
26 Jan South Florida Sampler Tour on the Brew Bus USA
When we saw that the annual North American TBEX (one of the largest travel blogger conferences around) was going to be held in our old stomping grounds of Florida, we were super excited. The dates of the conference coincided nicely with our friends’ wedding that we would already be attending, so it was a no brainer that we attend!
After we moved away from Florida a couple of years ago, it seemed as though breweries started to pop up all over the state. We had only visited a couple breweries in Florida, so the Sampler Tour with Brew Bus USA sounded like the perfect “pre-BEX” excursion to sign up for. How can you argue with craft beer and spending the afternoon with a bus full of fun fellow bloggers?!
The tour started off with everyone getting a glass to use for the day’s samples. Before we even made it to the first stop, we were given a sample of the Brew Bus beer. They actually brew they own beer as well, and sampling it on the bus definitely added a fun element between stops.
The afternoon itinerary was set for us to visit 4 breweries: Craft Beer Cartel, Funky Buddha Brewery, Holy Mackerel Brewery, and LauderAle Brewery. Two samples were given at each stop, in addition to the samples on the bus.
Craft Beer Cartel
Our first stop was located on a quiet neighborhood street. Much more than just a brewery, the Craft Beer Cartel is part bottle shop, part brewery and part homebrew supply shop. They also teach classes if you want a little instruction on how to brew your own beer. When walking around the shop, make sure to look down; you will find the floor is covered in beautiful designs all made from bottle tops.
As we sampled two of their beers, we were given a brief introduction about how beer is made, some insight on the brewery itself and an overview of all the different beers they stock in the store.
Funky Buddha Brewery
Next on the itinerary was a stop at a brewery we’ve been wanting to check out for quite some time: Funky Buddha Brewery. The 3,000 square foot tap room is gorgeous–I loved the design and giant wall art that depicted the entire brewing process. We were each given our two samples and after a short introduction to the brewery, we were free to relax and enjoy the tap room. In addition to beer, the Funky Buddha also serves a variety of grub, from meals to light snacks.
Holy Mackerel Brewery
Our third stop brought us to a strip mall where we walked in the unassuming Holy Mackerel Brewery. I never would have guessed there would be a brewery in the strip mall, so I’m glad that we were shown this little gem. The brewery started in the owner’s kitchen way back in 1993, and through the years he won numerous contests and awards. After over 10 years of home brewing, the Holy Mackerel was born. The atmosphere of the tap room was low key and laid back–perfect for a bit of mingling before boarding the bus once again.
LauderAle Hand Crafted Beer
The last brewery of the day was my favorite aesthetically. LauderAle Hand Crafted Beer is full of amazing natural and recycled materials, and the tap room is accessible through a wide open garage door. The brewery’s goal is to create authentic ales that are influenced by the local culture. I loved every detail inside the tap room, and the beers were just as delicious!
All of the beers we sampled throughout the day were delicious, but I have to say, some of my favorites were the Brew Bus Brews. On the bus we were served samples of their Irish-style red ale “Rollin Dirty”, their India pale ale “Last Stop”, their English style porter “Double Decker”, their hoppy wheat “Are Wheat There Yet?”, and my personal favorite of the day, their blueberry wheat “You’re My Boy Blue”.
Needless to say, we had enough beer to fill us up for the afternoon! There are several tour options available, such as the Full Pour Tour where you get a full pint at every stop and two pints on the bus, the Sampler Tour where you get two 4 oz. samples at each stop as well as samples on the bus, or the Taproom Crawl which is more of a shuttle service to several breweries with complimentary beer on board. They also offer distillery tours, trips to Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, special events and private tours.
We had a fantastic time getting to know our fellow passengers, and it was fun to check out a few of the breweries in the area. The brew bus was the perfect kickoff to the crazy few conference days that were about to follow!
Have you ever been on a Brew Bus or similar tour?
Special thanks to TBEX and Brew Bus USA for providing us with complimentary tours as a part of the “pre-BEX” tour offering. As always, all opinions are our own.
Hannah
Posted at 04:42h, 27 JanuaryTwitter: hannahlogan21
You had me at Brew Bus- how fun does that sound?! I love trying different craft beers although I have never tried a blueberry beer. Sounds pretty good though- I usually prefer fruitier things like ciders and radlers.
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:37h, 17 FebruaryI always like fruity beers, too! Blueberry is one of my favorites 🙂 It was a great experience–we had a really good time!
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Ron Robbins
Posted at 20:58h, 29 JanuaryTwitter: actplanettravel
Definitely my kind of tour, but I’ve never been on what to this extent. Now individual breweries, on the other hand, I’ve definitely lost count! hahaha
How was the Funky Buddha Brewery? Did they have any special beers that were only available at the brewery itself?
Ron Robbins recently posted…Maui – Top 10 Adventurous Things to Do
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:32h, 17 FebruaryHaha, breweries are always so fun to check out! I’m not sure if the Funky Buddha had special beers only available there–I think they did, but I’m not 100% positive–we really enjoyed it there though!
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Stefan
Posted at 07:01h, 30 JanuaryTwitter: nomadicboys
The Funky Buddha Brewery looks awesome – love the decoration. Which was your favourite? LOVE the idea of a brew bus – never heard of it before, but genius!
Stefan recently posted…What’s it like travelling as a gay couple in Asia
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:30h, 17 FebruaryI think our favorite atmosphere was the Funky Buddha and our favorite beer was the Brew Bus’ own brew!
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Anne
Posted at 12:07h, 30 JanuaryTwitter: anneisninay
As always, beer saves the day! Looking forward to experience that brew bus!
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:23h, 17 FebruaryLol, beer always does save the day, doesn’t it?! 🙂
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Karla (Karla Around The World)
Posted at 22:16h, 30 JanuaryTwitter: Karlaroundworld
Oh my, this is so new to me. I like the idea of a Brew tour. I think it’s awesome to try different kinds of freshly brewed beer. The Funky Buddha Brewery looks really hip. I like the place’s vibe.
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:21h, 17 FebruaryWe loved the Funky Buddha! Such a fun spot and the tour was great!
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Megan
Posted at 11:43h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: Traveling9to5er
I love going on a good brew tour. It’s a great way to get to know an area and try some new places. Did a great one in Seattle but will have to save this for whenever I visit Florida.
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:14h, 17 FebruarySeattle would be another great spot for a brew tour!
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melody pittman
Posted at 11:44h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: melodytravels
I live only 2 hours away and I”ve never heard of the Brew Bus. Quite hilarious but I’m sure very popular. Need to head south and do some of these craft beer tours. Sounds lie fun!
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:13h, 17 FebruaryI had never heard of it either, but I’m glad we had the chance to go on it–it was a lot of fun!
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Laura
Posted at 16:01h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: savoredjourneys
I went on the food tour at TBEX, but this one would have been my second choice. I’m a huge fan of trying new breweries and I was talking to some of the restaurant owners about all the breweries that were starting to open up in the area. Glad you had a great time!
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:13h, 17 FebruaryThe food tour was another one that looked like a lot of fun!
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Kimberly Erin
Posted at 19:41h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: kimmiedavies
I am not and have never been the best beer drinker..but if I was i think a cute tour like this would be something I would enjoy
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:11h, 17 FebruaryYeah, beer is definitely not for everyone! It was a fun tour though and fun to learn a bit about the behind the scenes as well!
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Melanie
Posted at 21:39h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: mafambani
Great post! I am not soo much a beer fan but I think I would still enjoy such a tour. I liked the Funky Buddha design most. Wish back home there would be a more creative approach on creating beer. I think there should be more micro breweries.
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:10h, 17 FebruaryThanks! It was a lot of fun to try out a few different spots and check out the atmosphere everyone! The company on the bus is always fun, too!
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Cherri Megasko
Posted at 22:25h, 31 JanuaryTwitter: BucketListTC
It sounds like I need to head to Miami! I love tasting new beers; one of my favorite things to do is go to a microbrewery and get a flight. My favorites are IPAs and Porters, but there really aren’t too many beers that I couldn’t drink. This tour sounds like tons of fun.
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 04:08h, 17 FebruaryI love getting flights, too–so fun to sample a variety of different brews!
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Jennifer Melroy
Posted at 18:44h, 01 FebruaryTwitter: matdifference
This looks like an amazing tour. I love tours that involve multiple breweries. I somehow missed most of these breweries while living in Florida.
Jennifer Melroy recently posted…Freezing my feet off while SCUBA diving in Silfra
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 03:54h, 17 FebruaryWe happened to miss them all too–I think some of them are a bit newer, but they were all so fun to check out!
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Chanel
Posted at 21:33h, 01 FebruaryTwitter: culturalxplorer
There is quite a lot of delicious looking beer there – yum yum! I had never heard of a brew tour before, but I love the idea!
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 03:52h, 17 FebruaryIt was all pretty good! Such a fun experience 🙂
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Anna
Posted at 11:59h, 02 FebruaryTwitter: annaJ31
Craft beer is massive in my town, and just this weekend we scheduled our own ‘brew bus’ and got our taste on in a big way. Love the look of the brew stops you experienced, I wish someone would figure the beam me up bit, some of the LauderAle Hand Crafted Double Decker sounds right up my alley. 🙂
Anna recently posted…Site Seeing, Sake Shots & Sushi Burgers in Japan
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 03:52h, 17 FebruaryHow fun! Hope you have a great time and enjoy the brew bus!
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Sarah Anderson
Posted at 15:48h, 29 FebruaryA brewery bus sounds like a really fun experience! I doubt they do something like that where I live, but I would love to travel to a place that does do it and try it out. I would need to make sure to take my husband, who doesn’t drink, just in case there is any driving that would have to be done there and back.
Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 01:32h, 01 MarchIt was a great experience, and definitely a good idea to have a driver along for the ride home! 🙂 Hope you can check one out sometime!
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Arnold
Posted at 06:11h, 09 JanuaryHI Jenna!
I want to have a tour with the Brew bus!!!, I mean it’s interesting and fresh, Yeah! hope we have that one from where i lived. Tasting different beer and getting a little history, my kind of tour I am gonna visit there!!. When do you think they will have that tour again this year?
Thanks for sharing
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Jenna Kvidt
Posted at 01:11h, 10 JanuaryYeah it was a great tour–we had a lot of fun! I believe they have tours year round 🙂
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