Labor Day Miami Trip

Civil Society in Jupiter (Hour or so north of Ft Lauderdale) will be the brewery most likely to be putting out fresh hops. They have been canning something almost every weekend for a couple months now. As for J Wakefield you will have to check if they are releasing anything that particular weekend or the one before. MIA Brewing in Doral is good. I believe The Tank opened recently in Doral. Wynwood Brewery is worth dropping by if you are in the area.

Spots for bottles and/or bars
Total Wine is always solid if you are looking for a wide variety and has multiple locations.

In Miami you have Union Beer Store (Little Havana) , Box Elder (Wynwood).Mendes Fuel (Coral Gables).

In Ft Lauderdale you have Laserwolf, Craft Beer Cartel, Riverside Market, Brass Tap/Flagler Village

 

Here is an event at the Brass Tap Ft Lauderdale Sat evening..

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1875743626011733

 

I'll be there in a few weeks also... Any beer bars or craft beer centric restaurant recs would be great!

 

The only place other than a few breweries, that i know of, that do growlers are Menendez Fuel in Miami and I know Whole Foods in Davie does too, but you would have to see what they have on tap. I know Menendez has an Instagram page they update with bottles and their fill list

 

Crowlers: Civil Society, MIA, Funky Buddha, Mendez Fuel

Growlers: Brass Tap Coral Springs (1/2 price on Wesnesday), ABC Fort Lauderdale, Total Wine Coral Springs and Miami Beach, Craft Beer Cartel in Ft Lauderdale (across from Riverside Market), J Wakefield

Funky Buddha and Wakefield are pretty limited on fills (posted online) and FB only fills their own growler but they are counter pressure filled

 

You should also check out BeerMenus and Untappd verified venues after you get here to what's around you. Civil Society kegs make it down to Miami pretty regularly and you'll be able to find exactly where they are, just as an example.

Overall best spot to go in Miami is probably Union. Good prices, awesome tap selection, cool neighborhood (Little Havana - prob a bit different from Illinois), and they have a bunch of to-go options.

 

for bottle shops, if you are flying into Ft Laud on Friday morning I would hit Total Wine Fort Lauderdale because I believe they get their shipments on Thursday and should have a good selection then. Most of the liquor stores get restocked Tues-Fri depending on location so don't wait until Sunday or Monday to do your shopping or the selection may not be as good.

HeartofMiami covered just about everything else. Enjoy the trip!

 

I will be flying into Miami on Thursday. I am staying on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. Are their any beer bars or craft beer centric places I can check out in this area or is everything pretty much in Miami proper?

 

Really not much on the beach. There's a few spots that sometimes have decent stuff like Ricky's and Lost weekend also the total wine there is a good place to get some bottles but those are all towards the south end.

 

I'm going to be down in Miami on Friday. Hitting up the Marlins game but planning on checking out a brewery beforehand. My initial plan was to hit up J Wakefield, and that remains where I am leaning, but was curious about Concrete Beach.

I love a good lager and noticed a few lagers on the local shelves of theirs that looked appealing, like their Slittsville Pilsner (tjink that was the name). Not looking to miss J Wakefield just to drink a lager, but would pass on them to drink a really good lager. Does Concrete Beach offer that or should I stick with my original plan?

 

It's <5min walk from one to the other. Fwiw concrete is Sam Adams. I've never had stilltsville which I don't think is even brewed locally.

 

Interesting....had no idea about their connection with BBC. If the beer is good enough I'd still consider them. That said, their connection with Sam Adams makes me a skeptic, as I am not too impressed with Sam Adams beers.

I did know the 2 places were close but not looking to brewery hop. Want to go to one spot, relax, and take in that brewery's beer.

Looking like I am going to stick with my original plan and do J Wakefield. Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm pretty sure you can find Concrete Beach Stilltsville Pils and Havana Lager at the Marlins game. Had both recently at a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale and was unimpressed so I'm not sure I would seek them out specifically. They sell em at Publix supermarket too. Plenty of opportunities to drink lagers at Marlins stadium. Picking only one Miami brewery to visit, J Wakefield is probably the best choice. Enjoy the Magic City!

 

Sounds like i wont be having any second thoughts about going to J Wakefield. Perhaps I'll grab something from Concrete Beach at the game.