Orlando Brewing Company

No Longer In Business

A nice friendly place. A wide range of styles. The brewery dog took to my daughter and wouldn't leave her side. They were filming a commercial when we were there, so now I'm famous.....

This is a great place to visit...the staff were really friendly and gave us a tour round the brewery

Stopped in after work doing some beer errands and they had a few interesting styles on to draw me in. In industrial area. Inside is pretty cool, dimly lit, industrial divey in nice way. Very friendly bartender and few other patrons. Quite a few of their beers on tap in wide array of styles. Grabbed a flight. Prices are reasonable. The beer isn’t most exciting but nothing to complain about and for my purposes quite nice. Pleasantly surprised.

Visited 4th May 1530pm. Located on an industrial estate but well worth a visit. Large cross section of brews tried 12 whilst visiting. Bar lady was great and friendly and knew her beer.

Nice open area with bar and tables. Outside seating. Beer selection is across the board. Nice selection. All beers solid. WIFI available. Pet friendly. Parking was good when we were there. Server busting it. You have to go to the bar to place your order when it loads up. Food truck available. I didn’t see any kids. A place I like better than the first time I went.

Located in an industrial park, the place is similar to other breweries I have visited in similar locations. The server apologized for being short- staffed so service to tables was limited that night. 29 beers on tap plus guest taps, growler fills, and both regular six packs and mixed sampler six packs of their most popular beers all in the fridge to go. A food truck outside was specializing in lobster rolls and someone had brought in a pizza. Nice place, glad I came.

The taproom is actually pretty impressive. It looks like something you’d see in any downtown bar and club district: spacious with a high ceiling; dark with cool mood lighting; plenty of tables; a fairly large bar; some dartboards; and of course a selection of OBC merch. I’ve been to many breweries over the years and most taprooms tend to be rather sterile and corporate, so it’s nice to see a relaxed vibe for a change. I could see this being a nice watering hole for those that work in the vicinity, or a place to chill on a Friday or Saturday night away from the downtown crowd. They do have live music and other typical bar events pretty regularly, which isn’t something you see at most brewery taprooms.

As for the brewery itself, it’s rather small and cramped despite being only a 15 BBL system. The equipment definitely has a worn look, but I appreciate how the small scale makes it seem more “fine touch” than massive production breweries that range in size from 50-100 BBLs. Several of the beers they brew are bottled on site, though I-4 IPA and Right on Red bottles are contracted out to Florida Beer Company over in Cape Canaveral. Orlando Brewing seems more interested in making kegged beer rather than bottled beer, and considering that they don’t pasteurize, that’s not a bad approach.

Organic Blonde Ale: Usually, I find generic blonde ales to be… well… generic. This one wasn’t especially great, though it did have a nice authentic malt taste. Much better than the bottle I reviewed last month. 3/5

Organic Pale Ale: Not sure what this was supposed to be. Had a flavor akin to tea, but wasn’t all that hoppy. More like an amber ale. 2.75/5

Right on Red!: This is another beer I reviewed out of the bottle – which is a completely different style than the draught version. OBC calls this version an Irish Red, but really didn’t seem to conform to that style very well. Rather dry and bitter and otherwise bland. The bottle is a standard American amber ale and is quite sweet (but again, only an okay beer). 2/5

O-Town Brown: Take an English brown ale and water it down and you’ve got this. Very boring and not nearly sweet enough. 2.5/5

Eminent Domain Scottish Ale: Some sweetness, and a faint trace of smoke; otherwise unremarkable. 2.5/5Orlando Brewing Company 035

Olde Pelican: Supposedly an English-style pale ale. No diacteyl, so it’s probably not fermented with Ringwood yeast, but there’s not much to taste here anyway. 2.25/5

I-4 IPA: This was actually my third time trying this beer. I first reviewed an old bottle of it back in February. I was able to get a very fresh bottle a few weeks ago, so I gave it a re-review and it was pretty solid, but still far from amazing. The tap version drinks more like a pale ale as it’s not bitter or hoppy enough for what I want and expect in an American IPA. 3/5

Blackwater Dry Porter: Much like the Blonde Ale, this was better on tap than the bottle. Of all the beers we tried, this seemed most “to spec” for the style. But at the same time, it was quite mild and seemed to have a minty finish. My girlfriend noticed this as well. 3.25/5

As you can probably tell, we weren’t too impressed with the quality of Orlando Brewing’s beers. My average score was about 2.81, which is not very good (anything less than 3.5 is pretty forgettable). I can’t say this came as a surprise, though. Having talked to friends, professional brewers, and other Orlando craft beer enthusiasts, I heard no praise for the brewery and plenty of disparaging remarks.

I would actually recommend OBC to acolytes and non-beer drinkers looking for something they can handle. These beers are pretty mild and light-bodied which makes them incredibly drinker-friendly for those without a refined palate.

Lot of potential but all of the beers are pretty safe. Nothing really jumps out as something I’d order a second pint of. All very well executed beers, don’t misunderstand me. No flaws but also no real depth of flavors that get me excited to order more.

In a bit of a warehouse like area this very open and good size tap room is a little old and comfortable. Lots of regulars we were immediately made to feel welcome. Service was nice and personable with a modest amount of beer knowledge. Selection was large but largely average, some horrible. No food but you can order in. Prices were very good for samples. A decent place for ticks but you aren’t going to find anything interesting.

Nice little brewery. Consistent decent beers but nothing great. 16 on tap. Very friendly, helpful and knowledgable service. Mary was awesome.