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One thing to love about JAX is many of the breweries are only a stones throw away from each other. The 3rd stop on this sunny yet cool afternoon is only 6 minutes from the 2nd stop and in an area called The Rail Yard District. Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by a feral tabby cat that wanted nothing more than to rub up against our legs on our way into the brewery. After a moment of stray animal affection, we made our way up the ramp and into the sweet smell of craft beer bliss to drink a Corbett Street cream ale and Scheiferfest Oktobrew while enjoying a pizza from the Italian food truck.

My beer is better than your beer! That’s what we said after our 1st drink of the Schwartzbier festbier and the Honey Brown Ale. Turns out, we were both right – these beers were awesome. We knew we were in for a treat when we pulled up and saw Barvarian flags flying and a german-inspired menu of beers. The tap room was quaint with paintings of boobies (yes, I said boobs) but the activity area next door was the place to be. Music, fooseball, pingpong and board games. They even have a Claw Machine witb stuffed animals and if you catch the little beer mug, you get a free beer!

There is nothing more entertaining than a tasting room full of fans on college football Saturday. We arrived just in time for the kick-off of the FSU game vs The U. Two Florida revals on TV at a Florida brewery; I’ll let your imagination take it from here. We ordered ul a Fishweir Premiun Lager helles and Mission to Marzen oktoberfest at watch the festivities unfold.

Sometimes we wonder if going to all these breweries is really worth it. After we suffered thru terrible traffic to get here, we arrive at a brewery known mostly for their sours which really isn’t our style. Fortunately, they had a couple of tasty brews that were oir style: Easy Retro lager and Blueberry Praline Milkshake sour. This laid back warehouse had a pool table, a pinball machine and ‘pop up’ burger grill from a local restauranteer.

Stop #2 puta us in a sci-fi themed brewery with lots of Star Wars memorabilia. Light sabres and helmets decorate the walls. Today must be Chatty Guys Day at the breweries because this is the 2nd tap room where regular patrons talked our ears off. We sipped on a Positive Vibes (aka Mich Ultra) and Tides Irish Res Ale and listened to everything our new-found friend had to say…

Florida or bust! Today is our first day and first stop enroute back to our winter hideaway. This fine little tasting room decorated with various flags is our style of tap room but the beer kinda fell flat. We had the Vienna Lager and Marzen that had a sour-tart flavor that was uncommon to those styles of beer. They had a menu of 20 offerings that were well rounded, simple beers and nothing exotic.

Just across the street from the last brewery, this place is less sports bar and more tap room. We ran into two other couples from the last brewery and they were a hoot. We shared stories of our travels and even had some common connections to Indiana and Florida. We also shared beers exchanging our Scoop Dog cream ale for their Weekend Pool Part belgian blonde however we didn’t give up our Cali Soca Common amber lager because it was too delicious. All in all, it was a great time at the last stop on our North Carolina mini tour before heading back to Florida.

This taproom is filled with electricity on this Saturday afternoon as Wake Forest plays North Carolina in college football. We were unaware of the fact that WF University is less than 3 miles away until we arrived here. Feeling more like a sports bar than a taproom, we were lucky to find the last two seats at the bar inside and avoid having to brave the chilly temps and wind outside on the patio. We enjoyed a Ardmore amber ale and a Hardy Bear helles lager watching the rivalry of the fans unfold in a close game to the very end.

This brewery is located in the revitalization part of downtown where they are converting the old tobacco mills into lofts and businesses. Buzzing with families, dogs and younger locals taking advantage of what soon will be fewer sunny days in sweaters, this vibrant brewery has a nicely rounded selection of nearly two dozed tasty beers. We kicked back to take in the scene with a Regal Blonde and a Vienna german lager.

Claiming their beer is “made with love & science” we strolled into this brewery with a bit of curiousity surrounding the name. Turns out, it’s about owls and not, well, whatever. Brewing eight beers in an old milling complex that was a little warmer than the last stop, we drank the MC Juicy IPA and Helles Lager while snacking on some Snyder’s Twisted Sour Cream & Onion pretzels.