Doug Blackburn

Special to the Democrat

Beer enthusiasts know there’s no substitute for fresh beer, that there’s nothing better than an ale that’s been poured mere yards away from where it was brewed.

In Tallahassee, a town where there were no breweries as recently as six years ago, there are now five options for a fresh beer – with more expected to be available in the coming months (Ology Brewing on Sixth Avenue just west of Monroe Street is set to be up and running by year’s end, and Tally Brewing should be next).

Tallahassee’s burgeoning craft beer scene offers something for everyone — and often there’s a special event brewing. Consider next week, for example: On Thursday, there’s a Brew District Crawl and GrassLands, located in the Garages on Gaines, will celebrate turning on its big production system. The following day on May 5, Proof in Railroad Square Art Park, is hosting a Cinco de Mayo party. Proof celebrates its third anniversary on May 20.

It took a long time for Tallahassee – and most of Florida – to catch up to America’s craft beer revolution that took off a quarter-century ago, but there’s no question that Tallahassee is making up for lost time with both quality and quantity. Join us on the following virtual tour of Tallahassee’s five craft breweries, as we explore them in alphabetical order:

Deep Brewing Co.

Located at 2524 Cathay Court, just off the Centerville Road-Capital Circle Northeast intersection, Deep opened in August 2016 and is the newest brewery in town. Owner-brewer Ryan LaPete hopes to be in 25 local bars and restaurants by 2018. Right now, though, his ales are available only in the tasting room at the brewery (open Friday afternoons and weekends). LaPete says he is already at capacity in his brewery and plans to bring in new equipment this summer to allow him to expand production. The former professional deep-sea diver has developed a theme around his previous career, with beer names such as Reef Dweller IPA.

CHECK OUT: Spear Pressure Golden Ale, Deep’s flagship beer



Fermentation Lounge

You might win a trivia contest (or start an argument) if you correctly identified Ferm as a local brewery. Make no mistake, though: this craft beer bar on All Saints Street, which was ahead of the curve when it opened in 2008, has had a brewing license since 2011. It is not quite a microbrewery – let’s call it a nanobrewery. Co-owner and brew-master Robert Clark cam be found on the patio in front of the bar brewing from time to time. He has a deft touch and is impressively creative including local products such as watermelon and Tupelo honey for one-of-a-kind ales that usually are consumed in their entirety within days of being released.

CHECK OUT: Black Lagoon Imperial Porter, a tribute to the movie filmed in part at Wakulla Springs brewed with water from the springs



GrassLands Brewing Co.

This brewery in the Garages on Gaines Street building just west of Railroad Avenue is the second youngest of the five local microbreweries. It celebrated its second anniversary in March and it is growing steadily – and smartly. Owner Gabe Grass has his well-crafted ales in close to two dozen restaurants and bars in Leon County, and is poised to begin canning his flagship beers before too long. GrassLands’ tasting room is a cozy, welcoming venue and it regularly produces one-of-a-kind ales that make it a must-visit spot for area beer lovers.

CHECK OUT: Fourth Orbit Ginger Red, a gentle red ale that is the perfect “gateway beer” for newcomers to craft beer.

More: GrassLands ramping its brewing production



Lake Tribe Brewing Co.

Two generations of the Ross family, with deep roots in Tallahassee, opened their brewery on Garber Drive (just north of west Tharpe Street) in February 2015. They struck gold, so to speak, when the Civic Center added their Red Cloud IPA to its limited tap list, giving Lake Tribe terrific exposure throughout the community. Its beers are now on tap at up to 30 venues around Tallahassee, while Lake Tribe continues to enjoy steady drop-in traffic on the weekends at its tasting room.

CHECK OUT: Old Chief Double IPA, a slow sippin’ ale with a kick

Proof Brewing Co.

Meet the big boy on the block. It’s easy to forget when you are at one of the dozens of outdoor tables at Proof’s spacious tasting setting in Railroad Square Art Park, that it began making beer in March 2012 as a modest brewpub on West Tennessee Street. Proof owner Byron Burroughs had a vision, though, and he expertly made the transition two years later to the production brewery (and tasting room) he now oversees. Proof has already gone where GrassLands and other microbreweries in Tallahassee want to go: canning its two flagship ales, Eightfive-O pale ale and Mango Wit, which are available in retail markets throughout Leon County (including Costco and Publix), and even some spots in south Georgia. Burroughs does have an enviable challenge: He’s close to maximizing his current space, and in the coming years he will need to build a second brewing operation.

CHECK OUT: LA LA Land, a full-bodied IPA that is likely to be the next Proof beer to go into cans

Doug Blackburn is a former senior writer at the Tallahassee Democrat whose beer blog, Got Beer? on tallahassee.com, started in 2006. Follow him on Twitter at @dblackburn.