacola.
Guy Spearman owns the local ice plant and builds the brewery next door. It is the first commercial brewery in west Florida and a short drive from the nearby Naval Air Station.
It is a roaring success, especially during the war.
Another 1934 upstart, Miami’s City Ice Company, began the Wagner Brewing Company. Supplying southeast Florida and ships sailing from the Port of Miami, it snowballs. Within four years, it buys a significant interest in the American Brewing Company of New Orleans. American’s best-selling brand is Regal Beer, and when it outsells Wagner’s brands, they change the brewery name to Regal Brewery.
Orlando joins the game circa 1937. The Atlantic Brewing Company of Atlanta opens its fourth brewery outside of Atlanta in Orlando. It already has brand recognition and is successful from the start.
There were a few other Florida beers right after the prohibition. Unfortunately, they did not last long.
- Flamingo Brewery 1933-35 in Miami.
- Hialeah Brewery 1934-34 in Miami
- Desoto Brewery 1934-36 in Tampa
- Miami Brewing Company 1934-36, in Miami
- Sunshine Brewery 1934 – 36 in WestPalm Beach
- Gould Brewing 1936-38 in West Palm Beach
- Gold Top Brewing 1937-37 in Hialeah
- Tuna Brewing 1938-39 in West Palm Beach
End of the War, End of the Local Brewery
With the end of WWII, the American economy booms.
Breweries that were already distributing beer far and wide before the war cannot keep up with production.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has ships sailing from its port and access to the rail lines in Chicago. Their Schlitz Brewery is the largest beer producer in the world between the end of prohibition and 1953.
In St Louis, the Mississippi River and rail lines west help make one beer king. A 1953 strike lasting over two months at the breweries in Milwaukee allows Anheuser Busch to lead.
The race is on.
Both companies begin opening breweries across the country and purchasing smaller ones not able to keep up.
Roll out the barrel, Florida has a barrel of fun.
What does that mean to Florida Beer?
1954
Anheuser-Busch acquires Miami’s Regal Brewery. Due to an anti-trust suit, they sell it to Baltimore’s National Brewing Company who runs it until 1974.
1956.
National Brewing Company also picks up Orlando’s faltering Atlantic Brewing Company of Georgia. In 1961 they moved production to their Miami location and closed Orlando.
Tampa’s Southern Brewery goes to Detroit’s International Breweries.
Jax Beer sells the brewery division to New Orlean’s Jackson Brewing Company. The Jacksonville location goes back to ice and cold storage.
1959.
Pensacola’s Spearman Brewery sells its brewery division to Detroit’s International Breweries. They go back into ice production.
Schlitz and Anheuser-Busch open major breweries in Tampa. The Anheuser-Busch property includes a beer garden with exotic bird shows and beer tasting.
1962
Tampa Florida Brewery loses its primary market with the Cuban embargo. They go out of business before the blockade is complete.
There are no more Florida-owned beers.
Detroit’s International Breweries close shop in 1963, taking the Southern Brewery and Spearman brands with it.
1965
August A. Busch Jr., a lover of animals, adds the 29-acre Serengeti Plain to his breweries beer garden. This open area allows African wildlife to roam freely. At the time, it is the largest habitat of its kind outside of Africa. He will later add 41 acres. In 1966, the first “ride” appears, a monorail to see the animals from above. Roller coasters and admission come later.
Anheuser-Busch will close the brewery in 1995. In 2007, Inbev, a conglomerate from Europe, buys a controlling interest of Anheuser-Busch. I year later, they stop free beer samples at all locations, including Busch Gardens. A year later, (2009) they sell all Busch entertainment properties.
1974
National Brewing Company shuts down the Miami Brewery and Regal Beer in 1974.
Citing decreasing sales, Jackson Brewing stops making Jax Beer. There are no more Florida-brand beers.
Florida Brewery opens in Auburndale. There is a Florida-owned and brand beer. In 2009, they will sell to Venezuela’s Empresas-Polar but remain in Auburndale.
New Florida Beer
The rest of the 1970s and 80s are quiet as far as Florida beer.
We are almost to the 1990s before the microbrew wave finally reaches Florida shores.
The first Hops BrewPub opened in Clearwater in November 1989. Hops will go on to be a successful franchise of brewpubs for 20+ years.
In the same year, Sarasota Brewing Company open its doors. It is also a brewpub offering as much food as beer.
The 1990s
There is a lull at the beginning of the 90s, but then Florida catches on. Starting in 1992, 18 different breweries will open across the state during the next seven years. A few, in Tampa, St Augustine, and Miami, are no longer with us. The rest (as of summer 2020) are.
1992
Kellys Caribbean Bar in Key West – is open by actress Kelly McGillis (Top Gun fame). In 2017 under new owners, it becomes First Flight. A nod to its location in the building housing Pan American Airlines’ first ticket office. A restaurant with a brewery.
1993
River City Brewing in Jacksonville – is now a large riverside restaurant and lounge. They still brew on site.
1994
Ragtime Tavern Seafood and Grill in Atlantic Beach (Jacksonville) – serves ales and lagers and a menu with many shrimp offerings.
1995
The Abbey Brewing Company in Miami – is more pub with food than a restaurant.
1996
- Big River Grille & Brewing Works on the Boardwalk, Walt Disney World Resort – is the mouse’s version of a gastropub with beer.
- Charlie & Jake’s Brewery in Melbourne offers BBQ, grilled meats, and in house brews.
- Dunedin Brewery in Dunedin (Tampa) is a microbrewery with some bar food.
- Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City (Tampa) has more than 20 beers on tap and a large food menu.
1997
- Big Bear Brewing Company in Coral Springs (Ft Lauderdale) is a restaurant with in house brewing.
- Florida Beer Company in Cape Canaveral is a brewery with a taproom.
1999
- Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery in Jacksonville is a restaurant with an in-house brewery.
- Titanic Brewing Company in Coral Gables (Miami) is a restaurant and event space with an in-house brewery.
Yuengling Brewery of Pennsylvania buys the old Schlitz Brewery in Tampa for producing their line of beers. Tours were available until 2019.
A New Century
Since 2000, Florida has seen more than 140 additional microbreweries, brewhouses, and restaurants with in-house brewing open. Way too many to list here.
And many of them are distributing their beers not only to local establishments but across the state.
Within two miles of my home in Fort Lauderdale, there are currently five breweries. They include the award-winning Funky Buddha Brewery and Gulf Stream Brewing Company.
The list is changing almost daily, but hopefully, the list above gives you an idea that there is more to beer in Florida than butterbeer.
Florida Beer Round-up.
ONCE AGAIN, this is ONLY a handful of the craft beers in Florida. The list is usually out of date before hitting the “save” button.
New breweries and new flavors keep popping up every day. Therefore, there is no way to keep up with them. Also, there are seasonal beers. There is no way to keep current.
Florida beers that are favorites today may not be next season. Artesian beers, like wines, have good years and bad years. Just because it was great last year does not guarantee it will be as exceptional this year. In contrast, it may be even better.
And finally, all people do not like the same beer. Or wine or…
For this reason, a good bartender or server is probably necessary to point you in the right direction.
Then, YOU need to decide on YOUR OWN if it’s your Florida beer.