Vero Beach Florida Trip Report [2024]

Hello everyone! I'm a couple months late in posting this, but since this board is a virtual ghost town, I'm sure no one will mind. Just figured since there's no posts mentioning Vero in 2+ years, a little late won't matter. I've already reviewed these places so I'll just post the updates here.

I am in town a couple times a year, I always like to check in on the old spots and take a little road trip or two to check out someplace new. As I begin to think about the next trip, figured I'd download the previous.

Mash Monkeys: This place was my #1 as of my previous trip and maintains the position. Friendly staff but more importantly full of beer knowledge. Bar mgr and brewers very into beer and one of them is always hanging out happy to discuss slow pours or barrel aging techniques. They also see the importance of craft lagers on a florida brewery menu (i know it's hard ppl but come on now its hot af.) They now work with a new pizzeria next door to get people fed, and there's often a food truck on weekends. If I had to point out a negative it would be that it's expensive, easily the priciest in town, and their happy hour is not a great deal (5 or 10% off drafts.) Best beer, best people, just wish the bar was a little bigger!

Sailfish: Not a fan of the Vero one so drove down to Ft Pierce. Love the little downtown area here. Sailfish is a solid brewery, although the heft of their menu appears to be half blends and flavored versions of already existing beers. Behind that spark of experimentation exists some really decent, reliable base beers. The crowd in there is always fun and the spaciousness of the tap room is inviting. Also, they have maybe the best fish dip in town and this has inspired at least 50% of my visits there

American Icon: This place is going downhill in beer quality. Used to be I'd rotate between the hefe, the golden, the american ipa, and the tripel. On my most recent visit, the hefe was the only one i found palatable (and it tastes more like a wit FWTW.) Food here gets high marks on other review sites, but its about large portion sizes only. Menu feels very Sysco brochure-y. Upcoming trip may be my first time skipping this, but those half price hefes during happy hour will call me if i'm nearby at the right time

Walking Tree: Opposite of AI. Seems to be getting better. Best beer of the trip was a dry hopped version of their Sandy Feet which tasted fresh delicious and light, bringing to mind classic beers like Gumballhead and Fortunate Islands and had me stopping in a second time for another pour. In the past year or so they also started selling shots (not tasters, SHOTS) of barleywine which I find to be very funny. The employees here sometimes act like they are too cool for school and it's annoying. The only negatives here are the surly service (lots of talking while ignoring customers behind the bar, hanging near friends/regulars while ignoring the beer line etc) and the lack of climate control. Avoid this place on a hot day you'll be OK

Sandbar/Smokin Bunglalow: New taproom spot in town for craft beer. Pretty decent line up of craft taps with a nice patio and live music most nights. Maybe the beachiest vibe of all the beer spots in town. It's inside of a vape shop, so don't be fooled. I hope this place does well because they're stocking mostly entry level craft stuff ATM but I could see this place really leveling up if it gets support. I believe they have some kind of all you can drink draft beer price, which is insane.

Carib: Took a drive north to check out the american Carib brewery, as stuff like that is always interesting to me. They offer tours but you can't book it, gotta kinda just show up and hope there's someone to give it and enough people to take it. The place itself is fine, touristy, but one of few international breweries that have production facility in the US. It was really cool to try Mackeson XXX and Sorrel shandy on tap as these are two of the rare things made at this facility. Unfortunately, they do not stock or produce foreign export guinness there at the moment, but worth an ask if you're passing through.

LETS TALK LIQUOR STORES REAL QUICK: ABC used to be the best for stocking your fridge in vero, but sometime in the past year both stores reorganized and significantly decimated their beer selections. Pari Liquors is a sh!thole convenience store, but i found a couple rare founders 4 packs and some odds and ends. Still, I'd recommend taking the drive up to Downtown Produce in Melbourne. It's the closest place with any decent selection and you can pick up some fun snacks as well. There's a place called Roy's in Ft Pierce that is highly rated for beer selection, but they seem to have removed most beer from the store in recent years so AVOID.

Cheers!

 

well, now it's parked here just in case. i would have loved this prior to my first visit too, but gotta say it was fun to figure it all out on my own. i'll be back in sept and will update again.

 

yes, i love the vibe. their beer menu has stayed pretty static the last couple years, so i tend to skip it in favor of visiting breweries but it's still a good option especially if you're not in town that often. i'm back and forth so always looking for some new flavors

 

Hello all!

I made my second Vero Beach visit for 2024, and thought I'd add some bits and bobs in case anyone is reading this.

UPDATES:
Orchid Island: They're back! They've got contract-brewed GFIPA and GFDIPA in the grocery stores, and they're planning to open a multi-use food/bev space along with popular BBQ spot Pepper & Salt. You can follow the progress on this project here. I hope this will be going by my next visit!

American Icon: Had a decent saison going, was worth a stop for a crisp, farmhouse-forward beer. Even better at half price during HH. Was pleasantly surprised as the beers here were not great last visit. Octoberfest was decent as well, although a little more bock-like.

Walking Tree/Salvador Deli: Walking Tree has its own in-house restaurant now from the original Kilted Mermaid folks. The hours, IIRC, mirror the breweries' and will soon be opening earlier during the week for lunch, which is a huge plus. However they will still be closed Mondays. The food is really good, loaded tots were killer.

NEARBY SPOTS:
Blue Anchor (UK pub, Delray Beach): Someone recommended this place because they serve cask beer. It's true, they had Fuller's London Pride and ESB on handpull, and supposedly they rotate. However, the attention to detail of serving this style was nonexistent and done completely improperly by a staff that seemed extremely irritated that I ordered it. Wouldn't recommend unless you NEED cask english ales.

Mathews Brewing Company (Lake Worth Beach): Another spot that serves british-inspired cask ales. Even though the service was superior in all ways here, the two cask options (mild and brown) were just fine. Imperial brown on regular draft was not great. The place itself is a bit uninspired, which may have contributed, but i'd only recommend if getting there isn't out-of-the-way.

Civil Society Brewing (Abacoa): Bright, spacious bar with a good vibe. Brewery specializes in the trendy haze. They were out of maibock so I tried a cream ale and it was disgusting. Everyone else who likes drinking alcoholic OJ seemed happy, so I think this place just isn't for me. Except for the attractive servers part.

DAS Beer Garden (Abacoa): across the street from Civil Society. Initially has a bit of that World of Beer chain feel to it, but the list is killer, has something for everyone, and I had some of the best service of my trip. Definitely has that TV-heavy sports bar vibe, but if the beer is fresh and servers are helpful I can ignore that. It was, they were, so I did.

Ah-Beetz (pizza, Delray Beach): As a CT pizza snob, I can't believe there is new haven style pizza this good in Florida. Puts Fantini and Pepe's to shame. Too bad this wasn't a full restaurant!!! I ended up eating half the pizza on their rinky dink tables outside and the other half in my rental car.