Drink Local Florida Blog
New Location, Same Good Liquid
We
had a chance to visit Good Liquid Brewing Company's new Lakewood
Ranch Waterside location and got the scoop on what's yet to
come. Bradenton locals were sad to see the original Good Liquid Brewing Co. location close at the end of April, 2022. Good Liquid opened their doors at this 14th Street location in 2017, hosting many happy hours, spectacular sour birthday bashes, and other events.
But here's the good news: 1) Good Liquid opened a new location before closing the original. 2) A new brewery will takeover the space formerly occupied by Good Liquid. 3) Good Liquid has plans to open a distillery by their new location as well as a large brewing facility and taproom in North Manatee county. Read more details about all of this below.
What's Happening at the Original (14th Street) Location
For me, the most worrisome aspect of the original Good Liquid Brewing location closing was wondering what would fill that void for this specific location. It is the perfect turnkey spot for a brewery with a tap room, featuring large glass pane windows for a view of the production space and, most importantly, that front porch (pictured below, behind a flight). The front lawn is central to the whole retail plaza, with palm trees, picnic tables and giant beer pong. Also, it's fenced-in and dog-friendly.
We should all be
relieved to learn that the location will remain a brewery. This
will be a brand new brewery, not an expansion of another
established brewery like the recent expansions of Sarasota's Big
Top Brewing and Tampa's Magnanimous Brewing to Manatee county
(not that there is anything wrong with that). The icing on the
cake is that this new brewery is being started by Good Liquid
regulars and original mug club members. With that in mind, the
spirit of the original Good Liquid Brewing Co. location will
live on!The New Location: Waterside
The new Good
Liquid location is in an up-and-coming area on the southern
end of Lakewood Ranch, a new mixed residential and retail
development dubbed Waterside. The new digs here are beautiful,
overlooking a large lake with plenty of outdoor seating, corn
hole boards, a fire pit and more. There is a full liquor bar
and larger food menu than had been offered at the original
location.I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar
face at the new location. One of the regular beertenders at
the original brewery is now the General Manager at the
Waterside location. We will soon be releasing an Instagram
Reel (video) tour of this new location. For now, the first
picture on this page is the front of the new Waterside
location, and the second flight picture (above) was taken from
inside.
What's Yet to Come
Good
Liquid Brewing has major expansion plans, some near-term and
some longer-term. Further development at Waterside is in the
works, including a Good Liquid Distillery opening right next
to the new brewery location.The new distillery is expected to open by early Fall this year. Soon after, the brewery restaurant will sell single serving spirits, cocktails and mixed drinks to enjoy on premise or around Waterside during events. This provides the best of both worlds, as distillery tours, tastings and full bottle sales can take place at the distillery, while there is truly something for everybody offered at the restaurant brewery. Waterside hosts farmers markets, live music and other events, similar to the Lakewood Ranch Main Street block parties and "First Friday" events. Locals and tourists will be able to enjoy their choice of good liquids (craft beer or craft spirits) as open containers are allowed in the area for such events.
I am most excited about the longer-term plan: a large brewing facility and taproom in North Manatee county. This is more than a year down the road, as the building to host this facility has not yet broken ground. This facility will provide the larger brewing space Good Liquid needs, which is likely cost-prohibitive in Waterside. Of course there will be a taproom along side this larger brewery for north county residents to enjoy in the rapidly growing communities of North River Ranch, Parrish and Palmetto. The new Good Liquid Brewery location will be located on Moccasin Wallow Road near US 41, which is nearby and west of Corporate Ladder Brewing.
Posted: June 14, 2022
