Cape Canaveral Dining: Florida Beer Company

Cards on the table: Florida Beer Company is not, strictly speaking, Cape Canaveral dining. It’s actually one of the southeast’s largest brewers and Florida’s leading brew company, with a 5,000 square foot tap room open to the public. But since you can order in food from any number of great Cape Canaveral restaurants, and pair your meal with flights or single glasses of craft beers brewed on site, Florida Beer Company ranks as one of the great unique dining establishments in the Cape Canaveral area.

You probably know that at TouringPlans, we always recommend arriving for your Disney Cruise a day in advance — after all, that ship is leaving on time, whether your plane arrived on time or not. And so if you’re looking for something great to do in Cape Canaveral the day before your cruise, and you love craft beer, you’ll want to plan a visit to Florida Beer Company.

This award-winning brewery is just minutes from the cruise terminals and the nearby hotels that offer cruise shuttles, meaning that even if you don’t have a car, you can take a cab for a few bucks (or even walk, if you’re into that), and enjoy craft beers, play some games, and take a tour of the brewery itself.

Once you’re there, you’ll find not just a bar, but a fully-stocked cooler with six-packs of the brewery’s signature beers, plus a selection of ciders and soft drinks, just in case you need to stock up before your cruise or fill your hotel’s mini-fridge, and of course there’s great branded merchandise — t-shirts, koozies, glasses and more that show off your first-hand Florida Beer knowledge.

The family-friendly tap room is your welcome to Florida Beer Company. This broad room has room for large crowds around its central bar, but most of the time, there are just a few clusters of customers at the bar and scattered around the high-top tables throughout the room. Games like giant Connect Four and giant Jenga are out and ready to play, so don’t be alarmed if you hear a giant crash and a lot cheering every so often — it’s just someone demolishing a four-foot-tall Jenga tower.

Along the back wall, plate glass windows look onto the massive brewery production floor, and 17 flat-screen HDTVs are on hand for sports, news, and beer trivia. The background music is played low enough that there’s no shouting necessary — unless you’re yelling Jenga — and the entire room feels bright and modern, not bar-like at all. That’s a plus for cruisers traveling with older kids who want to drop by for a beer flight.

Order a beer flight or a pint from the bar — there’s no table-service, but the server will bring you your drinks once they’re ordered — and pick up a delivery menu from the table in the merchandise area. Cape Canaveral restaurants like Preacher Bar, Kelsey’s Pizzeria, and Euro Kafe Etc. are happy to deliver to the tasting room. We ordered 12″ grinders from Kelsey’s and were gratified to receive giant, fresh, and delicious sandwiches within about 20 minutes of ordering. If you’re pressed for time, order your food as soon as you get there.

Beer flights are reasonably priced at 4 for $6, 6 for $9, or 8 for $12. You’ll get four ounce pours of a broad selection of beers, which might range from porters to pilsners, lagers to IPAs. The flight is brought out arranged from least to most bitter so that you can work your way through the different flavor profiles in a logical fashion. There are also half and full pints of the beers available.

The beer menu varies, but you may be able to try Florida Lager, the gold medal-winning Lager at the 2013 U.S. Open Beer Championship, or the Hurricane Reef Caribbean Pilsner, silver medalist in that year’s Bohemian Pilsner category. The Flight Selection Menu gives you all the details on the available brews, including their ABV and IBU (that’s the score on the International Bittering Units scale), so that you can find the beers to match your tastes.

There are occasional special events, including local musicians, trivia nights and sports parties for big games. You can keep up with their calendar of events at the Florida Beer Company Facebook page.

Florida Beer Company’s tap room is open Monday-Wednesday from 1 PM to 9 PM, Thursday-Saturday 1 PM to 11 PM, and Sunday 1 PM – 6 PM. You may want to call ahead to check for private parties or special hours: 321-728-4144.

Brewery Tours are conducted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2, 4, and 6 PM. Tour patrons must be at least 16 years of age, and closed-toe, flat shoes are required — no flip-flops, no heels!

Directions: The brewery is located at 200 Imperial Blvd. in Cape Canaveral. From Port Canaveral, turn left at Imperial Blvd. and the brewery will be on your left. *Note: if Imperial Blvd. is closed, turn left at the following traffic light (Central Blvd.), then left onto Brown Circle and bear left. The brewery will be directly ahead of you.