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Tour Stop 30 - Backyard Barn Winery and Microbrewery - 8/3/2017
Backyard Barn Brewing Company, 1945 East Country Road 462, Wildwood, FL. 34785 phone: 352-418-7887
website: BackyardBarnWinery.com Experience before you go............
"Yes, I know we're crazy, but if it wasn't for good friends and a family wedding, Florida in August would not be my first choice." But besides the sweating profusely and trashing out our clothes our trip to Florida in August could not have been more fun!!
The fun started when we upgraded our rental car. Those famous words from my wife Kat, "Go ahead, live a little." And you know what Kat? You're right! We're retired, let the fun begin and it's time to start living. Now when you're renting a car the salesperson or the behind the counter person is just the required first step......kind of a means to an end. This is the person you negotiate with to get the best deal....."That upgrade will be $124 additional.......could you do it for $62.50?" Now once you agree on a price you move to the Gate Keeper or who I call the King of Keys. Now this is where the rubber meets the road. "Now I was told I'd get either a new Audi or a new Lincoln, well we're out of those but how about a slightly used Cadillac?" Well slightly used is a matter of opinion and once that Caddy was front and center it was a full sized DTS that shouted out that you had to be at least 75 years old to even think about turning the key. By this time 6-8 new customers were somewhat in line behind me, all wondering where their Cadillac was. King of Keys was getting a little frazzled. I kind of felt bad for the guy but we still didn't have a car until I heard those sweet words......"How about that BMW 430i over there"? Kat and I both looked at each other and said in prefect harmony....."Sounds good." It took us a minute to load the luggage because of a rather small trunk but we got'er done and before you knew it we were motoring down the road. Okay, now here's the fun part. Thirty minutes into the ride, Kat says as she looking at the owners manual, "This is a hard top convertible!" What, Who Where......Wow, coolest car ever!! Beside zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds, you can actually go topless at a stop light in less than 20 seconds by pushing one button. I think I want to own one of these.
Next stop, The Villages! Now for those of you that haven't heard of The Villages. Think of 140,000 mostly retired folks living in a planned retirement community in north central Florida, with over 30 golf courses, any planned activity you can imagine, live danceable music every night accompanied by a happy hour and the main mode of transportation is a golf cart with cocktail in hand. Got to love us Baby Boomers!!
So we're visiting our friends Scotty and Jan who just recently retired, built their dream home down in The Villages and moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They greeted us with open arms and what a beautiful place! I know, I know, is there a brewery tour somewhere is this mix? Well as a matter of fact there is.......Backyard Barn Winery & Microbrewery the home of the Big Ass Beer!
Now this brewery is literally located in a barn like building in the backyard of owners Melissa and her husband. Down home country is the feel and cold craft beer and wine is what's on the menu. After the front sign selfie gathered around an old pick up truck we headed for the door. One thing I notice right away was they were growing their own hops. This is something you don't see all the time, actually it's the first time I've ever seen it. Right there all in a row was a bunch of hop plants each growing up their own 15 to 20 foot string. Come to find out from Melissa that they were the first brewery in Florida to grow and use their own hops to make their craft beer. Melissa, way to hop to it and get'er done. Now once we were in we headed right for the bar. We were greeted of course by Melissa, then Baxter the dog needed a scratch and Phil the cat needed to be petted. All good, time for some beer. Scotty, Jan and Kat all tried the Big Ass Blonde Ale and I put in my order for the Big Ass Flight. Starting with the Blonde, then to the Hefeweizen - (6%), followed by the Rye IPA and finishing up with the Oatmeal Stout - nitro (4.5%). We all enjoyed our brews and our talk with Melissa. Open for 2 years, have outdoor sitting and live music on the weekends and you could tell Melissa enjoys where she was.
Florida was hot, the beer was cold and the hospitality was very warm!!
Until next time and remember.........
Go get'cha one!!
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