Review
Shipyard brings its brew plus more to Winter Park
Kelly Fitzpatrick BARS & CLUBS
February 24, 2011
I was beginning to think I would never find a bar that didn't have a dancer's pole in this town again.
Then I visited the new Shipyard Emporium in Winter Park. There's no dancer's pole, but it has pretty much everything else — a demo kitchen with beer and wine dinners, a mug club at its bar, a deli, full-service open kitchen, a bakery and a market. It certainly is an emporium.
Located at the former Strollo's Cucino Due space on Fairbanks Avenue (right before you hit Park Avenue), the brewpub is spacious and has a New England vibe with its large windows, whitewashed walls and wooden beams, ceiling and bar top. It makes sense because the brewery is based in Portland, Maine. Inside and outside seating is available — or you can sit at the bar with room for 14 people.
I first stopped by during last month's grand opening. There were so many people — Shipyard's assistant general manager Mike Smith says there were around 2,000 — that I really didn't get a chance to check out the place. But Shipyard's new "Live Maine Mondays" seemed like a perfect reason to visit again.
It was.
Every Monday from 5-10 p.m., Shipyard Emporium offers a whole Maine lobster, new potatoes and corn for $18.95 and pints of Shipyard brew for $3 a pop. The house beers are usually $5 a pint, so it's a nice discount. I've seen Shipyard for slightly cheaper at other bars around town, but this is Winter Park so I'll throw them a bone. And the lobster, usually out of my price range, is one insane, messy and delicious deal.
But I'm not a food critic, so back to the beer.
There are 11 Shipyard Brewing Company varieties on draft (along with their root beer) and a limited bottle selection. My friends and I tried the Shipyard Wheat Ale, the Shipyard IPA and the Shipyard XXXX IPA (Pugsley's Signature Series) and all were refreshing with just the right bite on the IPAs and crispness in the Wheat.
But by far and away the winning beer at the table was Orlando brewer Ron Raike's featured brown ale. Because Shipyard Emporium is also a nano-brewery, the brown ale was brewed on-site in a 28-gallon brewing system. The ale had nutty notes and hints of coffee and was better than most of the other brown ales I've tried elsewhere.
Raike experiments with recipes and flavors, which results in beers you can't find anywhere else. These exclusive selections, which include that delicious brown ale, are $6 a glass, well worth the money.
The Emporium also hosts a Mug Club. For $50 you get a mug for a year and four extra ounces on each purchase. It also includes discounts on food, special happy-hour prices for members, a free T-shirt and a free meal on your birthday.
Six packs of Shipyard bottled beer are also available for purchase to go, as well as other national microbrews including Cigar City Brewing, Holy Mackerel and Left Hand Brewing.
And even though there is a rather large patio seating area wrapping around the outside of the Emporium, smokers beware. There is no smoking allowed inside or outside on the premises. Some folks in my party ended up walking to the parking lot next-door to light up. Inconvenient and I'm sure annoying to the neighbors (cigarette butts on the ground), but it is what it is.
Smith turned me (and many in this town) onto Shipyard when he was with Florida Micro Beverage doing its marketing and promotions. He plans on continuing those events in his new position. The Shipyard Beer Bomb Bus, Bike (and upcoming Boat and Balloon) Tours will continue along with beer dinners and more (see the sidebar about upcoming events). The Emporium will be the home base for all of Smith's fun ways of pushing Shipyard.
If the Emporium is as successful as those events have been in Orlando, it will be a Winter Park fixture for years to come — and I'll be eating whole lobsters a lot more, too.
See for yourself
Shipyard Emporium
Where: 200 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park, Florida
When: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
Smoking: No
Call: 321-274-4045.
Online: shipyardemporium.com or facebook.com/ShipyardWinterPark.
