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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: A pour of a Ruby Beach Brewing beer in downtown Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
Not \u201cthis is the next Asheville\u201d wrong. But wrong enough that I left impressed, and more than a little annoyed at myself for not giving the city more credit.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville is massive. Not metaphorically massive. Actually massive. (And it\u2019s not massive in a way where it\u2019s about the friends we made a long the way.) It consolidated with most of Duval County decades ago and grew through a series of annexations \u2014 San Marco, for instance, was annexed in 1932 \u2014 so what you\u2019re dealing with is this enormous geographic footprint that feels more like a region than a city. I barely scratched the surface. I stayed downtown and spent most of my free time in San Marco, just south of downtown across the St. Johns River, because it was walkable and charming and manageable.<\/p>\n
Next time, I\u2019m renting a car. Public transit would have helped, but the truth is, the sprawl wins if you don\u2019t plan ahead.<\/p>\n
My first night in town? Pure class.<\/p>\n
Domino\u2019s and Miller High Life in my hotel room, courtesy of Uber Eats.<\/p>\n
The Champagne of Beers. A cardboard pizza box. A long day of conference sessions ahead. It was perfect. There is something grounding about starting a trip with a High Life. No pretension. No taplist anxiety. Just cold, fizzy competence. (I even enjoyed it in a 32-ounce can, which I haven\u2019t encountered before.)<\/p>\n
The next morning, I deployed my secret weapon.<\/p>\n
Whenever I travel somewhere new, I text my friend Chris O\u2019Leary \u2014 a world-class brewery traveler who chronicles his exploits under the Brew York moniker<\/a>. Chris does exhaustive research before he goes anywhere. He will have spreadsheets (I assume). He will have backup options. He will know which brewery moved, which one changed ownership, which one fell off.<\/p>\n Texting Chris is cheating. But it\u2019s good cheating. It compresses years of trial and error into one iMessage thread.<\/p>\n Armed with his recommendations, I headed first to Tepeyolot Cervecer\u00eda<\/a> \u2014 better known as Tepey\u2019s.<\/p>\n Photo: I still dream of these tacos from Tepey\u2019s.<\/p>\n This place alone would have made the trip worth it.<\/p>\n Tepey\u2019s sits in San Marco and feels like the kind of neighborhood spot you wish you had at home. It\u2019s warm without trying too hard. Comfortable without being sloppy. The bar staff makes you feel like a regular even if you\u2019re obviously an out-of-town beer nerd asking too many questions.<\/p>\n I ordered chorizo tacos and a Mexican dark lager.<\/p>\n The tacos were \u2014 and I don\u2019t say this lightly \u2014 probably the best chorizo tacos I\u2019ve ever had. Deep, savory spice. Perfectly cooked. Balanced by bright toppings. The kind of dish that makes you stop mid-conversation and just nod.<\/p>\n The dark lager was the perfect pairing. Clean, toasty, just enough richness without getting sweet. It didn\u2019t try to reinvent the style. It just executed it beautifully. Crisp finish. Food-friendly. Exactly what you want in Florida heat.<\/p>\n If Tepey\u2019s were in Rochester, I would be there constantly. It\u2019s that kind of place. The kind that becomes part of your routine.<\/p>\n From there, I made my way along the railroad tracks in San Marco to Aardwolf Brewing Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aardwolf opened in 2013 and operates out of a 1920s icehouse. You feel that history the second you walk in. Brick. Wood. Character. It doesn\u2019t feel manufactured; it feels earned. Like the building and the brewery grew into each other.<\/p>\n I ordered their Belgian pale ale \u2014 a GABF medal winner \u2014 because when a brewery has hardware for a classic style, you start there. It was elegant and balanced. Subtle fruit esters. Firm but not aggressive bitterness. It reminded me that Belgian-influenced beers, when done well, are some of the most satisfying beers in the world.<\/p>\n But Aardwolf isn\u2019t stuck in 2013. There were plenty of newer-school styles on the board. Hazy IPAs. Fruited sours. A broad range. I sampled across the spectrum and what stood out wasn\u2019t flash \u2014 it was competence. You could spend a long afternoon there without getting bored.<\/p>\n Next up: Myrtle Avenue Brewing<\/a>. This one opened in 2022 in the former home of Engine 15 Brewing.<\/p>\n Photo: The interior of Myrtle Avenue Brewing.<\/p>\n That afternoon was that I was served by the brewer himself, in a space that used to be a railyard depot in the Rail Yard District. There was something deeply satisfying about drinking beer in this building, one that once moved goods across the country. It added texture and added to the experience.<\/p>\n We talked shop. Ingredients. Styles. Trends. The beer was excellent across the board, but the standout for me was the black IPA. We do not see enough black IPA anymore.<\/p>\n It had that beautiful interplay of roasted malt character and assertive hop bitterness. Not ashy. Not muddy. Just sharp, piney, slightly chocolate-y depth wrapped around firm citrust-forward bitterness. It reminded me how good that style can be when someone cares about it. There\u2019s a confidence in brewing a black IPA in 2026. <\/p>\n After that, I walked back toward downtown and stopped at Bold City Brewery<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bold City is one of the originators in the Jacksonville craft scene, opening in 2008. Surviving that long matters. The downtown location is blocks from where I was staying, tucked into a quiet spot next to a much noisier bar.<\/p>\n Inside, it was unassuming in the best way. No gimmicks. No neon overload. Just beer.<\/p>\n The bartender was fantastic. Huge football fan. We talked football for a while. It was that kind of easy, unforced bar conversation that reminds you why you like sitting at bars in the first place.<\/p>\n I drank their Killer Whale Cream Ale and Duke\u2019s Cold Nose Brown Ale.<\/p>\n Killer Whale was exactly what you want from a cream ale: light-bodied, clean, just enough sweetness to round the edges. That\u2019s not a beer I expected to find in Florida.<\/p>\n Photo: Bold City Brewing\u2019s unassuming taproom in downtown Jacksonville.<\/p>\n Duke\u2019s Cold Nose \u2014 named after the owner\u2019s boxer \u2014 was a proper brown ale. Nutty. Smooth. Comforting. A throwback to the era when brown ales were a core part of craft brewery lineups, not an afterthought. (Man, do I sure miss beers like Smuttynose Old Brown Dog and Avery Ellie\u2019s Brown Ale.)<\/p>\n And here\u2019s the thing that really hit me: pints of the flagships were $4. Four dollars. That feels almost rebellious.<\/p>\n The place was quiet. Calm. A counterpoint to the louder bar next door. It felt like a local\u2019s refuge. The kind of place you pop into on a Tuesday without thinking about it.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n