Beer Tripping - Jacksonville, Florida

We Snobs travel to events and destinations across the country and further abroad in the pursuit of our favorite tasty beverage.  While Tampa gets most of the press for craft brewing in Florida, we have heard whispers about Jacksonville's burgeoning beer market, so we though we would take the trip to see if the rumors were true.  We were pleasantly surprised and had a great weekend of boozing and suggest that you try Freakville as well, here are a few recommendations for you to try.

Favorite Pub - Goozlepipe and Guttyworks

Kickback's Gastropub has been open in the hipster area known as 5 Points/Riverside on King Street since 2005.  The gastropub was well known for a dandy beer selection and really decent food... and equally famous for dead slow service.  They recently expanded into the space next door which is about 6 times the size of the original pub and christened it Goozlepipe and Guttyworks.

 Goozlepipe and Guttyworks is a really cool space with a semi-steampunk feel with 3 levels of entertainment are featuring a mezzanine overlooking the pub, the main room, and a basement (purported to have a large assortment of Belgian beers) as well as a covered outdoor space for those who love to sweat. As verified snobs, our primary goal was to witness and enjoy the Belgian basement, said to have over 100,000 bottles of Belgian liquid gold ... and IT WAS FRIGGING CLOSED, for a 'private event' (Brew Bus can kiss my hairy ass). I must say, that even though we were disappointed to be denied the basement, the main dining room was cool enough to keep us entertained for several hours with their 190+ beers on tap and Gramatic playing on Pandora.  Though we did not try anything from their extensive food menu, the offerings looked quite tempting, however, the regulars that were chatting with said their service, though not as slow as before, is still not stellar.  We will happily visit this pub again ... and the basement had better be open.
http://www.kickbacksgastropub.com/goozlepipe---guttyworks.html
910/914 King St.
Jacksonville, FL 32204









Favorite Brewery - Pinglehead Brewing/Brewers Pizza Brewpub

An exuberant fan convinced us to make the drive to Orange Park to try out this brewpub.  And ain't this an odd little place. A tiny hole in the wall pizza joint called Brewers Pizza and what the hell?  A brewery in the back?  No shit? 

Banana Pancakes (9.5% ABV) breast .... yeasty .... sweet .... yep, banana pancakes.  I feel as if though I could drink lots of this one, but at 9.5% the reality is that at 9.5%, 2 glasses would put me on the floor.

Badass BD's Dark Belgian Ale (9.0% ABV) these guys sure do like sweet beers, but damn fine. Do you like Belgian Quads?  Try this one. Dark fruits and molasses .. Smoooooooth.

Ambitious Monk Belgian Triple (8.5% ABV) again, a superb beer. This gem is a yeasty treat with a bit more sweetness that you would normally find in a triple, but not overpoweringly so. I would probably compare more to more to a Duvel than to a Belgian triple.

Redemption Brown Ale (6.9% ABV) this is a fine example of a brown. Malty and slightly dry, but a bit thin, with a coffee background ... an easy drinker.

The beers were a bit sweeter than we typicall prefer, but the flavors were quite refined, good stuff.  There was a steady parade of patrons lining up to take their pizza to go who praised their food, though we were to stuffed to try any.

http://www.brewerspizza.com/home/
14B Blanding Blvd.
Orange Park, Florida 32073

Favorite Restaurant - Blind Rabbit:  A Burger and Whiskey Bar

This hipster joint can be found directly across the street from Goozlepipe and Guttyworks and while you would thing we would go for a joint with great beers, we sometimes have other cravings.  Yeah, of course we are self described beer snobs, but we are whiskey whores as well.  No, no, don't worry, they had a pretty damn fine beer list as well, but honestly, were weren't there for the booze, we needed sustenance.  This place also had a great vibe, a kind of a relaxed sophistication that you rarely find, and with very good service. The gang jumped all over the whiskey, then immediately face first into the menu filled with southern style delights and burgers (http://theblindrabbitwhiskeybar.com/menu/).  Once the food arrived the conversation ceased as we were busily occupied with stuffing our faces.  Delightful entrees all around and zero complaints
with the Southern Burger and Shrimp & Grits garnishing the most accolades. Dandy whiskey joint.

http://theblindrabbitwhiskeybar.com/
901 King Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32204