Tune in as the blondes recap their visit to historic downtown Sanford, Florida, a hidden gem of bars and breweries located just northeast of downtown Orlando. At the time of this recording, there are over 20 boozy destinations within a few walkable blocks. This episode covers fifteen of them, so settle in with your favorite libation, and take notes – there is a lot to see (hear) here!
Speaking of favorite libations, the DOE is Kiss my Lemongrass a wheat ale collaboration of female brewers in the greater Orlando area from Bowigens Beer Company, Hourglass Brewing, Dees Brothers Brewery, Deviant Wolfe Brewing, and also our friend Ashley who gifted us this beer (listen to our interview with her in Episode 029 | Behind the Booze: Interview with Ashley, the Florida Hop Mama) and her friend Heather, the Malty Maiden. This beer was brewed at Hourglass Brewing in Longwood, Florida.
The first stop on the boozy tour was Dees Brothers Brewery. Dees Brothers believe there’s a beer our there for everyone, and they brew them. Molly had a flight with Radler, a 4% lager, Centennial Blonde, a 4.5% blonde ale, Beans & Brew, a 5.2% English ale with coffee and vanilla, and Cotswold Ale, a Dees Brothers core beer, an English Amber Ale at 4.2%. Chrissy had the Wild Tonic Hard Kombucha, raspberry and goji rose flavor at 5.6%.
This was a great place to start because they have a full kitchen and offer vegan cheese, so the blondes split a grilled cheese and mac and cheese. The food is fantastic here!
After Dees Brother, the girls headed towards Suffering Bastard inside of Tuffy’s Bottle Shop & Lounge, but got distracted by Loggerhead Distillery which they passed on the route. John, who was working, welcomed the group in and they sampled all Loggerhead has to offer – vodka, gin, moonshine, rum, bourbon, etc, etc. Chrissy’s favorite was the Apple Pie Moonshine and Molly’s favorite was the Key Lime gin, bottles of both of which left the distillery with the girls.
After tasting all that Loggerhead had to offer, it was time to eat again, and thankfully, Suffering Bastard offers food along with its amazing selection of craft cocktails. The blondes had a reservation here because this speakeasy is small and very popular. Chrissy ordered the State Puff Painkiller (this drink had been on her radar for years!) and Molly ordered the beginner level Mai Tai (beginner level was not by choice). These drinks were accompanied by the potstickers, pork sliders and dragon fruit sliders.
The pub crawl continued from here. Next stop was The Sullivan Public House, a great Irish gastropub with live music and snug where the group got to sit. Molly drank a Guinness and Chrissy had Jameson and ginger.
Moving on towards home, there was one more stop on the tour – the Wild Wild West End Honky-Tonk Saloon. Unfortunately the night gets a little fuzzy here for the blondes – they put a lot of drinking time in up to this point! This bar is a Sanford live music pillar and it recently added a courtyard, which had a food truck parked here, so Chrissy ordered chips and guac while Molly ordered shots.
This concluded night one in Sanford, and day two was just as busy/boozy! The girls met up with Florida Hop Mama, Ashley at Celery City Craft. Armed with Brew-Hoos (Yoohoo, Irish whiskey and espresso vodka) and a flight, the blondes chatted with fellow blonde boozer Ashley outside in the beautiful courtyard. Celery City offers over 50 beers on tap and has a full bar. Sushi & Seoul provides the food on site, and though the girls didn’t eat here, the plates look delicious!
While the blondes were at Celery City, their husbands enjoyed some time across the street at The Station. This sports bar has a firehouse theme and even an Air B&B upstairs! If your favorite team is playing while in town, this is where you want to catch the game.
For lunch, the blondes made reservations for the The Old Jailhouse. Formerly a jail, the building still has the original prison cell block door and prisoner ledger! The craft cocktails were delicious – Chrissy had a rum and ginger and Molly had the fall specialty drink, Witches Trial – gin, lime juice, Cardamaro, Cherry Heering, Peychaud’s Bitters, House Serrano Chile & Fennel Seed Syrup.
After lunch the girls headed home for a break before the evening stops which started at Deviant Wolfe Brewing. Four friends started this brewery who was to promote balance in an active lifestyle, community involvement, accepting environmental responsibility and socializing with friends and family all while enjoying craft beer. The girls split a flight and really enjoyed the Sourmanjaro. It’s a 5.1% kettle soured blonde ale conditioned on African coffee beans – such a unique flavor! They also loved the Besitos de Coco, a 5.9% toasted coconut and vanilla bean brown ale.
From here, the girls made a pit stop at Henry’s Depot Food Hall & Cocktail Bar. They were looking for espressos, but the coffee shop was closed. This is a great place for a group with different culinary preferences because everyone can order from different restaurants, but sit together either inside or outside.
After checking out Henry’s, they made their way to Tuffy’s – host to Suffering Bastard where they went the night before. Tuffy’s is huge, and to the girls’ delight, they had espresso martinis on tap (Chrissy) and Lavender Tom Collins on tap (Molly)! The girls were in heaven! Tuffy’s offers a fall bar, fire pits, live music, creative seating (an airstream, pontoon boat, etc) and plenty of games like bocce and cornhole.
To end the night, the girls visited Hollerbach’s Willow Tree, a long-standing Sanford staple. What started in 2001 with 7 employees has expanded to add a rooftop beer garden with 70 employees! Hollerbach’s offers an authentic German experience with German bands, German food and German boot-drinking challenges! Here they ate dinner and enjoyed old fashioneds (Chrissy) and mules (Molly). Next time the girls will attempt the das boot challenge!
Molly left town the next morning, but Chrissy kept the boozy tour going! She started with the Food Truck Wars taking place that morning and moved to Community Brew House. If you are a home brewer, this is the place for you – from supplies to classes, you can get all you need to take your brew game to the next level. This brewery offers small, artisan batches to foster new ingredients and new ideas. Chrissy enjoyed a pumpkin sour here. While they don’t have a kitchen, you can bring outside food here.
From here was Wops Hops, Sanford’s first micro-brewery. Chrissy enjoyed a flight here to include Cloudy Jen (named after her beertender!), a 6.8 New England Hazy IPA, Pope’s Poison, 5.9% spiced/herbed beer, Cyn City, a 4.4% strawberry kiwi sour and Moles & Assets, a 4.5% nitro stout with molasses.
The grand finale on this Sanford Trip was the city’s namesake, Sanford Brewing Company. In the heart of historic downtown Sanford, this brewery has over 100 seats offering craft beer, meads, ciders and specialty sodas. Chrissy had the Resting Beri Face Sour and loved it – until it made her sick later because it contains lactose, which she didn’t know when she ordered it. The brewery has a kitchen and live music.
Lushes, if you enjoy great drinks, creative brews and delicious food, make Sanford a must-visit destination on your list. The girls insist, this town will not disappoint their fellow booze travelers. Cheers!
Boozy Blondes 