Orlando: Look what the mouse dragged in …

Orlando. It’s not exactly known as a beer mecca. In fact, it’s one of the most challenging places to find a bar or restaurant with good beer.

I met up with Mr. Wilson in Orlando recently to see guitar wunderkind Joe Bonamassa at the Hard Rock Live.

Before the show, on a tip, we ventured to the tap house at Orlando Brewing (www.orlandobrewing.com). If you venture there by taxi, be sure to print out a copy of the map from the Orlando Brewing web site. While it is close to downtown (a little south of downtown proper, a few miles north of Universal Studios), the brewery itself is in an industrial area, so it is not exactly a popular tourist destination.

But for the beer lover who happens to find him or herself in Orlando, it is a godsend.

The house beers aren’t particularly special … although I do give 3-1/2 stars to the Old Pelican EPA which is a nice full bodied pale ale. The rest of the line up is fine session quality, and better than what you’ll find in most other Orlando bars … but the guest taps are the real highlight here. I enjoyed a couple of beers from La Chouffe, a Chimay Cinq Cents, a Laguinitas IPA, and wished that I had the time to explore some of the other taps. But alas, we were on to the Hard Rock Live where the best they had to offer was Michelob Amber Bock …

As I know that fate will lead me back to Orlando again, I know that I’ll be finding my way back to Orlando Brewing Company again and again …