BRADENTON, Fla. — One of Bradenton's first craft breweries is tucked away off 9th Street in an old car dealership. Motorworks, a fitting name, is 27,000 square feet.
It's also home to Florida's largest beer garden, sitting right underneath a beautiful, old oak tree.
But aside from aesthetics, Motorworks Brewing is really known for its beer.
"Well, you know, we do it all: lagers and ales," head brewer Bob Haa said. "But our biggest seller is a grapefruit IPA. It's probably 50% of our sales, you know, in-house and out in the market. It's a really good beer."
Haa is the mastermind behind a lot of the creations here. But he also said the process requires collaboration.
"I do write the recipes, and in that case, we had an idea of what we wanted to do," Haa said. "We didn't see any grapefruit IPAs in the market at the time that we put this together. Now, of course, there are plenty of them. But for us, we wanted to put something out there that people in the bar would really enjoy."
Despite the success of the Pulp Friction, Haa said it's actually not his favorite thing to brew.
"I like brewing darker beers. The smell is intoxicating," he said. "I like porters and stouts. You know, it's hot here. So it's kind of not always the thing to brew in Florida. But this time of year, it's starting to cool down."
Expect to find large crowds here on weekends, after games and events at Lecom Field.
On the third Sunday of the month, bring the furry friends to a Yappy Hour.
