Brew Life Brewing - 5765 S Beneva Rd, Sarasota, FL 34233 - (941) 952-3831
website: BrewLifeBrewing.com/
Hours: MON - 2-10PM | TUES & WED - CLOSED | THURS & FRI - 2-10PM | SAT - 12-10PM | SUN - 12-8PM

Experience before you go . . .

Brew Life in Sarasota was the third tour stop during our swing down south to get away from wind chill factors. They claim to be Sarasota's smallest brewery, and I found that may be true in size, but they came up big in character! Our occasional tour guest Wendell and his lovely bride Shirley joined Lynda and I on a beautiful Saturday and we snapped one of Clyde's not-yet-patented front sign selfies and in we went. Maybe it's pending.

The brewery had four main themes going. First, the beer was front and center and for a small brewery, they had some big flavors in their beer. I had the Back In My Day IPA, a very drinkable IPA with a smooth bold taste. It was a West Coast style IPA with Simcoe, Cascade and Centennial Hops (7.6% abv). Lynda had the Steve Enkel Belgian Single (3.6% abv), Wendell had the Sesh Porter, a low abv version of their traditional Porter (3.9% abv), and Shirley had a Prosecco because . . . well, just because. Being stuck on IPAs, my second was a Huck It! IPA (7.0% abv). This ale was made with Citra hops, and also with Vic Secret hops - "a newcomer to the hop scene with the same Australian roots as her sister Topaz". For the brewery's apparent small brewing capacity, they had a great selection of beers to choose from. I saw 16 different tastes to pick from. So many beers, so little time.

Another main theme was art! They had two local artists displaying their works throughout the brewery. One artist specialized in works made of small pieces of wood. His works included famous people like Mohammed Ali, Jerry Garcia, Prince, and Salvadore Dali. I should have taken a close up of the intricate work in each piece. It had such detail that you had see up close to really appreciate. The other artist had a more traditional style with beautiful nature and impressionist pieces. His displayed works also included his own image. The large oil selfie of a blond dude with sunglasses. All the works were very impressive and reasonably priced. Let us know if you'd like to be put in touch with either artist in case you also have a brewery that needs great art on its walls. We encourage people to support local breweries and local artists too. I've heard it said that art is life. Well, Brew Life's motto is "Beer is Life" so they've got life figured out from a couple of angles.

The third theme was old-time arcade games. And they had my all-time favorite, Galaga! I could have gone pro on playing just that one game when I was a kid. Okay, way back then there was no such thing as going pro playing video games. But I would have been champ. Brew Life has ten games for your enjoyment. Along with arcade games, they also had a pool table and a very cool model car race track. Like a soap box derby race track. Gravity powered, it was waxed, shiny, and fast! First to the checkered flag wins and gets to drink a beer! *The winning beer is kind of a buy one, get one scenario - the one you buy is the one you get. And the fourth theme was their music! They had such great music playing during our entire visit. End of the Line, Can't You See, Sex and Candy, Life in the Fast lane, Addicted to Love, Ballroom Blitz, Money, I couldn't write them all down but I enjoyed every one.

Mick greeted us behind the bar. He is one of the founders, having started the brewery April 1, 2017. This is not the first brewery we have toured that started on an April 1 btw. Is that chance or maybe some kind attitude? The bartender was Mike and I asked if he was in on the ownership and he said, "Nope, just pouring the beers". Mick took me back to where the magic happens. "45 gallons of goodness at a time" was how Mick described it. He said that they don't brew Lagers because they only have one temperature. Mick is a man large in personality and smiles, and everybody treated him like he was their best friend. Thanks for your hospitality, Mick! And no, I didn't touch the barrels, even though I really wanted to.

Our next Sarasota vist will again include Mick and Brew Life. It was one of my favorite stops and in fact everyone should stop by - just not at the same time. In fact, would someone please try the Bee Life and let me know how it is? The beer equivalent of a mead, it's a "honey wine with a good amount of sweetness, aged in Gin Barrels with Egyptian Hibiscus and Mexican Vanilla". Our Saturday at the beach was calling and we didn't have the time for an all-afternoon stop (rats).

Sarasota breweries - we were at the oldest and now the smallest brewery in Sarasota. Go visit Brew Life, it's bound to have a large impact on you!