[seeriously]

We're in Vero Beach and we're still being told at a few restaurants that they lost their draft lines in the hurricanes of '04. You can't even get a Sam Adams draft here. We know exactly what you're saying, came back from the Pacific Northwest recently and we thought we'd gone to beer heaven. They like it yellow and light down here.

[ChrisA70]

Tell you what, that Bud Light Golden Wheat is one NASTY NASY tasting beer, holy YUCK!!!! Made that mistake tonight, wanting something different....

[UMCaner74]

grmi- as you can see by the answers here, the answer is no.. you can't just walk into any restaurant/store & find good beer. I moved here from the NE about 4 years ago, and was horrified at the lack of selection here. It took me well over a year to know where to go to find certain things. Why Wal-Mart and most 7-11 stores carry dozens of like-tasting beers is beyond me.

I've been in to certain restaurants that will give me the list of beers on tap, and literally all 15 of them are light lagers. In the Tampa area, Gino's is a good family/italian restaurant that carries a nice selection of bottles & beers on draft. Total Wine on Dale Mabry has the best beer selection I've found in Tampa.

Also, Cigar City Brewing on Dale Mabry apparently is making some quality product, and has a tasting room open several days a week. I need to get out there some day soon.

Hope this helps!

[grmi66]

Was not trying to stir things up, just was intellectually curious as to why I could not find a decent selection of beer easily. Went out to eat every night last week and it would have been nice to pair some good beer with the good food that I got. Was just surprised that you could not at least get something like Sam Adams on tap.

My point was that without having to go to a specialty store or restaurant I can get a pretty deep selection of craft beers at almost every outlet that sells beer up here in the Northwest.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Was not trying to stir things up, just was intellectually curious as to why I could not find a decent selection of beer easily. Went out to eat every night last week and it would have been nice to pair some good beer with the good food that I got. Was just surprised that you could not at least get something like Sam Adams on tap.

My point was that without having to go to a specialty store or restaurant I can get a pretty deep selection of craft beers at almost every outlet that sells beer up here in the Northwest.

I think one of the issues you run into when you are traveling to an area that is heavily frequented by tourists is that everything is focused on the brands that have mass appeal. When you go off the beaten path you will find places that have a better selection.

I was thinking of this thread today when I was in the supermarket. I never buy beer at the supermarket because I prefer to go to Crown Liquors. However, I stopped and took a look just to see what they had in the supermarket.

At the Publix nearest my house (Weston, FL) there was a rather large selection of beer. There was half an aisle devoted to beer. The area I live in is affluent and people tend to want the finer things in life and there was a very large selection of beer there.

There were several different varieties of Sam Adams, a number of South American brands (my area is heavily populated with Colombians and Venezuelans), a whole bunch of wheat beers, some interesting looking microbrews, as well as beers from the standard large beer companies. They had Duvel, Boddingtons, Guiness, Bass, Hoegarden, Newcastle and a whole bunch more that I can't remember.

I think that if you want good beer you have to get out of the touristy locations and look in the more residential areas of FL. I enjoy shopping at the specialty market because the manager of the store is such a pleasure to work with.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Was not trying to stir things up, just was intellectually curious as to why I could not find a decent selection of beer easily. Went out to eat every night last week and it would have been nice to pair some good beer with the good food that I got. Was just surprised that you could not at least get something like Sam Adams on tap.

My point was that without having to go to a specialty store or restaurant I can get a pretty deep selection of craft beers at almost every outlet that sells beer up here in the Northwest.

Every Publix I've ever been in carries a dozen or so microbrews, and I wouldn't exactly call Publix a "specialty store."

[grmi66]

The Publix stores that I went to had maybe 10 craft beers, 2-3 variations of Sam Adams, Anchor Steam and a few others, nothing to get excited about. I could not find an IPA style beer anywhere in the grocery store and they had no pints of craft beers. A lot of the craft breweries only distribute pints, not 6 packs. Must be a west coast and northwest thing to have a decent selection of craft beers in every grocery store. I double checked at Wal-Mart last night and they had a better selection of craft beers than anyplace I went to in Florida.

[JustinsMama]

Dare I say the pub at the United Kingdom pavillion in Epcot?

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by grmi66

The Publix stores that I went to had maybe 10 craft beers, 2-3 variations of Sam Adams, Anchor Steam and a few others, nothing to get excited about. I could not find an IPA style beer anywhere in the grocery store and they had no pints of craft beers. A lot of the craft breweries only distribute pints, not 6 packs. Must be a west coast and northwest thing to have a decent selection of craft beers in every grocery store. I double checked at Wal-Mart last night and they had a better selection of craft beers than anyplace I went to in Florida.

IPAs are not that popular here. Other higher end beer (like wheat beers) are more popular. You should have no problem finding them at any grocery store in a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood, at least in SE Florida.

[FloridaKash]

Crap, I am screwed. Hardly any Microbrews? Seriosuly? I live in a state with a population of 650,000. There are 4 microbrews here and 2 companies that make Vodka in Alaska. I will miss my Alaskan Amber and Alaskan White beers. Alaskan Brewing Co is sold in every beer store here. Crazy....