Best Beer in WDW

[cdtommie]

Disney is a beer wasteland for sure...this beer advocate member would say Unibroue at Cellier and Brown Derby is the best choice. To bad Kona has made a deal with the AB devil so they are off my list.

If you have a car I recommend stocking up at ABC or even better Knightly Spirits (or Whole Foods) - the liquor store is always our first stop from the airport.

 

[Pugmalion1]

There's really a dearth of good beer choices at Disney, unless the Food & Wine Fest is going on. At least then they have a couple of vendors that specifically serve beer, in addition to all of the individual countries' offerings.

Outside of that, the two best places for beer, in my opinion, are Big River and the Rose and Crown Pub. The former offers a rotating selection of good to adequate small batch brews and the latter serves Boddingtons from the tap, which is heavenly and exceedingly hard to find in the US for some reason (from the tap that is; it's pretty easy to find in cans).

The lounges at the resorts all serve a fairly standard menu, the best of which is the 60 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head Brewery, although you might find a different, resort-specific selection here and there.

 

[Leota]

Disney is a beer wasteland for sure...this beer advocate member would say Unibroue at Cellier and Brown Derby is the best choice. To bad Kona has made a deal with the AB devil so they are off my list.

If you have a car I recommend stocking up at ABC or even better Knightly Spirits (or Whole Foods) - the liquor store is always our first stop from the airport.

Which one has the best brew selection & is easiest to hit en route to the DTD area? (We're at the Wyndham this trip) And if you know the street name so I can I get an address to put in the GPS.... Thanks!

At home, I usually only drink wine or beer with dinner. Sometimes a cocktail when we're out. But on vacation, a nice cold whatever by the pool in the afternoon is called for.

 

[cdtommie]

Which one has the best brew selection & is easiest to hit en route to the DTD area? (We're at the Wyndham this trip) And if you know the street name so I can I get an address to put in the GPS.... Thanks!

At home, I usually only drink wine or beer with dinner. Sometimes a cocktail when we're out. But on vacation, a nice cold whatever by the pool in the afternoon is called for.

For the closest to DTD we usually stop at the ABC on 535 right in front of the Winn Dixie. I suggest checking the dates/codes on bottles or stick with high volume stuff like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale because I've gotten some stale stock there in the past (Stone IPA and Rogue Dead Guy were really off). If there isn't a clear date on the bottle a lot of brewers are using a four digit code these days (like 0364 which would mean bottled on day 364 of 2010...I'll be the crazy guy there inspecting bottles when we arrive next month).

Knightly Spirits which is close to Universal has the best selection I've seen in the Orlando area.

 

[Leota]

Thanks cdtommie. I think Knightly Spirits sounds like the way to go. I'm not so keen on the bad stock thing.

 

[Kelblum]

I am not a beer drinker, but DH is and on our last trip he really enjoyed La Rosa at Via Napoli.

 

[pj_in_florida]

I spend a lot of time drinking around the world at epcot since I live a few hours away and have an AP. As mentioned, Le Cellier has the good Unibroue brews. Had a Trois Pistoles with lunch the other day. Gotta eat at the restaurant in order to enjoy, although we're going to put this to the test coming soon

I'm rather unimpressed with England's brews... Yeah, the have the staples, but no good bitter!

France has 1664, which is okay, nothing special. Don't know if they have anything else in the restaurants. I typically drink the wine and or champagne in France

Morocco... Didn't dig on their beer OR their wine.

Italy - usually get wine and/or limoncello. I'm sure you can find a peroni around there somewhere.

Germany, as mentioned, they lost some of their other brews, but you can't go wrong there.

Japan / China? Is it me, or do most Asian beers taste similar. Nothing special - keeps the buzz alive. Usually get the sake in Japan.

Norway - beer is okay, I usually get one of the liquor coffees for a lil pick me up

Mexico - typical Mexican beers, but I go for the Tequila - Don Julio 1942 if I'm feeling frisky

Fulton's in Downtown Disney had some good beers. Loved the coconut porter!

The bar at POFQ had some abita brews on tap - actually, I saw Abita at a lot of the bars

Staying at the BWV in a couple months, I'll put some of those places to the test.

 

[nilseks]

My husband is a 'beer snob' and a top-notch homebrewer. I'll just say he knows his stuff, and leave it at that lol. He would definitely agree that WDW is a beer wasteland. Even during F&W he wasn't thrilled with the selection. He's spoiled by the fact that we live 2 miles from one of the best beer selections in WI. Anyway, he would probably tell you that Fin du Monde @ Le Cellier is the best bet. He likes going there for the beer as much as the steak lol. He's not a fan of Big River. Says the beers and not stellar and I can tell you from experience, the service is NOT GREAT, nor is the food. Which probably explains why the place is always dead.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Another thing to keep in mind is the halves @ both Rose and Crown and Ragland Road. Some newbies can be totally tounge tied when they have a Guiness but might really love a black and tan (half Bass and half Guiness). I myself prefer the lighter half and half (half Harp). Takes about two to numb the day, third one gets the taste buds snappin!

 

[cdtommie]

We were at F&W for 10 days last year and I must have hit the Beers of the World booth every day for the La Fin du Monde bottles.

Big River makes really boring beers...the Rocket Red is the best of the bunch to me. I wish they would make a "big" beer once in a while.

I've been getting double Tanqueray and tonics at R&K the past few trips since the beer selection is so bad.

 

[Brocktoon]

Anyone ever try Portobello's ??

I have been scanning some restaurant info in planning for my upcoming Oct trip. I found that Portobello's opened a "MEATBALL BAR" last summer. It looks like a walk-in bar area where you can get gourmet meatball sliders and they have some of the Orlando Brewing beers on tap. One of the beers I've heard they have is an ESA/ESB.

Anybody ever try the Meatball Bar before? I've never tried the Orlando Brewing stuff, but I love the idea while in DTD of stopping by for a meatball sandwich and even a semi half decent attempt at an English ESA!

 

[4orm]

My husband is a 'beer snob' and a top-notch homebrewer. I'll just say he knows his stuff, and leave it at that lol. He would definitely agree that WDW is a beer wasteland. Even during F&W he wasn't thrilled with the selection. He's spoiled by the fact that we live 2 miles from one of the best beer selections in WI. Anyway, he would probably tell you that Fin du Monde @ Le Cellier is the best bet. He likes going there for the beer as much as the steak lol. He's not a fan of Big River. Says the beers and not stellar and I can tell you from experience, the service is NOT GREAT, nor is the food. Which probably explains why the place is always dead.

Are we married to the same man? lol

We stop at Whole Foods as soon as we step off the plane. The beers are better and the prices are cheaper than if he was to buy swill in the parks. There are a few places that have a small selection he'd drink (Crew's Cup lounge is getting better recently). We also do a pick up on our way back to the airport since Ontario's government run liquor stores also have a slim selection.

 

[Wadecool]

Anyone ever try Portobello's ??

I have been scanning some restaurant info in planning for my upcoming Oct trip. I found that Portobello's opened a "MEATBALL BAR" last summer. It looks like a walk-in bar area where you can get gourmet meatball sliders and they have some of the Orlando Brewing beers on tap. One of the beers I've heard they have is an ESA/ESB.

Anybody ever try the Meatball Bar before? I've never tried the Orlando Brewing stuff, but I love the idea while in DTD of stopping by for a meatball sandwich and even a semi half decent attempt at an English ESA!

Ala carte meatballs and beer? I have to try that! That could be the greatest beer/food combo I've ever heard of.

 

[Dancind]

DH was just like the beer snob husbands on our first trip to WDW. He won a bunch of awards home brewing. Then he got seriously into scuba diving, quit brewing, and lost 30 pounds without changing his eating at all. It was all beer.

So now we drink mostly wine, but I have to say he was excited about the beer booths at the last F&W, and thought they had some good beers. I do think the signature restaurants are branching out a bit, too, as a result.

For something different, maybe head over to Universal. Hogsmeade has Strongbow dry cider on tap. I quite enjoyed that.

 

[Keith Ward]

Being from the UK (Newcastle,home of Newcastle Brown Ale) I tend to like dark beers.I once stayed at POR and had a few Amber Bock (If the spelling is correct) and enjoyed it.Now sure where it is brewed ?

 

[Wadecool]

Being from the UK (Newcastle,home of Newcastle Brown Ale) I tend to like dark beers.I once stayed at POR and had a few Amber Bock (If the spelling is correct) and enjoyed it.Now sure where it is brewed ?

Amber Bock is brewed by Michelob. It is pretty tasty for a mass produced beer. I like it best on draft.

 

[PEPE THE PRAWN]

Kronenbourg 1664 in France is what Im drinking

 

[Leota]

Anyone ever try Portobello's ??

I have been scanning some restaurant info in planning for my upcoming Oct trip. I found that Portobello's opened a "MEATBALL BAR" last summer. It looks like a walk-in bar area where you can get gourmet meatball sliders and they have some of the Orlando Brewing beers on tap. One of the beers I've heard they have is an ESA/ESB.

Anybody ever try the Meatball Bar before? I've never tried the Orlando Brewing stuff, but I love the idea while in DTD of stopping by for a meatball sandwich and even a semi half decent attempt at an English ESA!

That might make DTD much more bearable......

 

[matlock42373]

Bud Light Lime from Garden Grocer and I dont pay $6 bucks a bottle. it is nice to have if you are going to enjoy a coldy at your resort. I did like the Heffeweizzen in Biergarten last time we were there. Although I need to brush up on my german since the beer I got was bigger than my youngest son. I had a sampler and one of those big ones on a hot day and I was tanked!!!! hahaha

 

[Keith Ward]

Amber Bock is brewed by Michelob. It is pretty tasty for a mass produced beer. I like it best on draft.

Yes,it was on draught at POR when I stayed there.It was a nice drink,I didn't know it was brewed by Michelob.