Any worthwhile beer stops from Orando Airport to Cedar Key?

Beer aside, once you head west out of Ocala, you will be treated to seeing the "real" Florida. That includes Cedar Key. Quaint and beautiful Gulf waters. Ahhhhh...

 

Ill be doing the exact same drive in a few months! Keeping an eye on this thread!

 

Cedar Key is an amazing place. I take my boat over there every year to spend a few days fishing. Lots of great places to visit, enjoy the scenery, and eat some great food.

 

Swamp Head in Gainesville might be worth a stop. They just opened their new place recently.

 

Swamp Head is the best bet right on your way IMO and RedLight is worth the stop when in town

But when I went to the OBT Knightly Spirits location this past Friday for the first time in a long while it seems to have gone downhill as to what they had on the shelves. Of course you still see some obscure hard to find large bottle imports, but not as many small US regional breweries as I remember them carrying, and lots of dusty shelf turds.

If you want another mid level brewery to visit with a beautiful tasting room, take the 25-30 min drive right at the exit of the Airport going East on the 528 Beachline Expressway to Cape Canaveral and visit Florida Beer Company.. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/161/ Swamp Ape is a decent DIPA and they have a few other good styles they do. Plus you can then make a side trip to Ron Jons surf shop just up the street on A1A before doubling back the way you came to Orlando.. Makes for a good 3 hour side trip before you head west if you have the time.

 

Once you're in Cedar Key there is a cool beer and cigar bar there called Black Dog Bar & Tables. Dog-friendly, nice beer selection, decent cigar selection, cool owner. I didn't know it was there on my trip down and just stumbled in, ended up spending two nights on the patio there drinking beer and BSing with follks.

 

I live in Ocala and besides Orlando the only stops you should consider are Swamphead Brewery (fantastic new facility off 34th st. So new that the phone maps haven't been updated yet) and Tipples Brews in Gainesville. Dragonfly sushi in downtown Gainesville had Hopslam on tap on the 21st. Infinite Ale Works in Ocala has some good beers and just tapped their own brews a couple weeks ago. When you head west of I-75 there is pretty much nothing all the way to the coast. A few years ago in Cedar Key the only craft beer you could find was Sierra Nevada. I would recommend stocking up at Tipples and Swamphead.

 

Swampheads new facility is at 3650 SW 42nd Ave in Gainesville. It came right up on Google maps.

 

Crooked can just opened up and I hear their brews are great. That's in Orlando.

 

good thing about Crooked Can is that it's on the west side of town (Winter Garden, FL) and would be closer to the turnpike/I-75 and wont drag you out of the way. I have not been yet but they just opened this past weekend.

 

Thanks. I graduated from UF in '98 and haven't been back in years. Sounds like a good reason to stop through.

 

Being From Cali if you are looking for a place that has a lot of good craft options. There is a World of Beer in Newberry
140 SW 128th St, Newberry, FL 32669
(352) 727-4714
It is not really out of the way, maybe an exit or 2 past where you would grab 24 across to cedar key. Maybe an hour or so away from cedar key.

Great place lots of Fl craft beer options.
This is just a small list of the FL stuff they have on tap as of last night
Swamp Head Big Nose, cotton mouth, midnight oil
First Magnitude (Gainsville Brewery) 72 Pale ale , Drift English Mild, Siren Blonde
Intuition (jacksonville) Boneshaker
JDubs (Sarasota) Uptop IPA

good Luck Have fun