If you are a craft beer drinker, it can be hard to keep up as it seems like new locations are popping up quicker than ever. Because Orlando has such a robust tourism industry, we feel as if many of the breweries see this as a great location to set up shop even though Orlando is not known for a fresh, clean, natural water supply coveted by so many breweries. With craft brewing becoming as much of a destination as it is a drinking experience for beer lovers of all kinds, we wanted to shift our focus to one of the more successful, at least in our opinion, breweries to come out of Orlando in some time.
Located in the rear of the Plant Street Market is a local Orlando Brewery built inside of a local community market in historic Winter Garden, Florida. Plant Street Market is known as a local indoor artisan market and has all different shopping, eating and drinking available. If you are not familiar with Plant Street, it runs through the middle of downtown Winter Garden and has local shops and dining opportunities for all tastes. Plant Street also has wonderful scenery and has that cool small town vibe. The Plant Street Market itself has been called the Coolest Block in Winter Garden by visitflorida.com.
The anchor of the Plant Street Market for us and many others has to be the Crooked Can Brewery located at 426 W Plant Street, Winter Garden FL 34787. The Crooked Can Brewery has a great story, which consists of the founder Andrew Sheeter, back in 2014, wanting to open a brewery of his own after he and his friends hit up some breweries during a Colorado ski trip. Today, the Crooked Can has the Winter Garden location and one in Hillard, Ohio. Honestly, we have never visited the Ohio location, but they have a lot to live up to based on the Florida location we frequent often.
One of the reasons we are most excited about at The Crooked Can Brewery is the high quality microbrews and craft beers they turn out of this small location. They have three beers that are considered the core brand offerings. The High Stepper which features a thin version of the Monopoly man, hat in hand, high stepping on the can, 7% ABV and is a great representation of the American IPA. On the lager front you will find the Florida Sunshine, it is 5% ABV and has a nice bitter hoppy finish. The last option is the Cloud Chaser, a 5.3% ABV in a Hefeweizen which is the wheat beer offering. All three are excellent pours, and should anchor any beer flight you order.
They will typically also offer four small batch core beers of which our favorite is the McStagger, an Imperial IPA at 9% ABV! The Domestic Bliss was the strongest offering at 9.5% when we visited in a Belgian Golden Ale.
We also found they have four seasonal offerings, which currently, we really want to try the Burgermeister which is the brewery’s Oktoberfest beer. The Cherry Cheeks is a sour red ale with a 4% ABV. For the locals, you will notice a collaboration with Axum coffee in a 6% ABV coffee-chocolate stout.
The best way to enjoy these beers is in a flight format until you find one you really like. This has nothing to do with the fact that they serve the mini pours in an airplane holder, although it is a fun way to enjoy them!
On the website it does indicate that brewery tours are available but we did not see any taking place. If you are interested in a tour, give a call ahead to check the status.The Crooked Can has outdoor seating and a barrel tasting room available on site, however, they do not serve any food under their name. The Plant Street Market Food Scene is serviced by other individual entities that are very capable of filling your stomachs.
Our verdict is even after all of the time in business, the Crooked Can is still a must stop in the Orlando area. They have a great atmosphere and even better beers. If you decide to visit and catch a buzz with your cuz, make sure you plan your transportation in advance.
Please comment below and tell us about your Orlando craft brewery of choice and hit the up arrow!
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