Tag Archives: florida beers

Sun King Brewery Logo

Indiana’s Sun King Brewery is opening a taproom in Sarasota

Press Release: Sun King Brewery, one of the leaders of the independent craft beer movement in Indiana, is excited to open a brewery and taproom in Florida – its first outside of Indiana. Sun King Sarasota will take over the location of an existing 5,000-square-foot brewery and taproom located at 1215 Mango Ave. with plans to open in the summer.

Sun King began distributing beer in Florida in 2017 and has found a strong following of fans who include Florida residents, snowbirds, and vacationers who enjoy quenching their thirst with Sun King beers. In a short time, Florida racked up Sun King’s strongest out-of-state sales numbers.

“We are excited to expand Sun King’s operations outside of the Hoosier state and tap into Florida, where residents of the Sunshine State have been enjoying our beers for several years,” said Sun King Co-founder and Owner Clay Robinson. “We have seen a sharp increase in sales in several areas outside of Indiana, and we look forward to building strong relationships with the people of Sarasota, brewing and sharing great beers, and contributing to the community.”

The Sun King Sarasota Brewery and Tap Room will feature 18 taps including core beers like Sunlight Cream Ale, Keller Haze, and Orange Vanilla Cream Ale, as well as seasonal and specialty beers such as Amber Has Two Moms sand a rotating pastry stout, all of which have been top sellers for Sun King in Florida. Sun King plans to brew handcrafted, distinctive specialty beers specifically for Florida craft beer lovers that will feature distinct ingredients, styles, and methods.

The new Sun King Sarasota Brewery and Tap Room will feature food from local food trucks, and customers will be able to purchase carry-out cans, growlers, and kegs. The family-friendly facility will also feature games and activities located inside and in the large, outdoor seating area. Joe Burns, vice president of sales for Sun King, who lives nearby in Bradenton, will oversee operations for Sun King’s new location.

Sun King Brewery Logo

About Sun King Brewery
Sun King Brewing Company is an independently owned Indiana brewery and beverage company with four taprooms in the Indianapolis metro area, one in Kokomo, Ind. and two planned to open in Sarasota, Fla. and Mishawaka, Ind. in 2022. Conceived by two professional brewers, Dave Colt and Clay Robinson, and started with the help of family and friends, Sun King rolled out their first keg of beer in July of 2009. Over the years, Sun King has grown to become one of Indiana’s best-selling and most award-winning breweries. 

Currently available on tap and in cans throughout Indiana, Illinois, and Florida, as well as Louisville, Ky., Sun King is a leader in the independent craft beer movement. Sun King’s brewers handcraft core, seasonal and specialty beers that have been awarded dozens of medals at the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, Festival of Barrel Aged Beers, and the Indiana Brewers Cup competitions. 

Committed to uncompromising integrity, fanatical collaboration and a passion for creating high-quality, consistent products, Sun King has also introduced Sun King Spirits in order to create unique cocktails and slushies for their taprooms.

Sun King takes great pride in partnering with hundreds of community organizations throughout the places where its beverages are sold to help them raise awareness and funds for great causes. Each year Sun King helps these organizations raise more than a million dollars through its community give backs, gift baskets, and beer donations.

Veterans United Brewery The WatchStander IPA

Veterans United Brewery’s WatchStander IPA is a beer with a mission

Since opening in 2014, Jacksonville’s Veterans United Craft Brewery is no stranger to helping their community and helping veterans. The brewery regularly hosts events and brews beers to support pet adoption and veterans charities. Now Veterans United has teamed up with The Fire Watch, a community-based program focused on bringing an end to veteran suicide in Northeast Florida.

McGuire's Irish Red

Florida Originals: McGuire’s Irish Red Ale

Florida’s oldest brewpub can be found up in the Panhandle in the Central Time Zone and the city of Pensacola.  McGuire’s Irish Pub has grown to two locations (with a much larger second location in neighboring Destin), and both serve the original Irish Red Ale that has been praised by both Fred Eckhardt and Michael Jackson.

While Floridian brewers have made names for themselves with styles like India pale ale, hazy India pale ale, Berliner weisse, and imperial stouts, the brewers at McGuire’s of Pensacola (and now Destin) have maintained the tradition of a malty Irish Red Ale since before many current brewers were old enough to drink beer.

McGuire's Irish Red

 

About McGuire’s Irish Red Ale
The pride of McGuire’s! Our Red Ale was the first beer we brewed and remains our most popular. Beer gurus all around have praised its smooth and malty character.

McGuire’s Irish Red is also available for purchase in bottles and kegs (the only McGuire’s beer that is).

Suggested Pairing:  This full-bodied ale is great for sipping and goes well with most food, especially McGuire’s great steaks!

 

 

 

McGuire's Brewery


About McGuire’s Irish Pub and Brewery
McGuire’s Craft Brewery, the oldest in Florida, opened in 1988.  Since then we have been offering fine Ale’s, Porters and Stouts brewed on-premise in our traditional oak and copper brewery. Nature and the old-time know-how of a master brewer get the job done here. We brew with only the finest malted barley, imported hops, and McGuire’s very own house yeast.

We currently brew five regular beers and a rotating seasonal. Our regular line up includes McGuire’s Light Ale, McGuire’s Irish Red Ale, McGuire’s IPA, McGuire’s Porter and McGuire’s Irish Stout. Our seasonal selections include Raspberry Wheat, Belgian Ale, India Pale Ale, Octoberfest, Hefeweizen, Millennium, Christmas Ale and various Spring and Fall Lagers; just to name a few. We also make a very popular root beer served on draft, right out of the keg.

 

Beers to Ponder: What we’re drinking now

At Florida Beer News, we try to report the news and stick to the news as much as possible.  Every so often, it’s nice to sit back and commune with the product that we write so much about.  So, for the past few weeks, here are the beers keep finding their way into our glasses.  One thing we are not shy about – we love Florida’s beer from Florida’s breweries, but we also favor independent craft breweries from around the United States also.

We, like many of this site’s faithful readers, don’t often pour the same beer twice in a drinking session, so when that happens, we ponder why we like it so much, and this “Beers to Ponder” column is the result.

 

Swamp Head Brewery Lemon Days

 

 

Swamp Head Brewery Lemon Days Berliner Weiss:  To call this beer summer in a glass would be an understatement.  This lemonade-stand themed Berliner weisse has the addition of lemons in a light-bodied, thirst-quenching beer, and one of them goes down as easy as four of them.  The beer’s aroma of sweet lemons and tart lemons is only surpassed by the beery lemonade flavor and finish that accompany this soon-to-be summer classic.

 

 

 

 

Boulevard Brewing 692 Mosaic IPA

 

 

 

Boulevard Mosaic 692 Tasting Room Series IPA:  This was a nice surprise of a beer that reminded me that I have not had a bad beer from Boulevard and I should try more of their offerings.  This west-coast inspired IPA showcases all of the wonders of Mosaic hops – that lemony, tropical fruit, and event catty character of these hops in a relatively gentle 6.5% ABV IPA.  Available in the Boulevard R&D mixed sixpack.

 

 

Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty

 

Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty IPA:  We have been looking for a beer that has the sessionability and hoppy goodness of an All Day IPA, but has the lower calorie and lower carb thing, too.  Slightly must refer to the calorie and carb count or the 4.0% ABV.  The beer boasts a 95 calories, 3.6g carbs, 1g protein and 0g fat per 12oz serving.  Mighty means it is many things, but an IPA above all: a little stone fruit, a little citrusy, and a nice malt presence, too.

 

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest bottle pic

 

 

 

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest 2019: Sierra Nevada goes through the trouble of changing the recipe for their Oktoberfest each year and also collaborating with a different traditional German brewery each year.  This year’s collaboration happened with Bitburger and came with a twist: the first time Bitburger yeast has been used outside the brewery in Germany.  The yeast brings a little bit of Germany to this beer, and it has all the loveliness of a malty festbier.

 

 

7venth Sun Control Freak by the pool

 

7venth Sun Control Freak Pale Ale: This beer has it all – great color and head retention, a wonderful burst of hoppiness in the aroma, a mere 5.2% ABV, and a full expression of hops in the flavor that stays around into the finish.  It is a beautiful beer fresh and even better by the pool or other outdoor scenic areas.