The Best Brewery Hops in Jacksonville

Since we first covered Jacksonville’s beer scene in the early summer of 2018, Jacksonville’s beer scene has continued to grow and expand. Several new taprooms have opened, and we’re confident more will be on the way in the near future. As we’ve spoken to several folks visiting Jacksonville, we’ve come to realize that ranking the brewery hops in a city as spread out as Jacksonville isn’t as helpful an endeavor as grouping them by area of town. Hopefully these new groupings will help you more easily find the brewery hops closest to you, whether you’re on the Westside or in Atlantic Beach.

We’ll be defining a brewery hop in Jacksonville by asking, “Is it a ten-minute drive or less?” Russell grew up in Duval County, and it’d take you half an hour to get to school and forty-five minutes to visit a friend on the other side of town, so “walkability” is very rarely on the menu (not to mention walking in Jacksonville during the summer is like begging for a heat stroke). So make sure you’ve got your rides planned or your Uber budget reserved for this trip— or read through and find which hops are genuinely walkable in the largest city land-wise in America.

Now, on with the recommendations!

RIVERSIDE/MURRAY HILL

Tabula Rasa —> Bold City Brewery —> Fishweir Brewing

One of the newest breweries in Jacksonville is Tabula Rasa Brewing, located in the Railyard District. Tabula Rasa has a spacious warehouse of a taproom, a massive backyard for outdoor drinking, and a gigantic friendly St. Bernard named Banjo. (We liked the outdoor space, but we LOVED Banjo.) The owners chatted with us and we ate pretzels, played games, and drank everything they had on tap. Our recommendations: the Tartanic is a smooth, malty Scottish ale, packing terrific flavor in for a 5% sessionable drink. Also, while their Crazy Mona is a quality take on a coconut porter, we were even more enamored with the Raspberry Mona, the fruity variant with a mean raspberry kick to it.

Take Stockton down to Rosselle and, if it’s Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, hit the Bold City Brewery taproom. If you live in Jacksonville, you’ve likely seen Bold City cans around, as they have some of the best distribution in Duval County. Time your visit right and you can take a tour of their facility in the afternoon— otherwise, just hunker down, order a Bold City Burger, and enjoy some of their standards fresh from the tap. (They also have a location downtown, for those not able to make this hop.) Our recommendations: not enough breweries make their flagship a brown ale, so tip of the cap to Bold City for the Duke’s Cold Nose, a light, well-balanced brown. Also, for those who want something with a bit more kick to pair with their meal, the 1901 Roasted Red Ale is as advertised: a red so roasty that it’s got some coffee hints and even a splash of smokiness in the mix.

Finally, continue south into Murray Hill to Fishweir Brewing, another of Jacksonville’s newest— and, importantly for future visits, the closest brewery in town to Russell’s family’s house. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing breweries in town: they have a lovely patio, and Emily couldn’t stop raving about the patterned tile behind the bar and the lettered tap handles that spell out FISHWEIR. However, aesthetics aren’t why you read this site— you want to know about the quality of the beer. Luckily, Fishweir’s beers are excellent across the board, exhibiting a degree of skill you don’t often see in a brewery that, when we visited it, had only been open for a little over a month. Our recommendations: the Big Fishweir is an old-school IPA, crisp, fruity, and dank. Also, we were fortunate to be there at the holidays to enjoy the One, Two, Ten, a brown ale with hefty molasses and ginger flavor. Between their early slam dunks and the sour beers currently aging in their barrel room, don’t be surprised to see Fishweir as one of the most in-demand breweries in North Florida in the near future.

NORTH OF DOWNTOWN/SPRINGFIELD

Hyperion Brewing —> Main and Six

If you’ve been reading this guide and thinking, “All of this is great, but I *require* walkability for my brewery hopping!”… then you’re in luck. This is by far the most walkable hop on this list— stroll one short block from one, and you’re at the other! Start at Hyperion Brewing in Springfield. Hyperion is a relaxed and welcoming spot, with plenty of comfortable chairs and sofas, some games to play, wine offerings for the non-beer drinkers, and frequent live music played on the premises. Our recommendations: the Selene Citrene is an intensely fruity blood orange blonde… but the clear winner here is Phoebe’s PB, a very rich peanut butter porter that quite likely holds the crown for the best peanut butter beer in Duval County.

Afterward, take the casual walk to Main and Six Brewing. Main and Six has a large, casual taproom with a bevy of games. They also boast some of the kinder, more helpful bartenders that we’ve encountered in Duval County— very personable, happy to make recommendations, and more than willing to strike up conversation. Their beer ranks up there as some of the best in the county, with their brewery as a whole ranking near a 4 on Untappd. Our recommendations: the Staycation is one of the best blondes we’ve had since launching this site. Inferior blondes favor lightness over flavor, but the Staycation has a distinct hoppy crispness while maintaining that easy-drinking vibe. Also, the Handsworth is a high-quality brown ale, balancing malt, coffee, and caramel flawlessly.

DOWNTOWN/SAN MARCO

Intuition Ale Works –> Aardwolf Brewing Company

Located walking distance from Jacksonville’s NFL stadium, Intuition Ale Works is, as you’d expect, a fantastic, spacious, and lively hang-out for watching sports and drinking from a lengthy tap list. The food is quite good– Russell is hard-pressed to ever pass up a bratwurst, and the one at Intuition is no exception– and they have a rooftop beer garden to soak up some sun with a terrific view of the stadium (and, on Sundays, the maniac fans heading over, making for wonderful people watching). Our recommendations: the Easy on the Eyes is a citrusy Session IPA that’s perfect for those rooftop days, but keep an eye out for whatever one-off beers they have on draft– any flavored stout or IPA variations they have will almost certainly be worth a try.

From there, cross the Main Street Bridge (a lift bridge with one of the longest lift spans of any bridge in America) and head into San Marco for a stop at Aardwolf. Aardwolf’s 20+ long tap list leans into the beautiful extremes of beer: you’ll find a bevy of barrel-aged brews, plenty of sours, imperial stouts, barleywine, rauchbier– if you like it, it’s probably here. Their dog-friendly taproom is impressively as large as the taplist, with multiple backrooms for private events or weekend overflow. Our recommendations: any of the barrel-aged options are going to be worth your taste, but make sure you save room for the El Mariachi, an imperial stout with cinnamon, vanilla, and peppers. The sweet, spice, and malt all balance nicely for a rich, roasty body and surprisingly smooth finish.

SOUTHSIDE/BAYMEADOWS

Veterans United Craft Brewing –> Wicked Barley Brewing Company

Veterans United is an ideal hangout spot– lots of seating, plenty of games, very dog-friendly. It was founded and is largely operated by US military veterans, making it an ideal place for many residents of this Navy town to support. You won’t find too many terribly adventurous options on tap, just well-made versions of familiar classics with the occasional variant in place. Our recommendations: the Paratrooper Porter is a dry and malty standard that delivers, and for those hotter Florida days, the Raspberry Hedgehog Hefeweizen is fruity and refreshing.

Your next stop is about 4 miles out, so head up to Baymeadows, turn west, and take yourself to Wicked Barley, an easygoing taproom with some tasty brewpub food to soak up the booze in your belly. A smoked pork belly sandwich, some cheese curds, a Bavarian pretzel– any food that sounds ideal after a couple of pints? They’ve got it. They also have a delicious-looking Sunday brunch, making this is a terrific destination for any Jaguars fans looking to watch the game and eat/drink their stress away. Our recommendation: they’ve got some rich stout and sour options, but when we’re there, we go straight for the Adults Only, a root beer mead that really knocks our socks off. They also have mead slushies and cocktails– we know, this isn’t The Mead Travel Guide, but hey, when in Rome!

JACKSONVILLE BEACH

Engine 15 Brewing Company –> Southern Swells Brewing Company –> Green Room Brewing

In order to get an actual, walkable brewery hop, you have to head to the beach– which, if you’re visiting Jacksonville, you were likely considering doing anyhow. Start at Engine 15 Brewing Co., a cozy brewpub that boasts a massive tap list that’s 50 beers long. (They also have a location downtown.) You could spend all day noshing on brats and sampling not only Engine 15’s own product, but also the incredible selection they bring in from around the country. There aren’t a lot of places in Jacksonville you can find Almanac, Crooked Stave, or The Bruery even in bottle form– here, these are the types of beers that show up on draft. Our recommendation: enjoy Engine 15’s irreverently-named Nut Sack imperial brown ales (complete with very silly squirrel cartoon on the label) or their Max Voltage stout… but be sure get a flight of some of the elite guest tap options Engine 15 boasts as well before moseying down the block.

Next, head down Beach Blvd toward the beach a little under half a mile and voila, you’re at Southern Swells, perhaps the most renowned Jacksonville brewery on the national beer trading scene– and once you’ve tasted their beers, you’ll understand the accolades. They’re known for having the best New England IPAs in Duval County– certain cans will quickly sell out when made available– but most everything on the menu is top-notch. They have a big seating area, a game shelf, and the occasional live music performer, making this a great place for parties. Our recommendations: the sours are quite good here, and the Bold Brewed is as potent a coffee porter as you’re likely to find in Duval County… but hey, they’re known for the New England IPAs. Don’t leave without ordering a Karate in the Garage.

Put on your best walking shoes and keep heading toward the beach for a little under a mile. You’ll want to finish this hop at Green Room. It’s dog-friendly and a stone’s throw from the beach, so everyone who comes here is tremendously chill. Plenty of games to play– foosball!– and events on their calendar like music, painting, etc. Green Room has several tasty options on tap (and Jaguars fans will appreciate both the flavor and the name of their Myles Jack Wasn’t Down IPA), but they’re known for their stouts. Our recommendations: the Count Shakula is as sweet and chocolatey an oatmeal stout as Jacksonville has to offer, and other imperial stouts like the Yates Manifesto and the Secret Spot are rich and boozy enough to ensure that this is your last brewery before you blissfully stumble to the beach. Don’t go swimming in the ocean with Green Room stouts in your system unless you tell a friend first.

ATLANTIC BEACH

Atlantic Beach Brewing Company —> Reve Brewing

Jacksonville Beach is lovely— but if you head a bit north, you’ll see Atlantic Beach is also lovely. Luckily for those staying in that area, you’ve got your own lovely 1-2 punch of breweries in your neck of the woods. Begin your hop at Atlantic Beach Brewing Company. This place has everything you may want. Good front room, big back room, patio space. They’ve got plenty of games, they’ve got art on the walls, they’ve got TVs for watching sports, they’ve got frequent live music. Our recommendations: we were impressed with the Hopsecco, their Brut IPA, double dry hopped with Mosaic hops, crisp and effervescent. Though we feel like we’ve recommended an odd amount of brown ales on this trip, their Bonfire Beach brown is perfect for that exact scenario: sitting on the beach, smoke in the air, enjoying the sweet roastiness of this beer.

It’s a little over a mile to Reve Brewing— probably not a walk, but a very brief Uber. Reve is a wonderful neighborhood brewery founded by one of the owners of Green Room and his wife. The taproom is small and intimate, almost a wine bar vibe, which is appropriate since these beers are to be savored. Everything nice we said about the beer at Green Room? Bring it all here and then some. They’ve focused on IPAs, stouts, and sours, and we’re pleased to report they’ve hit home runs in all three styles. Our recommendations: Cloud Farmer is a hazy double IPA, but it’s so juicy and fluffy that you’d think it was a session. Consider the Coconut is a 9.5% ABV stout rich with luxurious chocolate and coconut flavor. Finally, the Color of Insanity is a sublime sour, packed with tart cherry and raspberry but cut with a splash of vanilla to temper the acidity.

BEST PLACE FOR IPAS:
Southern Swells (Runners-up: Intuition, Main and Six, Reve)

BEST PLACE FOR SOURS:
Reve (Runners-up: Southern Swells, Wicked Barley)

BEST PLACE FOR STOUTS:
Aardwolf (Runners-up: Fishweir, Green Room, Reve)

BEST PLACE TO PLAY GAMES:
Green Room (Runners-up: Atlantic Beach Brewing, Southern Swells, Tabula Rasa)

BEST PLACE FOR A LARGE GROUP:
Aardwolf (Runner-up: Atlantic Beach Brewing, Southern Swells, Tabula Rasa)

BEST PLACE FOR A QUIET DRINK:
Reve (Runner-up: Engine 15, Fishweir, Green Room)

BEST PLACE TO EAT:
Wicked Barley (Runner-up: Intuition Ale Works)

Which is your favorite of these brewery hops? Are there any you love that we neglected to mention? Please shout them out in the comments below! Also, please check out our other beer travel guides, including guides to other great Southern destinations like New Orleans and Richmond! And for those going farther south in Florida, check out our research guides to Orlando, Miami, Palm Beach, and Broward County— and for a complete list of Jacksonville’s highest-rated breweries, go here. Cheers!