Top 5 Breweries from Jupiter to Miami
This post is going to take a rather different form. We’re going to give you a “Best of” style post to better align your east coast Florida trip. And in order for us to get to the east coast from Tampa we had to traverse the middle of Florida. It’s a rather arduous journey full of well, not a whole lot to see or do. If you’re looking for eats between Tampa and Jupiter, you’re best bet is stopping at the Desert Inn and Restaurant in the little town of 240 people known as Yeehaw Junction (yes, this is a real place!). In hindsight, there may have been a faster route but we had to stop here just because of the towns name; beerventuring isn’t just about beer after all.
When you’ve finally made it to Jupiter, you will notice that there’s roughly 50 breweries between Jupiter and Miami; a daunting adventure that would take a week to complete. So we did some of the leg work for through Untappd research and speaking with locals on Instagram to cut down on some of the fat. We hit 15 of the potential 50 and narrowed down our list even further from there.
#5: Barrel of Monks Brewing (Boca Raton)
Barrel of Monks Brewing was a surprise entry into our top five as we hadn’t heard much about it until a local reached out to us saying it was worth the detour. The traditional, gothic feel made a lot of sense for a Monk-styled brewery and was a warmed welcome from the industrial park theme that’s ever so common. Their 12 tap system was flanked with a dozen or so individual bottles for consumption; and there was a considerable amount of diversity on tap.
However, per our local contact we were informed of a special treat; a vertical flight of their Father Christmas Belgian Quad. Belgian quads hold a reputation for aging considerably well and the Father Christmas vertical flight (2015, 2016, 2017) showcased just how well a properly made quad can hold up and even enhance over time. Malty and sweet, these 10% beers bring the yule to any party.
If Belgian Quads aren’t your thing, you may be in for a rough ride here as most of their lineup consists of Belgians; or is Belgian inspired infusions into other styles. Don’t let that stop you from taking a visit because the rest of the lineup here was strong enough to bring Barrel of Monks into our top 5, and we look forward to going back someday.
#4: NOBO Brewing Company (North Boynton Beach)
This next neighborhood brewery is located in back of an industrial park (common theme) and earns a place on our top 5 list for a very unique offering. The industrial chic is a stark contrast to the Barrel of Monks taproom and brings back a normality we’ve come to expect. What we didn’t expect from this taproom was the go big or go home approach to it’s beers.
Our small line up consisted of the Funky Monk Belgian Strong, Checkin it Twice Coffee winter ale, the Peach Sourweizen and the Basil IPA 2.0. The Belgian Strong is a massively candied golden ale what drank more like a dessert than a beer. Checkin it Twice Coffee winter ale earned my top spot of the trip for a coffee beer. Despite not being a stout or a porter, this amber roasted dream can top off my cup any day.
The Peach Sourweizen is a soured hefe with peaches. The aroma and flavor produced a profile similar to peach rings – without the gummy aspect. Last up was the Basil IPA 2.0. We didn’t have a comparison to 1.0, but hearty basil with minor bitter made for a refreshing drink that would probably pair well with pizza. NOBO’s lineup is constantly shifting and from what we gather, very few things there are done simply as most of their beers push the boundaries.
#3.5: J Wakefield Brewing (Miami)
Yes, I know how a top 5 works, but ironing out our favorite East Florida breweries took a lot of metrics and even then it was too close to call for some of them. And it wouldn’t be a top 5 list if we didn’t manage to hit J Wakefield. One of the more well known breweries in Florida, J Wakefield of Miami is in the popular Wynwood district; a very artsy district. And we just happened to show up during Art Basel – Miami’s premier visual arts promo of the year. It’s a wild ride full of murals, “artified” Lamborghini’s, galleries and booze galore. It’s an event that we highly recommend (https://www.artbasel.com/).
The only thing to out do the art in the Wynwood district, especially the murals in J Wakefields, is the beer itself. It was hard to narrow down a flight of four out of 11 drafts on the list, even more so considering we’re holding J Wakefield to such a high standing that the internet had already established. So we started with the Stush Berliner weisse; a traditional tart ale with a dash of lemon. It just felt right for the Miami heat; and was a perfect opener for our second Berliner weisse to make the flight. Atomik Apple is a 7% Berliner weisse. Yes, 7% is a strange but not unheard of number for a Berliner (Smuttynose, Hourglass come to mind). Brewed in collaboration with RAR, the beer really set itself apart from it’s higher abv weisse peers with a crisp apple flavor and was even palatable for people such as myself who don’t have the biggest sour tolerance.
As there had to be an IPA somewhere on the flight, ROK n’ COCO was my pick. This super Citra hopped IPA was also loaded with fresh coconut giving it a tropical aroma and flavor profile. Actually, it would probably be delicious served out of a coconut or pineapple. Last up (and our favorite offering) was PB & Gains. Styled after a fluffernutter bar, RAR brewing and J Wakefield nailed down a delicious blend of peanut butter, chocolate and vanilla. Despite our small sampling, it’s overwhelmingly clear that J Wakefield can do no wrong and should certainly be on your hit list while traveling through Miami.
#3: MIA Beer Co. (Doral)
If you’re making a return trip from the Everglades (highly recommend http://www.evergladessafaripark.com/), be sure to hit one of Florida’s best breweries; MIA. Despite being outside of Miami proper, MIA Beer Co. offers the complete Miami scene in it’s nightlife vibing taproom.
We had a real nice little lineup of six at MIA which included four beers and two waters. Curious I know, but hang tight. Brewjeria is a sour, barrel aged gose with lemongrass. Our one complaint was that there didn’t seem to be enough lemongrass. Neon is their standard white IPA with 7.5% abv and a hell of a good time if you enjoy citra. Ultra Mix is their flagship DIPA coming in at 8.5%; and just a tad boozier flavor than the Neon. Last of the beers was the Big in Japan – a sake beer. Pretty sure we’ve had a sake beer before, but still plenty of points for the originality.
While MIA might have over 300 beers the real winners are HRD WTR’s. The unique series are sparkling seltzers (champagne yeast) and come in 19 different flavors at the time of writing this (according to Untappd). We had the pleasure of trying both Blueberry and Cucumber Lemon; both were extremely refreshing and something that more breweries should take notice of. Even though MIA is a bit outside of Miami proper, we feel it’s worth the trip for any beersnob or beerventurer.
#2: Civil Society Brewing (Jupiter)
Jupiter Florida might be a retiree paradise but this retirement-centric + family vacation town is home to more than just expensive homes, beautiful beaches and cranky residents. Civil Society Brewing will have you IPA fans rejoicing after a hot day on the beach. Although Civil Society Brewing appears to be the jack of all trades on the outside, they label themselves a “hop forward” brewery and their lineup really flaunts it.
Starting off for the non-hop heads, was a great Saison called Ritual – which was hopped with Centennial and sat at a cool 3.7% abv. So I guess still hoppy, but just enough to classify it as beer. Mera Dost was a boozy Imperial Stout that sat heavy despite being only 8%. This artisan, barrel aged stout was a coconut curry version and as odd as it sounds was a fun and robust concoction. Based on this beer alone we can conclude that their barrel project is certainly unique.
Our top two IPA’s from Civil were the Emerald Showers and the Swank. Emerald is a 5.5% brewed with Topaz, Ella and Vic’s Secret Hops; and I cannot say I’m familiar with any of those. What I do know is that it made for a hell of an juice bomb. At first we thought it was crazy that Civil could possibly outdo themselves but then we tried Swank; another big juice bomb brewed with Galaxy, Nelson and Simcoe in collaboration with Finback and RAR. RAR does seem to get down to Florida quite often it seems… Swank was no meager juice bomb; this triple IPA was a hearty 11% with only minor booze notes. It’s magical how that works.
Civil Society was another recommendation from a local, and it is certainly worth your time to detour out this way. Just be sure to spend the morning at the Beach and hit Food Shack for lunch or Dinner macaroni and cheese, you will not be disappointed. (http://www.littlemoirsjupiter.com/food-shack/)
#1: Funky Buddha Brewery (Oakland Park)
Going down to Florida we knew Funky Buddha Brewery was going to be on our must hit list and certainly end up as a top 5 Florida brewery. While this may seem a tad biased, Funky Buddha earns our number one spot on merritts for the beer alone; there is no hype train in our calculations.
Founded in 2010, this Brewery is home to almost 1,000 unique beers! And we’re talking unique, unique beers. How unique you ask? Let’s just ramble a few name before we get to our experience: Sweet Potato Casserole, Blueberry Cobbler, French Toast, Key Lime Pie Tart, Lemon Meringue Pie, Barrel Aged Imperial Chocwork Orange, Neapolitan Porter and Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Muy Bonita. And this is just a mere sampling of their 1,000 offerings.
Our line up from most enjoyed to even more so was the Floridian Hefeweizen, Mojito IPA, Strawberry Hop Gun, Butta’ Cup, and Strawberry Shortcake. Yeah, it might be a standard hefe, but this German style beer was chock full of banana, cloves and was pleasantly spiked with a burst of citrus giving it that extra special Florida feel. Mojito IPA was essentially a hopped up mojito. If mojitos aren’t your style, you will probably not enjoy this any better. But if by chance you’re a Mojito fan, this will certainly come close to your high expectation of the classic Cuban cocktail.
Strawberry Hop Gun is nothing short of a delightful dose of strawberry in an already tropical IPA. The 7% IPA “delivers a payload of Cascade, Nelson and Sauvin hops.” While not quite pastry, or jammy, this fun funk beer was delightful prelude to Strawberry Shortcake. But before I get to Shortcake, our second favorite was the Butta’ Cup Imperial Brown Ale. That’s right, the best way to drink a brown ale is to make it at 8.8% and load it up with creamy peanut butter and chocolate.
Last up was the Strawberry ShortCake and it was a sweet way to end the flight. The wheat ale was a whopping 9% and packed full of vanilla and strawberry. I’m not going to call it a clear winner as it was certainly a photo-finish between Butta’ Cup, but it was certainly one of the most unique (and sweetest) beers of our trip.
Funky Buddha is funky to say the least. If you’re a snob or beerventurer, this will probably be already on your radar as it’s clearly a best pick for a trip between Jupiter and Miami.
Happy Beerventuring!
While Beerventuring isn’t a precise science, we take into account several factors when rating breweries; beer quality, quantity of quality offerings, variance of styles, atmosphere, and few other factors what can earn minor bonus points such as food, engaging owners and brewers, etc. So please don’t take this list as a be all, end all for the Florida East. Breweries change all the time; the greats can become complacent, and the weaker entries can always become extraordinary. Did we miss some good or great breweries? Absolutely. If we missed something that you just cannot live without, slide into our DM’s and lets setup a trade to rectify the situation.
