Craving a delicious craft beer? Check out these breweries in Sarasota and Bradenton
It's only been a year since our last local brewery guide, yet there have been several changes in the Sarasota-Manatee craft beer scene since then, including a new taproom opening just weeks ago.
University Town Center recently got a brewery when the Punta Gorda-founded Fat Point Brewing opened last month in the shopping and dining district. It's soon to be followed (though it still hadn't opened yet as of press time) by Venice's 3 Bridges Brewing, which is opening a standalone location after brewing out of Off the Wagon for several years. Sarasota's Big Top Brewing Company and Calusa Brewing are still at work on their new locations as well, while Chef Darwin Santa Maria recently announced plans to reopen Darwin Brewing, which he co-founded, as a new brewery, restaurant and distillery.
Yet even before those open, there are plenty of taprooms to visit locally, ranging from longtime mainstays to newcomers who recently moved to our area. Here's our updated guide to Sarasota-Manatee's breweries, including some of the notable beers they brew, as well as their food and entertainment options. Details are subject to change.
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3 Car Garage Brewing
8405 Heritage Green Way, Bradenton; 941-741-8877; 3cargaragebrewing.com
3 Car Garage Brewing, named after the homebrewing garage operation it started out as before becoming a brewery, opened in late 2019 in a Bradenton plaza surrounding Heritage Harbour and Lakewood Ranch. The rotating selection of taps includes beers such as Willie’s Fruit Stand, a hazy, New England-style grapefruit and citrus IPA, and a Beer Can Island mango and pineapple tropical lager, with other recent selections including a Barbie's Pink Drink kettle sour Berliner Weisse with raspberry and lemon puree, and a Birthday Hug imperial stout aged four months in a rum barrel from nearby Loaded Cannon Distillery. Its taproom features indoor seating and picnic tables outside, and hosts a rotating roster of food trucks, which the brewery partners with for specials such as $15 burger and a pint Thursday nights or brisket and beer (also $15) every other Sunday.
3 Keys Brewing
2505 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton; 941-218-0396; 3keysbrewing.com
Opened in 2016 by Jeff and Cathy Douglas, Bradenton’s 3 Keys Brewing was sold in 2019 to fellow couple Gabe Schmitz and Tina Yeung, who’ve owned it since. The rotating selection of beers includes staples such as the Suncoast Dreamin' cream ale and Frank the Tank Old School IPA, with plans to soon add a full-liquor bar as well. 3 Keys also serves a menu of top-notch pub grub including some of our favorite burgers in Sarasota-Manatee, pizzas and more, with beer incorporated into many dishes. Along with a dining room, the brewery offers an expansive outdoor patio and beer garden area, and regularly hosts events such as music trivia Tuesdays, bingo Thursdays and live music Fridays and Saturdays.
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Big Top Brewers Collective
2507 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton; 941-708-2966; bigtopbrewing.com
Along with its current and upcoming locations in Sarasota (more on those below), Big Top Brewing Company took over the Lakewood Ranch taproom formerly known as Naughty Monk Brewery in 2021. Yet at Big Top Brewers Collective, you’ll still find a variety of Belgian-style beers under the name Naughty Monk Ale Works, such as a Summer in Bruges blonde ale and Trécouche strong dark ale, on tap along with a variety of Big Top brews. The taproom’s interior features a live music stage and pool table, along with an eclectic mix of seating including sofas, tabletops and picnic tables. You’ll find more seating outside, as well as a rotating roster of food trucks. The taproom also hosts rotating musicians Fridays and Saturdays and an open jam Thursdays, along with other weekly events such as bingo Mondays, trivia Tuesdays and free pool Wednesdays.
Big Top Brewing Company
975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; 941-371-2939; bigtopbrewing.com
Meanwhile, Big Top’s current taproom in its hometown of Sarasota is in the space of craft beer bar Cock & Bull, as it plans a new Fruitville Commons location. As its name suggests, Big Top pays homage to Sarasota’s circus history with core beers such as its Circus City and Hazy Sky Wire IPAs, along with its Hawaiian Lion coconut coffee porter and Conch Republic Key lime wheat ale. Big Top’s taproom also offers pizza, wings and salads from Origin Express (as in, Origin Craft Beer & Pizza Cafe) and food truck rallies every second Saturday, among other events including regular live music. Some of the concerts featuring national touring acts are ticketed, but most shows are free, including a Sunday Blues & Brews series that’s hosted such names in the genre as Damon Fowler, who also collaborated with the brewery on a Fowler’s IPA.
Brew Life Brewing
5767 Beneva Road, Sarasota; 941-952-3831; brewlifebrewing.com
This small batch brewery, opened six years ago at the intersection of Beneva and Clark roads, touts itself as a “brew-tique,” and “Sarasota’s smallest brewery.” However, this year has seen a couple of big updates for Brew Life, including moving its brewing operations down to 3 Bridges in Venice and expanding its food options with "The Funky Kitchen @ Brew Life Brewing," a collaboration with Sarasota food truck/catering business Funky Fusion. Some of Brew Life's most popular beers include its Pink Guava Session IPA, its Red Bug Slough amber ale (named after the nearby nature preserve) and its Dude! Itz Brown ale, made with apple brandy, cinnamon and maple syrup-soaked raisins. It’s got a fun taproom to sample them in as well, featuring retro video games and a dartboard.
Calusa Brewing
5701 Derek Ave., Sarasota; 941-922-8150; calusabrewing.com
At Calusa Brewing, you’ll find arguably the best beer made in Sarasota-Manatee: Zote, its flagship hazy, New England-style IPA that looks and tastes like the fresh-squeezed juice of a citrus fruit. Calusa offers several other IPAs and other beer styles, such as The Florida Flavor lager. You’ll find those beers and more in its taproom, which also features tented outdoor seating and visiting food trucks. Calusa has plans for expansion, as well: In 2021, it purchased the nearby property that formerly housed country music nightclub and restaurant/bar White Buffalo Saloon, which will become its new taproom, while Calusa’s current location will become its main production facility.
Corporate Ladder Brewing Company
4935 96th St. E., Palmetto; 941-479-4799; corporateladderbrewing.com
Named the ninth best brewery in the U.S. founded since the start of 2018 by USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice 2021, Corporate Ladder Brewing Company opened its doors five years ago in Palmetto. Blake Kleppe left the corporate world to open the brewery, then sporting the slogan “Quit Work. Brew Beer.” and featuring numerous beers named after the workplace, such as a Business as Usual Hefeweizen and Paperweight Pilsner. Co-owner James Herrholz joined Corporate Ladder in 2019, bringing culinary-inspired beers such as a variety of smoothie/pastry-style sours, and just recently the brewery announced a rebranding that will include new label designs and a taproom makeover. Currently, the taproom offers a rotating selection of food trucks as well as an outdoor beer garden area.
Fat Point Brewing
257 N. Cattlemen Road #90, Sarasota; 941-491-2827; fatpoint.com
Founded in Punta Gorda — Spanish for Fat Point — this brewery recently moved up north with this University Town Center location that opened in July. The taproom features 12 brews on draft, a third of which are dedicated to core beers (its Big Boca ale, Keewaydin blond ale, Latitude Attitude IPA, and Summadayze session IPA), and the rest either other Fat Point creations or selections from other breweries including the Clearwater-based Big Storm Brewing Co., which belongs to the same parent company. Fat Point also offers a full, "coastal" and "fish house-inspired" food menu that features several seafood dishes, as well as other casual dining dishes such as an "Umami Burger" with savory mushrooms, melted Swiss cheese, caramelized onions and a tangy umami sauce. The taproom offers both indoor and beer garden seating, placing customers in the thick of University Town Center's bustle.
Good Liquid Brewing Co.
1570 Lakefront Drive, Sarasota; 941-238-6466; goodliquidbrewingcompany.com
While Good Liquid Brewing Co. closed its original Bradenton taproom last year, this brewpub location in Lakewood Ranch’s Waterside Place — opened the year prior in partnership with Joe Guli of Tableseide Restaurant Group (Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie, Circo) — remains up and running. Brews on tap include inventive creations such as a Mixed Berry Jalape?o Cream Ale, along with an award-winning Honey Rye Pale Ale. Good Liquid’s Waterside Place location also features a full-liquor bar and a full menu featuring burgers, wood-grilled pizzas and more, with ample seating both indoors and outdoors on a patio with a lakeside view and shades that can come down in case of inclement weather.
Magnanimous Brewing
803 17th Ave. W., Bradenton; 941-747-1970; magnanimousbrewing.com
After opening its flagship Tampa Heights taproom in 2020, Magnanimous Brewing expanded with a second Bradenton location last year, taking over the former Darwin Brewing Company taproom space next to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training home LECOM Park. Magnanimous’ Bradenton tasting room features more than a dozen beers on tap, including staples such as its Juice Lord IPA (which earns its name for its hazy, citrus-heavy style) as well as specialty offerings, including collaborations with other breweries. The taproom also features seating both indoors and outside, with a view overlooking LECOM Park.
Motorworks Brewing
1014 Ninth St. W., Bradenton; 941-567-6218; motorworksbrewing.com
Also located near LECOM Park in downtown Bradenton, housed in a striking brick building, is Motorworks Brewing’s flagship brewery and taproom (it has since opened a second location in downtown Orlando.) Motorworks’ beers, such as its Pulp Friction grapefruit IPA, V-Twin Vienna-style lager and Midnight Espresso coffee porter, have become staples of Florida's beer scene and won national awards, with its Adoptable Lager featuring shelter dogs on its cans showcased on “Ellen.” Just as popular as Motorworks’ brews is the Bradenton taproom's expansive beer garden, centered around a century-old oak tree and regularly hosting events such as live music, bingo and cornhole. Motorworks also offers a full-liquor bar, along with dishes from the food truck Proper Meats (which, despite its name, features both meat and non-meat options), served to you at your seat.
Sun King Brewery
1215 Mango Ave., Sarasota; 941-893-3940; sunkingbrewing.com
Sun King Brewery's first location outside its home state of Indiana opened last year here in Sarasota, in the former space of JDub’s Brewing Company near the Baltimore Orioles' spring training home Ed Smith Stadium. Sun King brings a national pedigree with it, being crowned Grand National Champion for the second time last year at the U.S. Open Beer Championship with the most winning entries, including a gold medal for its Sunlight Cream Ale. That beer and its Orange Vanilla version, along with other staples such as the Pachanga Mexican-style lager and Keller Haze IPA as well as seasonal and specialty offerings, make up the 14 brews on tap at Sun King’s Sarasota location. The bright-colored taproom also offers food trucks and snacks from local vendors.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Craft beer breweries Sarasota Bradenton Lakewood Ranch Venice Palmetto
