Live it Up With These 4 Locally Wild Brews
Quench your thirst after an epic day of adventure with one of these locally wild brews. From coast to coast and north to south, you’ll find craft breweries that are not only creating tasty and inventive beers but are also savoring the wild side of the Sunshine State.
Salty Oak Brewing Company
Panama City Beach
Just steps from the Florida Wildlife Corridor – and steps from the Grand Lagoon, a nature-lovers haven – is locals’ favorite Salty Oak Brewing Company. Salty Oak, or S.O.B. as they call themselves, are known for their imaginative craft brews served in their lowkey Panama City digs. Try their top-rated Sun Hands Hazy IPA after soaking in the rays in the Corridor.
Head to nearby Grayton Beach State Park to walk the one-mile Grayton Beach Nature Trail, which winds over the dunes, through pine flatwoods, and around a beautiful salt marsh.
Swamp Head Brewery
Gainesville
Sip a taste of wild Florida at Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville. This Florida-first brewery opened in 2008 and is serious about sustainability. They aim for “big taste, small footprint” and walk the talk with local sourcing, carbon neutrality, and reusing and reclaiming their waste. Not even their spent grains go to waste – they are eaten by a herd of happy cattle!
Hop on your bike to pedal the paved, 16-mile Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail from Boulware Springs Park through the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park for a beautiful view of Alachua Lake and the Sweetwater wetland.
Saltwater Brewery
Delray Beach
Saltwater Brewery takes their love for beer—and the oceans—to the next level. Determined to do something positive for the environment while brewing their tasty beers, Saltwater Brewery invented the E6PR, an edible, eco-friendly six-pack ring made from byproduct waste and compostable materials. In addition, the brewery is actively involved in ocean conservation efforts and even organizes beach cleanups.
Just west of Delray Beach is the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, a perfect spot for birdwatching and fishing along the 200-plus miles of canal or hiking and biking on the L-67 and L-35 levees. Keep your eye out for the iconic Roseate spoonbill.
Big Storm Brewing
Clearwater, Odessa, Orlando, Cape Coral, Ybor
With a name like Big Storm, you know this brewery is interested in having an impact. Placing themselves on the cutting edge of brewing innovation, Big Storm Brewing has installed carbon recapture systems that take the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation, condense it down into a liquid, and use that liquid to carbonate and package their beers.
With taprooms in Clearwater, Odessa, Orlando, Cape Coral and Ybor, Big Storm Brewing is on the cutting edge of carbon rec
From Big Storm’s Orlando taproom, it’s a quick drive to Kissimmee’s Twin Oaks Conservation Area. Wander through the beautiful grassland prairie with stunning views of Lake Tohopekaliga.
Looking for more tasty stops in the Corridor? Check out Eat Wildly: Refuel in these Great Local Spots While Exploring the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
