About Florida Beer
Florida’s first brewery, Florida Brewing Company, was opened in 1896 by a group of cigar industrialists in Ybor City. They produced over 80,000 barrels of beer a year and were the largest beer exporter to Cuba. In 1913 Jax Brewing opened in Jacksonville, but then the state enacted prohibition in 1918 (2 years earlier than the US mandated it.) Jax Brewing was able to survive as they became an ice and refrigeration company; however, Florida Brewing would ignore prohibition and was raided and shutdown in 1927. When prohibition was repealed, Jax Brewing and the Florida Brewing Company (reopened as Tampa Florida Brewing Company) would resume operations but each would close. Jax would close in 1956 and sell their name to Jackson Brewing in New Orleans, and Florida Brewing Company would close in 1961. It was around this time that large national breweries started operating in the state (Schlitz, Anhueser Busch and Miller Brewing Company.) In the 1990’s Florida started to see microbreweries (Dunedin Brewing- the state’s first microbrewery) and the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. Since this time the state has enjoyed a rise in beer production and craft breweries!
Florida Beer Reviews
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Florida Beers
Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai IPA
