Perfect Pours: An Overview Of The Craft Beer Scene On Florida’s Paradise Coast

“You can go golfing, fishing, dining, and shopping on Florida’s Paradise Coast — and now you can go craft-beer hopping,” says a smiling Scott Alexander, co-owner of Riptide Brewing Company. He’s sipping an Old Naples Blonde Ale in his microbrewery’s cozy tasting room, just a few short blocks from 5th Avenue South, Naples’ main dining and shopping thoroughfare.

Florida’s Paradise Coast offers several high-quality craft breweries, including Riptide, which opened in 2015, and Bone Hook Brewing Company, which poured its first pints the following year in North Naples. The most recent entry to the scene is Ankrolab Brewing Company, which opened in 2019 and is located in East Naples just three miles from downtown. Out near the beach, Marco Island Brewery sits in a shopping center on the northern part of the Island. It opened in 2017.

Collectively, these breweries make for some fun and tasty beer-hopping. Spacious and casual, they’ve become local social hubs and great finds for visitors seeking an experience a bit different from the area’s more upscale diversions.

Nothing signals a destination’s youth movement like a craft beer scene. But these breweries are not exclusive to younger generations – it’s more come-one-come-all. “We get a lot of locals, of course, and they mix with vacationers,” Alexander explains. “I love it when I see a table of 60-somethings next to a table of 25-year-olds, and they mix throughout the evening.”

A bit of history:  It used to be that visitors to Florida’s Paradise Coast pretty much had to make do with Budweiser, Stella Artois, Heineken and other mass-market brands, or exotic imports at upscale restaurants.

Riptide got things rolling. It came online after Scott Alexander and two of his home-brewer friends decided to move their invitation-only man cave (with 24 taps) to a commercial space. It’s located in a shopping center less than a mile north of Old Naples. Look for the four surfboards standing vertically on the sidewalk out front. From the tasting room you can see the large chrome tanks of the brewing area, a sure sign of authenticity.

There are four core brews on tap, including the lovely Grumpy Blonde Ale and Seafoam Haze IPA. Riptide usually has 10 or so seasonal beers that rotate and include new creations. The place also has a spacious back patio with a blanket of twinkly lights above. Riptide is among a legion of bars and restaurants with outdoor seating on Florida’s Paradise Coast. The brewery’s drink menu also includes ciders, hard seltzers and wine.

Bone Hook, located in Creekside Plaza, is a shade more refined than Riptide. The large space is outfitted primarily with blonde woods. Two garage doors face the front and can be opened when the weather’s just right.

In 2017, Bone Hook partnered with Phelan Family Brands to become a full-service restaurant, with a full bar and a menu that offers elevated pub food. The brewery pours a dozen of its core beers — including the Grateful Head American lager and Wicked Seas IPA — along with a rotating array of seasonal taps.

Ankrolab occupies a stand-alone building. Inside you’ll find spacious wooden tables, with a garage door that opens to an expansive patio with a covering made of slatted wood. At night the structure is draped in lights.

Ankrolab’s vast beer menu is broken into categories — Light, Hoppy, Malty, Sour, Cider — with such offerings as Bayshore Blonde, Zesty Besty and Paddy O’Furniture.

(A quick note about that last name: part of the microbrew culture is to give beers wacky names rife with puns.)

Ankrolab is big on events, which include group runs, yoga, bingo and sip-and-paint.

Marco Island Brewery has become a mainstay on the Island’s fertile dining scene, and is routinely hailed as its best sports bar. A full-service restaurant with a full bar, it has a generous menu of pub-style offerings with an emphasis on local seafood, as well as lots of pizzas and flatbreads. Among the 40 beers on tap are a handful of its own that are brewed off-site. You can sip and eat indoors or on the covered patio.

The Paradise Coast’s micro-brew establishments share a culture of easy-going fun, adventurous libations — and inclusiveness. “One of our mottos is ‘come as you are,’” Scott says, “whether you’re in a suit from work or in a bathing suit from the beach.”

A tip to perhaps save you a trip: While you may find entries online for Naples Beach Brewery, please note that it has permanently closed.