I just got back from my trip to Orlando, Florida Thursday night. It was not a particularly exciting trip; I was there for work, and it rained the whole time anyway. But one thing did make the trip 100% worth it — I got to visit Orlando Brewing, Florida’s certified organic, Reinheitsgebot-following brewery.

I started out by grabbing a pint of the Eagle Stout (a roasty, full-bodied oatmeal stout) before hitting up the tour. The tour was given by Gene, one of the owners and a helluva good guy.

Orlando Brewing originally started out with a 5 bbl system, but has since moved on to a 15 bbl system. They only brew 3 days a week, which I found very surprising, considering that they had 19 different beers on tap in their Tap Room!

The brewhouse has loads of equipment in there. They’ve got quite a lot of fermenters and bright tanks to support their numerous beer styles!

More recently, Orlando Brewing purchased a big ol’ 50 bbl system to supplement their smaller system. They only use the larger system when they need to play catch-up. See, they only brew enough beer to last one week so that the beer is at its freshest when it reaches the consumer. So when they need to ramp up their brewing, they utilize the 50 bbl. Otherwise, they stick to the 15 bbl for the majority of their brewing.

Like I said, Orlando Brewing is certified organic, though they weren’t always that way. They actually made the switch over to organic after they had already been in operation for some time. Gene said that when they began using only organic ingredients, the quality and flavor improvement was highly apparent. They were also able to get better brewhouse efficiency, just by using more natural, organic malts.

After the tour, it was time for me to sample some more beer! I got a flight of four — European Pilz, Olde Pelican English Pale Ale, Pompous Ass IPA, and Doble IPA. I also had a small sample of Maibock, which I think was my favorite that I had that night.

Throughout all of their styles, I think the quality of the malt flavor really makes the beer. The high-quality organic malts plus the skill of the brewers at Orlando Brewing really shines. Just look at all the medals they’ve won!

I picked up two mixed six-packs to bring home to PA with me. So now I’ve got six different beers for Tim and I to try — Blonde Ale, Pale Ale, Red Ale, Olde Pelican EPA, European Pilz, and Blackwater Porter. I’m particularly excited about the porter. I got to try a small taste in the Tap Room, and I loved the chocolate and roasted flavors. Yum!

Unfortunately for anyone living outside of the Sunshine State, Orlando Brewing only distributes within Central Florida. So next time you visit Mickey, make sure you drop by for a pint or two!