Food and Drink
Experience the food and dining experiences in Pensacola. Explore our guide to the best restaurants, cafes, and culinary events to curate your unforgettable dining experience.
Cheers! Pensacola Breweries Tap into a Thriving Beer Culture
Our little coastal berg serves up a bevy of brews. You’ve heard of our lovely beaches and beautiful sights. But what about brew? Oh, yes, we have a bevy of them, with over 10 microbreweries in the Pensacola Bay Area — 11 if you count McGuire’s, the granddaddy of them all being the oldest in Florida (born in 1988). But since then, Pensacola Bay Brewery fermented its first brew in 2010, and now even bottles its beer for sale in local and regional retail and locales. Today, a keg-load of brewhouses are sprinkled throughout the Pensacola Bay Area, each with its own unique community flavors.
From the west side to the east side, grab yourself a designated driver, your well-behaved and leashed fur baby and take a tour of our microbreweries. Each microbrewery has its own unique atmosphere — seeing the hops drop is just a small part of the experience. The breweries also collaborate on brews, bottle and can their brew, and coordinate their festivals to keep the flavor rolling throughout our growing brewhouse culture.
WESTSIDE BREWS
Gary's Brewery and Biergarten
A common theme among our breweries is each has its own personality and some activities tailored to those they serve. Gary’s offers a strolling 2.5 acres with fire pits and community tables. The sprawling compound feels like a big yard party — a cool hangout that oh, by the way, brews some great beer!
The microbrewery and taproom offers 18 taps with beer and ciders brewed on in-house and from around the world.
Gary’s recently took food trucks and food pairings to a new level with a beer pairing with partner food trucks, and they created a collaboration beer they brewed with many local favorite watering holes.
Downtown Brews
Emerald Republic Brewery
Located at the Western-edge of Downtown Pensacola, Emerald Republic provides a welcome indoor-outdoor setting and often will hold special events and mini-festivals. Phillip Zayas, a certified cicerone, founded Emerald Republic to enhance the craft beer culture in Pensacola.
Live music and art serve as the backdrop for a culture targeting the fine art of craft brewing.
Inspired by the industrial past of the neighborhood, Emerald Republic’s minimalistic design features exposed trusses and open space — while still having a warm, inviting ambiance with cozy patio furniture and friendly leashed mutts relaxing with their humans.
Emerald Republic flexes the versatile flavors produced in its mash tun, from thick Imperial Stouts and zippy, hazy IPAs to crisp Hellas, sours and ciders — there are wine specials and a cocktail menu as well.
Perfect Plain Brewing Co.
Steeped in the history of Pensacola, Perfect Plain opened in the heart of downtown in 2017.
Way back in 1821, Mrs. Rachel Jackson joined then Florida Governor and future U.S. President Andrew Jackson to the area to accept the territory from Spain. She wrote that Pensacola was “the Perfect Plain.” I’ll drink a brew to that! But which one?
Brews rotate frequently at the 10-barrel brewhouse, so there’s always a fresh brew to sample. Inside, long communal tables make strangers friends, with a massive projector screen that shows the big games. Around here, that’s college football and The Saints, but our Women’s World Cup triumph was a festival.
Cocktails too! Located behind Perfect Plain, Garden & Grain includes a city garden bar, a large outdoor seating area with active garden, and The Grainhouse, a private event house in a carefully restored warehouse.
Perfect Plain offers a Crowler service. A self-serve dispenses and seals your favorite brew in an aluminum Crowler.
McGuire’s Irish Pub
McGuire's Irish Pub stands proudly as the original brewery and taproom in the Pensacola area, a true cornerstone of the local craft beer scene.
Pensacola Bay Brewery
Pensacola Bay Brewery launched its microbrewery craze when they opened next to the popular festival site at Seville Square. Perched between Old Seville Square and Bartram Park in downtown Pensacola, Pensacola Bay Brewery lets festival-goers escape the plastic cup beer tent world for seasonal and favorite local brews.
Doc’s Hop Shop
Cold Beer. Cool People. Cute dogs.
The mantra of Doc’s Hop Shop says it all. Doc’s offers a casual deck with picnic tables, and game center with ping pong and corn hole in the brewhouse where the beer is made.
Inside the taproom, the west wall windows overlook the beer vats. It’s like watching Michelangelo painting the chapel.
Brews include Gulf Coast Blonde, Blood Orange Sunset Ale, Tropical Cyclone Sour and the Shark Bite IPA.
The 5 Barrel Brewery & Taproom
Located across from the Saenger Theatre in downtown Pensacola, The 5 Barrel Brewery gives a nod to the Pensacola’s rich history of underground bootleggers while serving up fresh in-house and guest brews. Old Pensacola memorabilia lines the walls, and seating is in custom fire-branded wood chairs.
The Core Beers include the Shillelagh Irish Red and the heart-stopping 4G High Gravity IPA — a mind-melting 18% ABV, thanks to its Super High Gravity Ale Yeast. Calm down, it’s only a 5-ounce pour.
Bar fare includes giant pretzel and beer cheese or gourmet meat and cheese charcuterie board.
Odd Colony Brewing Co.
Odd Colony Brewing Company is a farmhouse inspired brewery with a heavy focus on seasonality. Art and brews flow with our seasons.
The historic building housing Odd Colony was built in 1930 and was an eclectic list of businesses including a grocery shop, a remote control car racetrack and a print shop (not Dunder Mifflin). Today, brewing beer makes better use of this space.
Recent brews include the Marien-style lager, Oddtoberfest, Moonlit Prophecy — a wild ale with second-use peaches, and Shelter from the Storm — a Hazy IPA infused with local Scuppernong Juice.
200 South Tap House
A vibrant and popular establishment located along Palafox Street in Downtown Pensacola, 200 South is known for its diverse and innovative selection of craft beers and an inviting atmosphere.
EAST PENSACOLA BREWS
ALGA Beer Co.
The founders of ALGA got their start as home brewers in Alabama and Georgia and they set their roots here in the iconic East Hill neighborhood near downtown Pensacola.
Their theme “Preciate Y’all” describes the welcoming atmosphere and the serious obsession with their brews.
The brew menu is rotated with the seasons and festivals, but their core brews include the East Hillsner, a crisp, delicate and balanced brew; the Neighborhood Beer, a honey saison; and the Lo-Fi, a hazy IPA charged by Citra and Mosaic hops.
Out back, the open and covered patio is anchored by Brown Bagger food — featuring Wagyu burgers and fried Brussel sprouts.
North Pensacola Brews
Goat Lips Chew & Brewhouse
Situated in North Pensacola, Goat Lips Chew & Brewhouse is your ideal destination for craft beer, live music, delicious food, and a welcoming atmosphere. Whether rain or shine, you can enjoy your experience with both indoor and outdoor seating options.
Having been a beloved part of the Pensacola community for nearly two decades, Goat Lips initiated the "Redneck Riviera Brewing Project" to craft and share their delectable beer offerings. Their diverse selection ranges from a robust red IPA to a flavorful Spiced Amber and a classic English Brown ale.
Coastal County Brewing
Coastal County Brewing off Olive Rd. is a community brewery for family, friends and dogs.
The brewery features more than two acres of space, a large, beautiful patio and beer garden for music and entertainment, a fenced-in dog park, and plenty of outdoor games for both humans and dogs, including disc golf!
Brews include the Hazy Decisions IPA —which combines Citra, Belma and Azacca hops to give it a tropical citrus kick. Also try Boudreaux’s Brown — a full-flavored American Brown Ale with notes of sweet caramel, coffee and toasted malt. Coastal offers full-service casual eats as well, with sandwiches such as the CCBC Cuban — and a kids’ menu.
A Little Madness Brewing Company
Pizza pairs with beer like beer pairs with pizza.
Located near the University of West Florida campus, A Little Madness Brewery fires up their own array of hand-tossed 13-inch specialty pizzas oven along with their brews. it’s the only solar-powered brewery in Pensacola, and the brewmasters pride themselves in sustainable practices.
A bevy of special brews to go with the season. Seasonal beers are offered in season, not from last year's fruits.
Looking to do a guided pub crawl tour? Be sure to check out Pensacola Pub Crawls.
So, move over Munich! There’s a thriving craft beer culture here you don’t want to miss. Now’s your chance to tap into a bevy of breweries that serve up the unique flavors in the Pensacola Bay Area!
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Local Brews
When you’re on a boat, enjoying the sunshine and clear blue waters, just about any beer is good beer – as long as it's cold.
Downtown Dining
From food trucks, pub fare, and down-home casual eateries to white-tablecloth establishments, downtown is the heart – and palate – of Pensacola.
