• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Epicurean Traveler

A Blog For The Culinary Explorer

  • Destinations
    • Asia
    • Europe
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Switzerland
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Central America
        • Costa Rica
      • Mexico
      • USA
        • Colorado
        • Florida
        • Michigan
        • Minnesota
        • New York
        • Wisconsin
    • South America
      • Peru
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Restaurants
  • Recipes
  • Beer, Wine & Spirits
  • Style
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Discovering South Florida's Craft Beer Scene with the Brew Bus | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Discovering Florida’s Craft Beer With The Brew Bus

With its beautiful beaches, theme parks, wildlife, and sunshine, a Florida craft beer tour may not be the first activity you think of when planning your vacation. But, if you enjoy sampling local beer when you travel, the Sunshine State has plenty of breweries for you to explore on your own or with an organized tour.

Table of Contents

  • 1 Go On A Florida Beer Tour With The Brew Bus
  • 2 Best Options For Tampa Visitors
  • 3 All Aboard The Brew Bus
  • 4 Tasting The Brew Bus Beers
  • 5 Touring South Florida Breweries
  • 6 Stop No. 1: Craft Beer Cartel
  • 7 Stop No. 2: Funky Buddha Brewery
  • 8 Stop No. 3: Mack House Brew Pub
  • 9 Stop No. 4: LauderAle
  • 10 Tips For Craft Beer Tasting In Florida
    • 10.1 Save this post to Pinterest!
  • 11 Where have you gone on a beer tour?
  • 12 Tell me about it in the comment section!

Go On A Florida Beer Tour With The Brew Bus

Beer lovers visiting Florida: Take a craft beer brewery tour with the Brew Bus in Tampa Bay or use their old route to create your own brewery tour in the Fort Lauderdale area! Find your South Florida brewery map and more beer travel tips today at EpicureanTravelerBlog.com.

While visiting Fort Lauderdale in October 2015, I visited four South Florida breweries with the Brew Bus. Unfortunately, the company no longer offers its South Florida tour, but that is because their business is booming in Tampa Bay, where the Brew Bus has acquired Florida Avenue Brewing Company.

In Tampa Bay, the Brew Bus offers a variety of brewery tours:

  • Local Loop — Offered every Sunday, this $10 tour operates as a hop-on, hop-off shuttle to 6-8 restaurants, bars, and breweries in Tampa’s Ybor City and Seminole Heights area. No beer is served on the bus, but water is available.
  • Sampler Tour — Visit three Tampa Bay breweries during this $42 three-hour tour. You’ll sample two 4-oz. beers at each brewery. Plus, you’ll drink the Brew Bus’s beers aboard the bus!
  • Full Pour Tour — This $52 four-hour tour includes a pint at each of the three Tampa Bay breweries, a brewery tour at one stop, and two Brew Bus beers served aboard the bus.
  • Private Tour — The Brew Bus is also available to rent for bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, birthday celebrations, and corporate events.

Best Options For Tampa Visitors

The Local Loop is an affordable option for travelers who want to experience a beer-filled #SundayFunday like a local. You can pick up the shuttle at any of the participating breweries, bars, or restaurants, and you can pay once you get on the bus or purchase tickets ahead of time online. If you visit three stops, you’ll have gotten a lot of bang for your buck!

The other option I love for travelers is the Sampler Tour. I think this gives you the broadest overview of the Tampa Bay brewery scene.

As I spoke with Matt from the Brew Bus on the phone earlier this week I learned the Brew Bus will even pick you up from the airport. Imagine arriving into Tampa and immediately drinking a cold beer! I think I may need to book myself a trip to Tampa soon.

All Aboard The Brew Bus

The Brew Bus South Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Aboard the Brew Bus in Fort Lauderdale I enjoyed the fun and social atmosphere as I chatted with others on the tour, listened to the most nostalgic late 90s to early 2000s pop music playlist, and began sampling the goods. Our beer-tender served us the Brew Bus’s beers between stops and seamlessly organized each stop for us. Stress-free is my favorite kind of travel activity!

Tasting The Brew Bus Beers

My favorite of the Brew Bus beers I tried was the award-winning You’re My Boy, Blue!, a blueberry wheat ale. They also usually serve their Irish-style red ale Rollin’ Dirty, Last Stop IPA, and one or two of their seasonal rotations.

Looking back at my Untappd ratings, I gave a 4.0 rating (out of 5.0) to You’re My Boy, Blue! and the pale wheat ale Are Wheat There Yet? and 3.0 to Rollin’ Dirty. I always rate beers based on my personal preferences rather than as a critic. So, if you also like wheat or fruity beers, you might agree with my assessment. If we aren’t already, feel free to connect with me. I love to see what other beer lovers are drinking around the world.

Touring South Florida Breweries

As I mentioned earlier, the Brew Bus no long offers a South Florida brewery tour. However, if you find yourself in Fort Lauderdale, you could use their route to take your own brewery tour. Please have a designated driver or use a ride-sharing service such as Lyft or Uber.

Stop No. 1: Craft Beer Cartel

Craft Beer Cartel

Our first stop of the tour was Craft Beer Cartel — a home-brew supply store, craft beer market, and home of Native Brewing. The collection of craft beer by the bottle here is fantastic.

We tasted a couple of Native Brewing’s test recipes including an incredibly smooth imperial red rye and a 10.5 ABV imperial stout with hints of chocolate and vanilla flavors. Yum!

Craft Beer Cartel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

While at Craft Beer Cartel, remember to look down! The floor has beer bottle cap mosaics. They are easier to see through the camera app of your smartphone than with the naked eye.

Craft Beer Cartel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Visit Craft Beer Cartel | 557 SW 12th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

Stop No. 2: Funky Buddha Brewery

Funky Buddha Brewery with The Brew Bus in South Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Next up we visited Funky Buddha Brewery, one of the most well-known Florida breweries.

For my tasting, I started with the German-style wheat Floridian Hefeweizen, Florida Beer Championships 2015 gold medal winner in the wheat beer category. While tasting my hefeweizen, I noticed banana, clove, and citrus flavors. Overall, I rated the 5.2%-ABV brew a 4.0 on Untappd.

Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park, Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

My second tasting was Bonita Applebum, which I rated 4.25 on Untappd. The brown fruit ale with 6.4% ABV featured flavors of cinnamon, apple, and vanilla. This beer is only available on draft, but it isn’t always on tap. If you really want to try this brew, check here to see if it is available at the taproom before your visit.

Funky Buddha Brewery in Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Visit Funky Buddha Brewery | 1201 NE 38th St., Oakland Park, FL 33334

Stop No. 3: Mack House Brew Pub

The Mack House - Craft Beer Bar in South Florida with The Brew Bus | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Stop No. 3 brings us to Mack House. As we pulled into the strip mall parking lot and saw the “Brewery” sign in all white letters and no further description, I wondered, “Where has the Brew Bus just taken me?” Turns out it was Mack House, a craft beer bar with a rotating draft list written on a chalkboard menu. The brewpub also brews and serves its own beers, but you’ll find a nicely curated selection of local Florida beers and also some out-of-state heavy hitters — like from my city’s Founders Brewing Company. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. On the Brew Bus tour, I learned to not discount brewpubs with nondescript signs in strip malls. You never know when you’ll stumble upon a hidden gem!

The Brew Bus beer tour in Florida | EpicureanTravelerBlog.com

Visit Mack House | 9118 W State Rd 84, Davie, FL 33324

Stop No. 4: LauderAle

LauderAle Brewery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo by Food Travelist.
LauderAle Brewery was the final stop of our South Florida craft beer tour with the Brew Bus. | Photo courtesy of Sue and Diana, the culinary travel bloggers of FoodTravelist.com

Our final stop of the three-hour tour was the cleverly named LauderAle Brewery. The taproom is in a warehouse setting with a brightly colored menu and red-and-white striped tap handles.

I think I tasted the C Porter, a dark brew aged with coconut. I say “think” because at this point I was pretty tipsy. Drinking two beers prior to my tour may not have been my smartest idea ever. Oops!

Hopefully, you will learn from my mistake and arrive at LauderAle fully ready to drink because the menu features some beers I wish I had been sober enough to taste. Since I have family and friends in the area, I’ll make it a point to visit again someday to sample the Thrillist Coffee Porter made with locally roasted Argyle Coffee and the fruity La Niña.

LauderAle Brewery | Photo via FoodTravelist.com
LauderAle Brewery in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | Photo courtesy of Sue and Diana, of FoodTravelist.com

Visit LauderAle Brewery & Taproom | 3305 SE 14th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

Tips For Craft Beer Tasting In Florida

  • Eat before your tour. Common sense says you shouldn’t consume copious amounts of alcohol on an empty stomach, right?
  • Bring a bottle of water with you. You’ll want to remain hydrated to ward off a potential hangover, but you may also want to cleanse your palate between beers. Note: The Brew Bus provides bottled water on its bus tours.
  • Download the Untappd app to rate your beers. Months later when you are trying to remember which beer you tasted on your tour, you can go back to the app and read your tasting notes.
  • Bring cash to tip your bartenders, tour guides, and drivers.

Save this post to Pinterest!

Calling all craft beer drinkers visiting Florida! In this post you'll find four fantastic destinations for craft beer tasting in the greater Fort Lauderdale area with a Google map of the driving route! This self-guided brewery tour is based off my experience on a South Florida tour with the Brew Bus, which now operates out of Tampa. Get your South Florida beer route and tasting tips today on EpicureanTravelerBlog.com!

Where have you gone on a beer tour?

Tell me about it in the comment section!


weekend-wanderlust-party

Disclosure: I’d like to thank the Brew Bus and TBEX for providing this complimentary tour to TBEX conference participants. I’d also like the thank my friends, Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris, at Food Travelist for providing photos of LauderAle for this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Share This Post
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Buffer this page
Buffer
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Digg this
Digg
Email this to someone
email

Written by:
erinklema
Published on:
March 3, 2017
Thoughts:
8 Comments

Categories: Brewery Tours, FloridaTags: Beer, Beer Travel, Breweries, Brewery, Brewery Tour, Craft Beer, Craft Beer Cartel, Craft Beer Tour, Florida, Florida Breweries, Fort Lauderdale, Funky Buddha Brewery, LauderAle, South Florida, Tampa, The Brew Bus, The Mack House, Things To Do In Fort Lauderdale

Get My Travel Tips In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to receive my travel articles, packing lists, and foodie travel itinerary ideas in your email!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brian - EatWorkTravel

    March 6, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    Great idea for a private tour as you suggested. I can just imagine what that’s like for a bachelor and/or bachelorette party! Oh the stories that the tour operators could tell! Really like the shot of the mosaics using the bottle caps. If we visit Tampa any time soon, we’ll add this to the list of things to do. Sounds like a great way to try out some unique craft breweries.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      March 7, 2017 at 8:28 am

      Oh, I’m sure they have some wild and wildly funny stories from the bachelor and bachelorette parties, Brian.

      Reply
  2. Susan Guinto

    March 3, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    That looks like a great place to be in. 🙂

    Reply
    • erinklema

      March 7, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      Definitely!

      Reply
  3. ALOR

    March 3, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Love the shot of the bottle cap floor! There is an insanely creative spirit to the craft beer community and breweries. Tampa just got a lot higher on my places to revisit list!

    Reply
    • erinklema

      March 7, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      Same here! My family vacationed in Tampa when I was a teenager, but I had so much fun on the South Florida tour, I’d love to visit Tampa again to take one of the Brew Bus tours there and to check out their new brewery.

      Reply
  4. Liz

    March 3, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    Oh man, I was in FTL for Yelp Spring Break in 2015 … wish I knew about this then! They had a Yelp event at Funky Buddha, actually, but I was unable to go. I have a pin from them though.

    Reply
    • erinklema

      March 3, 2017 at 2:56 pm

      They have some delicious beers at Funky Buddha, Liz. If you are planning to head to Florida for BlogHer this June, check tap handles wherever you go out to eat and drink. I’m sure you’ll find some Funky Buddha brews in Orlando. The Floridian Hefeweizen would be my suggestion if you can find it. 🙂

      Reply

What do you think? Leave your comment here ... Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Erin, and welcome to my culinary travel blog! I'm a proud Michigander sharing culinary adventures with you from the Midwest and beyond. Though I'm exploring the world one bite at a time, I'm confident I could live on pizza and red wine. I mean, if I really had to.

In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Us

  • View theepicureantraveler’s profile on Facebook
  • View epctraveler’s profile on Twitter
  • View michiganepicure’s profile on Instagram
  • View erinklema’s profile on Pinterest

Note To Our Readers

As a resource for culinary travelers, we hope you continue to daydream about traveling and use this site to plan future trips. If you do travel at this time, please do so as safely as possible for yourself and others.

Recent Posts

  • Ditching Wings for Wheels: 5 Road-Trip Tips for Safer Travel
  • Detroit Holiday Events: 15 Festive Things To Do In Detroit At Christmastime
  • Travel Guide To Banda Neira Island — Indonesia’s Spice Hub
  • How To Choose The Perfect Coffee Beans
  • Michigan Apple Cider Sangria with Honeycrisp Apples and Leelanau Cellars Witches Brew

Popular Posts

Top 10 Things To Do In Toronto During Your Weekend Getaway
8 Beautiful Lavender Fields You Must See In Michigan
Five Tips For What To Wear In Colorado
Before Traveling To Peru Prepare For These Four Health Risks
Saugatuck, Michigan Trip: Four Things To Do In A Day
Lunch in Ann Arbor, Michigan - Five Spots Where You Should Eat (With Map)

Proud Member Of

Everywhere
CLEVER Badge

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · The Epicurean Traveler

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.