About a year ago, we started talking about how cool it would be to create a website that served as a directory for craft beer in Orlando.  There was a time when it was almost impossible to find a nice beer here locally.  Now, there are so many places that emphasize serving great beer that we made a website about them all! 

    In addition to that, there are regularly occuring tap takeovers, rare beer tappings, beer dinners, beer festivals, beer tastings,  beer meetings, beer and food pairings, and a whole bunch of other beer related events going on in Central Florida.  We make a very serious effort to provide constantly updated information on all these beer related local events and hope that craft beer drinkers find it useful.

    We have also been overwhelmed by the number of people we meet who have a new found appreciation for beer as a beverage.  More and more folks are expanding their horizons when it comes to their beer drinking habits.   People seem to be figuring out that you don't have to be the World's Biggest Beer Geek to enjoy great beer!  We are very excited about the future of craft beer in Orlando and  look forward to sharing all the latest news about it with you!

We took a little trip up to St. Augustine earlier this week to check out the relatively new Mile Marker Brewery.  Its only been open since October of last year but we really enjoyed our visit.   The owners are a couple of cool guys, the atmosphere in the tasting room was very laid back and welcoming, and the beers were tasty!

We ordered up a 6 beer flight that consisted of a Honey Kolsch, Kolsch, Nut Brown Ale, Red Ale,
Coconut Porter, and an India Pale Ale.  We found each of the beers to be very drinkable and were most impressed with the Pecan De Leon Nut Brown Ale.  Next year is the 500 year Anniversary of De Leon's landing on the east coast of Florida and there will be a lot of fun things happening in St. Augustine to celebrate.  Pecan de Leon will be the official beer of the Anniversary celebration!

We were also impressed that the owners really seemed to pride themselves on the fact that they use fresh local ingredients in their beer.  Anyone who has passed through St. Augustine knows that honey and pecans are sold at roadside stands there.  The brewery uses that local honey in its Kolsch and the local pecans in its nut brown ale.  It's the hard to find combination of good beer, good people, and good atmosphere that make Mile Marker Brewing worth checking out next time you are in St. Augustine! 

World of Beer is giving away an eight day seven night trip to Belgium with its new "Pints to Paradise" promotion. To enter, Loyalty Club Members must ask for a "Pints to Paradise" tracking card and get your card validated each time you drink one of the eight selected beers.  The eight selected beers are  Piraat, Gulden Draak, Monk's Cafe, Wittekerke, Bavik, Framboise, Troubadour Magma, and Poperings Hommel.  Drink all eight (hopefully not in 1 visit!), turn in your card to the bartender, and your entered!

The promotion runs from  June 1st thru June 30th 2012.  The grand prize trip is an eight day, seven night beer themed group bus tour in Belgium for two people.  Stops will include Brussels, Bastogne, and Ghent.  Trip includes airfare for twp people, hotels, three meals a day, brewery tours, pub crawls, and professional tour guide services.  Sounds like a little slice of heaven!  Click here for more details.