Wow the beer-lovers in your group with six of Orlando’s tastiest craft breweries close to our convention district, including Crooked Can Brewing Company (pictured).
Updated March 12, 2021
If your meeting or event attendees love craft beer, they’re going to love Orlando! Craft and micro brewhouses all over town are serving everything from ales to stouts to lagers and more — not to mention incredible food — creating memorable locations for offsite get-togethers and one-of-a-kind events. Read on to learn about six of our best craft breweries, all of which are within easy driving distance of the Orange County Convention Center.
Of course, if your group’s up for a road trip, you can always hitch a ride with Hop On! Central Florida Brew Tours, offering five distinct, four-hour tours of multiple local breweries aboard comfortable, air-conditioned buses. Private tours are available, too. Bottoms up!
Top Orlando Breweries Closest to the Convention District
Park Pizza & Brewing Co.
Few things go together better than beer and pizza! Park Pizza & Brewing Co. serves up the best of both worlds in a modern, welcoming space in Orlando’s Lake Nona neighborhood, about 30 minutes southeast of downtown Orlando and 15 minutes south of Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Most of the beers available in their taproom are brewed onsite with a state-of-the-art system, including lagers, ambers, wits, Imperial stouts and others. If your attendees aren’t sure which to go with, they can opt for a beer flight with 5-oz. samplings of four different concoctions. They all pair perfectly with the housemade pizza, which in turn is complemented by appetizers, salads and desserts, as well as a dedicated kids’ menu.
Park Pizza also caters to groups and private events with indoor and outdoor semi-private spaces. What’s more, they’ll tailor their offerings to meet your needs, including custom menus for groups of 30 to 200 guests.
Crooked Can Brewing Company
Anchoring Plant St. Market in historic Winter Garden, about 30 minutes from the Orange County Convention Center, Crooked Can Brewing Company crafts housemade stouts, lagers, IPAs, hefeweizens and kölsches, all monitored by award-winning brewmasters using traditional methods. Beers are available by the glass, in cans or even kegs. And on Sundays, they offer nominally priced brewery tours by reservation, with a new tour starting every hour from 12-4 p.m.
Plant St. Market has much more in store for your attendees. The indoor, artisanal market offers a diverse array of farm-fresh food and local, handmade products, plus live entertainment and special events. Best of all, your group can enjoy any food bought on premises with Crooked Can’s beers in the expansive tasting room and pet-friendly patio.
Crooked Can also has ample event space. Options include the indoor market for up to 50 guests, a barrel room for up to 150, an outdoor patio for as many as 600, or even full venue buyouts for upwards of 1,500 attendees.
Top Orlando Breweries Close to Downtown Orlando
Ten10 Brewing Co.
A brewery and tasting room in the Mills 50 district just north of downtown Orlando, Ten10 Brewing Co. uses pure, clean ingredients and a brewing system that exemplifies the same. Their beers are also made with local elements, such as fruit and coffee, which are fermented and aged in wine barrels from the nearby Quantum Leap Winery.
Covering a range of styles, including IPAs, lagers, red ales, white stouts, witbier, hard seltzers and more, their house brews are complemented by select beers from other Florida breweries, as well as vintages from Quantum Leap. They also offer growler sales and refills and select drafts, plus crowlers (i.e. canned growlers). As to food, they have a robust menu of sandwiches and snacks, with all rolls and breads provided by Orlando’s own Olde Hearth Bread Company.
Ten10 Brewing is available for private events, too. Selling points include an open floorplan, private bar and restrooms, and authentic brewery touches such as fermenters, bourbon barrels, kegs, grain bags and more.
Orlando Brewing
Florida’s original organic microbrewery can be found in downtown Orlando’s SoDo district. Although they don’t offer private meeting services, they do host a wealth of fun events perfect for groups, including live music, bingo, cooking classes and more. Starting at 6 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, excluding the 30th of each month and special occasions, they also offer free tours on a first-come, first-served basis. They don’t accept tour reservations, so the best bet for large groups is to show up well ahead of the start time!
When it’s time to brew, Orlando Brewing adheres to the German Purity Law of 1516, aka the Reinheitsgebot, which means they brew with only four primary ingredients: water, hops, yeast and malted barley, eschewing adjuncts and additives. Available in bottles, growers (including 64-oz., gallon and micro options), and kegs, as well as by the glass, their brews include ales, porters, lagers, pilsners, IPAs and more.
Sideward Brewing Co.
Although it’s inside a renovated, 100-year-old warehouse, Sideward Brewing Co. is one of Orlando’s newest breweries — and quickly becoming one of the most popular. They have more than 20 beers on tap, including lagers, ales, IPAs, hard ciders, stouts, wheat beers and others, all of which can be enjoyed by the glass in the taproom. Several can also be taken back to your hotel courtesy of crowlers and four-packs of 16-oz. beers.
The family-owned operation also has a full kitchen serving gourmet takes on classic pub fare. Sideward doesn’t yet offer private events, but between the taproom and the venue’s large, covered patio, there’s plenty of space for even larger groups. You’ll find them in Orlando’s Milk District, minutes east of downtown’s core.
The Bear & Peacock Brewery
Consisting of a brewery and taproom, The Bear & Peacock is half of one of the Orlando area’s most unique businesses, The Brewstillery. A fully functioning liquor distillery, brewery, package store and taproom, the facility is shared by the Winter Park Distilling Company, which makes a wide range of craft spirits. They’re located in the latter’s namesake city, just 15 minutes north of downtown Orlando.
Besides enjoying the constantly rotating lineup of beers and housemade spirits, including whiskey, vodka, rum and more, your group can take advantage of The Brewstillery’s tours. Lasting 35-40 minutes, the paid tours are available throughout the week with reservations and include complimentary tastings for guests ages 21 and up. Private event services are also available.
Ready to learn about other unique locations for offsite meetings and after-hours fun in Orlando? Submit your RFP and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates from Cvent’s No. 1 meetings destination in the U.S.