Tag Archives: citrus

Grove Roots Brewing is coming to Winter Haven

Press Release:

Grove Roots Brewing Company, led by Winter Haven native Joseph Dunham, announced today its plans to open Winter Haven’s first craft beer brewery. Expanding on the success of the Tampa-St. Pete craft brew community, Grove Roots will celebrate the city’s strong connection to the citrus industry and contribute to the cultural revitalization of Winter Haven’s downtown. With plans to restore one of the city’s historic industrial buildings, the 15-barrel brewhouse and tasting room is set to open in mid-2016.

Inspired by his Winter Haven heritage and a passion for homebrewing, Dunham traded his job at an industrial engineering and construction firm to start Grove Roots. Witnessing the slew of upcoming development projects in his hometown, Dunham knew that downtown Winter Haven was the right place to realize Grove Roots’ mission to revive the region’s historic citrus culture through inventive, hand-crafted beer. “After a decade of traveling in other cities and visiting breweries, we decided to come back to our roots in Winter Haven and build a business structured around our great city and its rich history in the citrus industry,” said Dunham. Grove Roots plans to provide cooperation opportunities with local providers to showcase their products in specialty brews.

The 5,200 square-foot space will feature an 80-seat tasting room, 15-barrel production area, indoor stage and outdoor covered seating. Patrons will be able to enjoy local music and a first-hand look at the brewing process as they sample artisanal ales and lagers. Initially, Grove Roots will offer four flagship beers, four seasonal beers and a variety of special-release beers throughout the year. Grove Roots will make its first community appearance on March 5, 2015 as the sponsor of downtown’s Craft Beer Crawl hosted by Main Street Winter Haven.

About Grove Roots Brewing Company:

Grove Roots Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Winter Haven, Florida. Dedicated to producing artisanal ales inspired by Florida’s citrus heritage and the surrounding community, Grove Roots aims to be recognized as the area’s signature brewery by locals and visitors alike. Opening in 2016, Grove Roots will be Winter Haven’s first craft brewery. For more information, please visit groveroots.com.

Orchid Island Brewery is expanding

Orchid Island Brewery, Indian River’s craft brewery, is expanding after only a few months in business. After opening in late August 2014, the small brewery will be moving its tasting room and across the courtyard from their current location at 2855 Ocean Drive. The new tasting room should come online around December, according to an article in local newspaper TC Palm.

The brewery began its business focusing on the Indian River citrus industry and works to put local and indigenous ingredients in every batch of beer head brewer Alden Bing makes. Orchid Island’s mainstay is an India Pale Ale called Star Ruby, named for the fruit that made Indian River famous.

Orchid Island currently distributes to a few spots around town, but Bing says he is having trouble keeping up with demand in his own tasting room. The best place to try Orchid Island beers is the brewery tasting room which is currently open from 5-8pm on Tuesday through Thursday then from 5-10pm on Friday, Saturday offers 12-10pm hours, and Sunday and Monday the tasting room is closed. Look for new hours after the brewery expands.

Orchid Island Brewery taps Citron Farmhouse Ale

Orchid Island Brewery of Vero Beach is making a name for themselves with small-batch beers that focus on the citrus flavors inherent to the area. Their newest beer, Citron, is a citrus-focused farmhouse ale.

From Orchid Island:

Citron is our newest beer on tap. Wild/Farmhouse Ales or Saison (season) originated on the farms of southern Belgium. Traditionally the characteristics were driven by the local produce available on the farm during a given season. We used Indian River lemons plus Brettanomyces (Bret) for this batch.

Orchid Island Brewery is located at 2855 Ocean Drive in Vero Beach.