Burkes of Ireland / Nature Coast Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

A great little bar with a friendly bartender and a nice selection of taps. Very small, just one small room with a bar and tables and stools along the wall in front of it. A little dark and the furnishings and decor are pretty basic, but it works. Just one guy working when I was there on a Friday afternoon, but quite knowledgeable about his selection and beer in general. No food available when I was there- apparently it's a hit or miss thing. Nice selection, with a number of Florida beers, and no crap on tap. I had the Cigar City 60 shilling Scotch Ale, and the Cigar City Berliner Weiss, while my wife also had a Berliner and a double IPA from some local Florida Pizza Kitchen turned brewery. If you're in Crystal River a must stop, and if you're traveling up this coast then worth a detour. They do special beer events as well and tap takeovers, so it could certainly be worth your while depending what's on. Go swim with some Manatees or just enjoy kayaking in this beautiful area and then come have some great beers here with the locals.

I travel the back roads in Florida and found the listing for Burkes on BA site. Walked in @2:30 and jokingly asked for Hopslam on tap. The bartender said he just tapped a keg less than an hour ago. He poured himself a taste and 13 oz. tulips for $6 for me and my wife. The other 2 patrons were drinking 22 oz. Irish beers. After we ordered a second round the bartender tweeted the regulars that Hopslam keg had been taped and within 15 minutes 3 IPA drinkers join us at the bar. The only food listed on a chalk board was smoked pork butt sandwich $5. The bartender had smoked 30 butts for 9 hours in a big cast iron smoker on the patio out back the day before and the bar was serving the last 2 butts as the only food offering other than deserts. The sandwich was served open face with at least a half pound of incredibly tender, smokey pork with a perfectly seasoned sauce. The IPA drinker were friendly and swapped information about bars and breweries in the towns we would be passing through and visiting on our trip. The bar had several beers from Tampa area breweries on tap and I tried taste of some but with Hopslam my favorite beer available that was all I bought. The bartender knew the products of all the area breweries and had good selection in bottles. Half the patrons were on bikes but I would not describe this as a biker bar.They have entertainment at night. I was back on the road before it started.
A great bar worth leaving the interstate to find