Welcome to part 2 of our series about the Recent Evolution of Darwin Brewing in Bradenton, Florida. With the brewery dialed in, production ramping up, and the beers tasting better than ever now was the time for Darwin Brewing to focus on the second half of their facility, and that is the taproom and beer garden.
In February of 2021, Seana Riley was brought on as Taproom Manager, a bartending service industry veteran that has brought many great ideas to get the taproom back to being a great local hangout for quality beers. Every great brewery from national and regional brands to local ones has a great taproom to complement their brewery. A place where customers can hang out and see their favorite brews being produced while getting to meet the people behind the scenes. A place that projects the culture and vibe of the brewery and the people working there. With all-new people in place, Darwin is still discovering their culture and molding their taproom to represent that.
Three new tap lines have been installed bringing the total number of lines to seventeen. Darwin is offering their staple beers such as Llama Mama Milk Stout and Summadayze IPA to limited release and specialty beers that you can only get at the taproom. They also upgraded their to go options as you can now get 12oz, 16oz, and 32oz crowlers to go along with 6 packs of their staple brands. Every Wednesday, Darwin opens the taproom at 4pm and taps a new limited release beer. This has created a buzz amongst local craft beer fans as they await to see what specialty beer will be released every week.
Darwin Brewing was started in a gastropub and has a deep history in the local culinary world. Even though Darwin does not make food at the taproom, they have teamed up with some really great local food trucks and food tents that are available on site while the taproom is open to compliment the beers they have on tap. These vendors have also started to incorporate Darwin’s beers into the food they are offering bringing Darwin back to its culinary roots.
To compliment these changes Darwin knew they had to update their presence online. A new website was launched in February 2021 and Seana has also taken over duties as Darwin’s social media guru. Keeping Darwin fans updated through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can order beer to go through their social media outlets and they look forward to you coming down and checking out the evolution for yourself and have a beer with them. They are located in downtown Bradenton across the street from LECOM Park with 17 Darwin beers on tap, a great rotation of food offerings, and more upgrades to come. Make sure to check out the brewery shop to pick up Darwin apparel, barware, and merchandise.