We recently took the Brew Bus I-95 Brews Cruise which features Funky Buddha Brewing, Wynwood Brewing Co. and the Mack House Nano-Brewery.
The Brew Bus South Florida is offering guided tours to many of South Florida's creaft breweries. The company originally started with the Tampa Brew Bus and recently expanded into South Florida. They are offering differnt trips so as to be able to cover an assortmant of breweries so checkout their website to learn about their other trips.
We checked in for our trip at the Buddha just before noon and had a few minutes to grab a pint before our tour began. After a couple of straglers arrived, our group was given a tour of the brewery and learned about the brewing process as well as a lot of trivia & history behind Funky Buddha. The group involved a nice mix of both serious beer afficinados and craft newbies which lead to great intereaction with our guide. And yes, the tour involved sampling :)
After the tour, we had time for a quick beer at the bar and then it was time to jump onto the bus and head for our next stop, Wynwood Brewing Co. Once of the added benefits of taking the bus was that we were able to sample the Brew Bus line of beers between stops. In case you didn't know it, they have five of their own beers that are brewed in conjucntion with Cigar City in Tampa.
At Wynwood, they gave each of us a pint and after having a few minutes to check out the art on the tasting room walls, we were given a tour of the brewery. Alex, our guide, filled us in on how the brewery came to be and a little bit about where they are headed.
After we wrapped up the tour, it was back onto the bus. As an added benefit, we were able to checkout a lot of the amazing street art in the area around the brewery. That being said, I saw on the Brew Bus South Florida website that they offer a night time trip to Wynwwod for the 2nd Saturday event. If you've never been, it's worth checking out!
Mack House was the final stop before heading back to the Funky Buddha. Being a nano brewery, there isn't much to tour. Instead, we were given a pint of our choice, either one of their brews or one of the several guest taps. Mack House serves as sort of a test kitchen for Holy Mackerel so in addition to serving the Holy Mackerel lineup, they had a couple beers that you'll only find there.
Since we had a little time to chill out, a few of the guys decided to get nostalgic and plop down on the couch so as to take a shot at the old school video games.
I brought along a friend of mine who had never taken this type of tour and it was interesting to see his reaction to each of the stops. While he has been tot eh Buddha numerous times, he's never had the tour. He mad e acomment that had he not gone on the bus, he probably never would have ever made it to the otehr two places. Now he's talking about going back with his wife.
If you like beer and have never been on a beer bus tour, it is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon and broaden your horizons. You get to check out several breweries without having to worry about a thing. No driving, traffic frustration or parking hassles. Plus you get a chance to meet some interesting people.
To learn more about the South Florida Brew Bus, visit their site or follow them on twitter.
