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"Generally, in South Florida, it has to be windy in order to get surf. In other parts of the world, the swells come from long distances. Because of the Bahamas, it's local, wind-based surf here,(which leads to) a fast and dumpy wave." -Todd Kline, FTL surfer Fast crumbling knee-high left. Las Olas and A1A, 3/21/2021. |
Goin' on vacation always brings with it the usual worries. Will the weather cooperate? Will we have waves? Will our accommodations meet expectations? Will we get in all the restaurants and breweries I had been so diligently surveying on the web? Will we get we get the R&R we'd been looking forward to? And ultimately, will we have waves? Ft. Lauderdale delivered all. Well...except the waves. Ever wonder why all those boats hang out off the South Florida coast? Damn Bahamas. What a kook. Knew waves were few and far between. Sunny skies. Aquamarine to cobalt blue water. Some wind. Just not enough, obviously. Never even exercised my board rental option. Was a gamble.
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| Local lifeguard taking advantage to kneeboard an empty lineup. |
The Marriott Beach Place Towers. Another bad-ass property courtesy of the Father-In Law's timeshare. Front row seats to the Atlantic every morning. Single bedroom with the sliding door to those seats. Kitchen. Living room with a picture window filled with more of the great Blue. Here for a week. Boxes to check off. Mojitos, stone crab, Cuban sandwiches, Cuban coffee, grouper, conch, tuna, the aforementioned breweries and restaurants. Started from Day 1. Landed late in the afternoon. After little research, found our parking for the week. Checked in. Reveled in our digs. And by dusk, headed out to begin carving through the checklist startin' with the first of three breweries visit during the week.
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| Tarpon River Brewing, Ft. Lauderdale. 3/20/2021 |
Tarpon River Brewing. Settled in a former horse barn southwest of us in the small business community of Tarpon River. Dining out front leading to a couple of garage style doors that roll up for an open air experience inside. Three bars, one in front of the brew tanks, one out back that leads to the rear barn door and parking, and a space that can be rented for private parties and tastings. Full line-up of beers.
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Tarpon River Brewing. Curbside Motorboat Hazy NE style IPA. 7.7% ABV Est. 40 IBUs. Juicy, smooth Bitter-clean finish. A- rating. |
Pub style menu. Good char grilled Burger, and loaded Shrimp Po-Boy. Beer flights plus that included Lost Tiki Zombie Cocktail Beer, Violet Heart Fruited Ale, Honey Love Imperial Cream Ale, Curbside Motorboat NE IPA, and Double Devil Imperial West Coast IPA. ABVs ranged from 5.5% to 10%. with balanced hops, grains, and malts. Good food, great beer.
Next evening, Sunday, we were in the small industrial center of Flagler Village. A shared warehouse space with the taxidermy collection of Invasive Species Brewing. Food truck parked to the side, though we didn't try 'em.
Entering the taproom, brewery tanks to the left, bar and taps to the right, small beer garden out back, mounted heads, bones, and skins everywhere.
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| Invasive Species Brewing, Ft. Lauderdale. 3/21/2021 |
Entering the taproom, brewery tanks to the left, bar and taps to the right, small beer garden out back, mounted heads, bones, and skins everywhere.
Known for their experimental beers. Brews like Bustang- a Mango-Marshmallow DIPA, Grouper Knife Fight- a double dry hopped DIPA, I-Guana Vacay- a Raspberry-Orange Sour IPA, and Splash Pad- a Rainbow Sherbet Sour. Of those, Bustang was definitely an original. All were strong runners. Their dark beers were a little weak. Chill atmosphere. The backwoods' lifestyle of the Everglades with a definite local vibe.
Next few days eatin', drinkin', body surfin', and sunnin' (covered in post part 2). Day five and the 3rd brewery in. LauderAle Brewery between Port Everglades and Ft. Lauderdale Airport in a marine industrial warehouse district. Pain in the ass to find. Of the three we visited, this was the most cavernous.
Basically hangin' out in a big rustic warehouse, with roll up industrial doors that opened into a tropical style beer garden complete with marine life murals. Butted up against a part of the Florida East Coast Railway track shrouded in palm trees and ferns. Had that Floridays feel. Rotating food trucks to complement their 30 rotating taps. Motto fit: "Difficult to find, easy to drink."
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| LauderAle Brewery, somewhere near Pt. Everglades. 3/25/2021 |
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| Conch fritters - check! |
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Of the flights we breezed through...Starburst- a fruited Sour; most refreshing at 4.3%, Black Mamba- a chocolate/coffee Stout; heaviest and tastiest at 7.3%, Rum Punch DIPA- most dangerous at 8%, Liquid Sunshine Session IPA- most average at 5.8%, and 11 Barrel Hazy IPA - juiciest at 7.1%. Sure, sure...we had a few others. But, I would say, that the beers here went down the fastest, as they didn't taste as alcohol heavy (except the stout) as I'd expect. Conch fritters from the Fresh Flavor Fusion food truck helped. If this place weren't so off the beaten path, it could have been dangerous. Throw in a band...all nighter. South Florida has 20+ breweries. We checked off three. Can't find a wave? Can definitely find a brewery! Yep. We'll be back!
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| What was nice about this view...there was more to come! |
