While people are rushing to Sam’s Club, Wal Mart, and Publix to prepare for hurricane Dorian, Florida’s craft breweries are offering an alternative to the large retail stores – they will fill water jugs from their brewing equipment for free.

Many breweries have to prepare their brewing schedules week, if not months in advance and when a hurricane approaches with potential loss of power, brewers would rather play it safe than sorry.  If the brewery were to lose power without a backup generator, then the beer in the tanks would not ferment at optimum temperature resulting in potential off-flavors or spoiled beer.  In order to avert this problem, brewers often forgo brewing a batch of beer until after the storm has passed.  That open time in the brewing schedule can leave water in the brewing tanks, which the brewery can use for the good of the community by filling water containers for those preparing to hunker down for the storm.

“We are first and foremost a community-centric brewery,” Grove Roots Brewing owner Joe Dunham says in an interview with CNN. “We believe in our small town and will do all we can to help people. If the need arises, we will have plenty of water to share. It’s the least we can do for the community we love.”

We recommend calling the brewery or checking social media for exact times of filling before traveling to the brewery.

As of Thursday, August 29th, the following breweries have been offering free water fills for those preparing for Hurricane Dorian:

 3 Sons Brewing
236 N Federal Hwy in Dania Beach

Persimmon Hollow Brewing offers free water for those preparing for the hurricane.

81Bay Brewing Company
4465 W. Gandy Blvd. Ste 600 in Tampa

American Craft Aleworks
200 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach

Backyard Barn Winery & Brewery
1945 E County Road 462 in Wildwood

Bangin’ Banjo Brewing
3200 NW 23rd Ave #500 in Pompano Beach

Barrel of Monks Brewing
1141 S Rogers Circle #5 in Boca Raton

Beat Culture Brewery
7250 NW 11 Street in Miami

Big Hammock Brewery & Bites
103 SE 1st Ave in Ocala

Bowigen’s Beer Company
1014 State Road 436 in Casselberry

Brew Hub Brewing
3900 Frontage Rd S in Lakeland

Dead Lizard Brewing 
4507 36th St in Orlando

De Bine Brewing 
993 Florida Ave in Palm Harbor

Deviant Wolfe Brewing 
121 W 1st St in Sanford

Dissent Craft Brewing Company
5518 Haines Rd in St. Petersburg

Due South Brewing
2900 High Ridge Rd, Suite 3 in Boynton Beach

Ellipsis Brewing 
7500 TPC Blvd Suite #8 in Orlando

First Magnitude Brewing
1220 SE Veitch St in Gainesville

Fish Hawk Spirits
16350 SW 20th Lane in Ocala

Fishweir Brewing
1183 Edgewood Ave in Jacksonville

Water station at Walking Tree Brewery

The Florida Brewery Company
02 Gandy Rd in Auburndale

Flying Boat Brewing Company
1776 11th Ave N in St. Petersburg

Garagiste Meadery
1506 N Florida Ave in Tampa

Green Room Brewing
228 3rd St N in Jacksonville Beach

Grove Roots Brewing
302 3rd Street SW in Winter Haven

Hourglass Brewing
480 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd in Longwood

Infinite Ale Works 
304 S Magnolia Ave in Ocala

Intuition Ale Works 
929 E Bay in Jacksonville

J. Wakefield Brewing
120 NW 24th St  in Miami

Legacy Ale Works 
14965 Old St. Augustine Rd., Ste 129 in Jacksonville

Proof Brewing Company growler filled with water

Marker 48 Brewing 
12147 Cortez Blvd in Brooksville

Motorworks Brewing 
1014 9th Street West in Bradenton

NOBO Brewing Company
2901 Commerce Park Dr in Boynton Beach

Odd Breed Wild Ales
50 NE 1st St in Pompano Beach

Orlando Brewing 
1301 Atlanta Ave in Orlando

Overflow Brewing Company
770 1st Ave N in St. Petersburg

Oviedo Brewing Company
1280 Oviedo Mall Blvd in Oviedo

Pair O Dice Brewing
4400 118th Ave N, Ste 208 in Clearwater

Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company
111 W Georgia Ave in DeLand

Proof Brewing Company
1320 S. Monroe St in Tallahassee

Prosperity Brewers 
4160 NW 1st Ave #21 in Boca Raton

Rapp Brewing Company
10930 Endeavor Way, Ste C in Seminole

Redlight Redlight 
2810 Corrine Dr in Orlando

RockPit Brewing
10 W Illiana St in Orlando

Sailfish Brewing Company
130 N 2nd St in Fort Pierce

Saltwater Brewery
1701 W Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach

Sanford Brewing Company
400 S Sanford Ave in Sanford

SJ Brewing Company
463646 SR 200, Unit 13 in Yulee

Suncreek Brewery
790 West Minneola in Clermont

Sideward Brewing
210 N Bumby in Orlando

St. Pete Brewing 
544 1st Ave N in St. Petersburg

Sugar Works Distillery 
1714 FL-44 in New Smyrna Beach

Swan Brewing 
115 W. Pine St in Lakeland

Tabula Rasa Brewing
2385 Corbett Street in Jacksonville

Tactical Brewing 
4882 New Broad St in Orlando

Tampa Bay Brewing Company 
1600 East 8th Ave in Tampa (Ybor City)
13937 Monroes Business Park (Westchase)

The Tank Brewing Company
5100 NW 72 ave, Bay A-1 in Miami

Tarpon River Brewing
280 SW 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale

Tequesta Brewing Company
287 N US Highway 1 in Tequesta

Toll Road Brewing 
101 W McKey St in Ocoee

Troubled Waters Brewing 
670 Main Street in Safety Harbor

Walking Tree Brewery
3209 Dodger Road in Vero Beach

The Weed Reaper Experiment
3260 NW 23rd Avenue Suite 400E in Pompano Beach

West Palm Beach Brewery and Wine Vault 
332 Evernia Street in West Palm Beach

Wicked Barley Brewing Company
4100 Baymeadows Rd in Jacksonville

If any other breweries are planning to offer water fills, please email mark@floridabeernews.com or message Florida Beer News on Facebook or Twitter and we will update this post.

Now is the time to put growlers to use!  For those beer enthusiasts who collect growlers or have a number of them in reserve, waiting to be called upon at the next beer release or rare beer tapping, hurricane prep is a great use for these vessels.  Growlers can hold water, too, and can save the stress of a trip to the grocery store before a hurricane. Fill them up at a local brewery or from the tap at home while the water is still flowing.

Growlers can be repurposed into water-holders during a hurricane