Cocoa Beach Brewing Company
Last week Jill (aka The Beer Goddess) and I headed the ol’ hop wagon southeastwards towards the space coast of Florida. Our destination was the 3rd Annual Belgian Beer Fest at Coasters Pub in Melbourne. But we got happily sidetracked for a few hours in Cocoa Beach. Specifically, at the Cocoa Beach Brewing Company. If you are going to get sidetracked, what better place than a brewery.
Cocoa Beach Brewing is a family run business that has been in business since 2008. The brewery, which includes a tasting room/pub area, is located just a block from the Atlantic Ocean. Entering the pub is like walking into someone’s home. In fact the building dates to the 1930’s when it served as housing for personnel stationed at the Banana River Naval Air Station. With the almost constant ocean breezes blowing, the palm fronds waving, and the beach bungalow decoration style, this is definitely a place where your stress levels will drop the longer your stay (and I haven’t even gotten to the beer part yet!). Quite a change from the typical location of a Florida brewery which seems to be in industrial warehouse areas.
And how is the beer you ask? Excellent. On our visit they had their seasonal Key Lime Cerveza, 888 IPA, and the Not Just Some Oatmeal Stout . The other beers of their lineup, Van Braun Ale and Cocoa Beach Pale Ale were not available when we were there. We tried all three they had on draught. The Key LIme Cerveza is a very refreshing Pilsner style beer with a hint of Key Lime. A bit light for my tastes, but it would be a great beer for those hot muggy summer days at the beach. The 888 IPA comes in at 8% abv and tastes great which probably explains some of our sidetrackage of the day. And the stout, excuse me, the Not Just Some Oatmeal Stout was also very enjoyable.
The pub area is on the small side (remember, it is a 1930’s built home) but was very comfortable. They also have an outside seating and drinking area in the back. The staff and other customers made this a very relaxing place to enjoy some great beers. A lot of great conversation between customers and staff alike. I can’t wait to get sidetracked there again.
You can check out their website here : http://cocoabeachbrewingcompany.com/index.htm
The following business card was handed to us by a friendly customer at the bar (obviously a regular) …Best Business Card….Ever :
Click for Larger Image