Architecture is essential and Aardwolf Brewing reminds me of what you might find in Seattle, bbt…read moreguess what? Yeah, it's in Jacksonville. I was thinking the outside looks like they made it with Lego, but Lego from an artisan. From what I understand, it was the ice packing plant for the city, converted into a tile shop, converted into a brewery. Really love the end product. I especially love that they have Belgians on tap in Florida, where Belgians are few and far between. The Belgians here, including the hefeweizen were made with love. Before I forget, shouts out to Jeff for answering all my eclectic questions, and being a genuinely all around professional. Love your energy bro, low key and inviting, an authentically good person. The BEER: Weizen Wolf hefeweizen 6% ABV... this is the hefe I remember from Germany, banana and clove goodness BPA Belgian Pale Ale 5.5% ABV... like a party in my mouth, perfectly balanced and so very crushable Hostile Wit-Ness Belgian Wit 4 5% ABV... not what I expected, it has floral notes, is light like jasmine tea with a kiss instead of a bite at the end. And once it gets warmer it opens into something wonderful. St Anthony's Fire Rye Barleywine 10.8% ABV... slightly boozy, a semi sweet, with a delicious finish. This one is one and done. A full pour of this will send you home in an Uber. Southbank Hazy IPA 6.5% ABV... not a basic hazy, some citrus and when it warms up it is so very wonderful I didn't spend much time at Aardworf Brewing Company, but the time I spent was fantastic. The brewer here, Michael, knows how to present a diverse palet of beers right, which says everything you need to know if you want to visit. So very impressed!

Tried and true, Aardwolf is still my favorite brewery in Jax. Went yesterday with a dozen friends-…read morewe were lucky enough to snag a high top table and all sit together. Beers were delicious as always, and staff is always friendly. Stocked up on my fav Weizenwolf - the perfect hefeweissen IMO. So happy!

We went to Bold City Brewery last night to meet up with a group of friends and hear the free live…read moremusic from a band called Sirsy! Big thanks for Bold City for sponsoring such great quality music! That lead singer was sassy and fun and so real and just - wow - what a voice! Bold City has a dozen large round high top tables and chairs, as well as wall-side rails with stools and a couple low tables, plus seating at the bar and inside the "inner restaurant feel" space. They have a separate and enclosed kitchen where they cook up a selection of easy eating food. Beer selections, wine, a seltzer and a cider are written up on giant blackboards in bright chalk, telling you alcohol content % of each. The bartenders were fast and polite, relatable, and quick with clean up around the venue of all your old empty glasses. Nothing stacked up and they kept the place spotlessly clean. The whole thing has a background of the giant beer "stills"? I don't know what they're called - tall silver things for fermenting the beer. If you didn't know they make the famous Duke's Brown Ale and they sell beer all over in Jacksonville bars.

Great atmosphere and burger basket. The service is good and attentive…read more Bingo games and beer all day!

One of the few longstanding breweries left in Jax, highly recommend. Great beer, great food &…read moreservice. Ask for Jeff, dude knows his stuff.

Decent brewery close to the beach and other breweries. I had the "hazy" IPA. I put that in quotes…read morecause there wasn't anything hazy about it. Drinkable but not something I would order again. Service was great! Attentive and knowledgeable about the beer. The space inside was also something I could easily hang out at for hours. Wish the beer matched the vibes...

String Sports Brewery is, at first glance, a brewery. But spend a few minutes inside and you'll…read morerealize it's also a quiet tribute to basketball culture, local loyalty, and unexpectedly onion ring excellence. I arrived unaware of its history, but the owner's love for basketball is unmistakable, and the locals reflect that same devotion... not just to the sport, but to the space itself. There's an ease here, a sense that people aren't just passing through. I took a seat at the bar, did what one does in such environments, and ordered an IPA. It was solid... confident, balanced, exactly what you'd hope for. But then came the onion rings, which I ordered based on a subtle but unmistakable social cue: everyone else seemed to be eating them. Reader, they were correct. These were not mere onion rings. These were structurally sound, texturally precise, and philosophically complete. Large, fully cooked onions, no trace of that unpleasant raw bite, encased in a crisp, golden coating that somehow maintained its integrity from first bite to last. Crunchy, consistent, and deeply satisfying. Naturally, I paired them with blue cheese dressing because I'm from upstate New York, and that is not a preference, it is doctrine.

Went to watch the jags game today and the experience today was much improved from my last visit!…read more I had a Bullet Bob IPA that was pretty good! Would totally have it again. I arrived a little bit later than the rest of my group and they had already ordered several apps for the table. I did not come hungry this trip, so I just munched on the boiled peanuts. They were spectacular. The service was wonderful! The employees were all very engaged with the customers. And what a great place to watch the game! An abundance of TVs and what's better than hanging out with fellow jags fans?! Plenty of seating, indoor and outdoor options. And just a fun place to be. I'm officially a fan now and will for sure check this out on a more regular basis. No pics because I was too busy being blown away by the Jags performance today! Duuuuuvallllll

Amazing Bourbon Barrel stouts, delish pizzas, especially the fig prosciutto! Prices are very…read morereasonable too. Cool vibe inside too. The only issue with this place is the bartenders are a little surly and seem perpetually have bit of a chip on their shoulders -- diminishes the overall experience a bit -- ownership, fix this and it's 5 star all the way. That said, we keep coming back because great bourbon barrel stouts, good pizza and prices.

Stumbled across this brewery/pizzeria while wandering the beaches area for a new to me place for a…read moredrink and snack with a view to sit in the sun. WELL, we found a great place that ticked most of those boxes, just a different view than sun and sand but that was OK! The drinks were very tasty, a mango slushy and a citrusy sour. Our "snack" was a great wood fired oven pizza called Burrata Diavola. Great vibes, great music. Fun time!!

This brewery name was associated with the Bearded Buffalo which went under and the moved the name…read moreto the Phoenix bowling alley but have never brewed anything yet. I hope the do get all their permits and license approved so the can get this up and running. I am looking forward to seeing a successful brewery there! This is a prime location that the owner just bought the adjacent Procyon the water.

***This review is from their soft opening. I will update when they are fully open.***…read more IN SUMMARY: to quote my 10-year-old, "I want to come here every day and eat these nachos and go bowling!" Our experience at the soft opening was great and we are glad to have The Phoenix/Jacksonville Brewing Company finally open! IN DETAIL: The Jacksonville Brewing Company is in the old Phoenix Lanes on Blanding, right by the Cedar River. You know the giant bowling pin on a stick right near the boat on a stick? That's the place. It was closed for about five years and sat empty for far too long even after JBC/Bearded Buffalo bought it. It now has a rusted out old truck up front to mark the driveway entrance, and nice red, lighted lettering on the building letting you know you've found THE PHOENIX. BOWLING I'm pretty sure I heard an employee say the lane wood is new, but all the machinery is pretty vintage and classic. Some hiccups are to be expected. The only problems we had in two games of bowling were that some strikes were not counted as such (we just mentally added on the points at the end, but I think they do have a strike button on the key pad) and the lanes seemed a bit uneven in places. We were just playing a friendly game so this didn't bother us. The bowling shoes are new! That was a nice experience we've never had before. They are vintage-looking, and pretty cute for bowling shoes. Interesting fact from their menu: the bar tops are made from the old bowling lanes. FOOD They were on a limited menu for the soft opening, so we ordered a 14" pizza (pepperoni), 5 buffalo wings (medium), and the BBQ nachos (pork). + The pizza was quite good. Not the best I've ever had, but definitely tasty - and by FAR the best in the Lakeshore/Cedar Hills area! Down side: they forgot our pepperoni! We just had them take off that charge. The bartender was very apologetic. + The wings were a nice size and had good flavor, but the breading was soggy. It would be nice if they'd offer non-breaded wings to keep that from happening. The wings were served with several pieces of celery and some ranch for dipping. + The BBQ nachos were really tasty. I wasn't expecting much from these but they ended up being my favorite thing. Really good flavors and a huge portion size. These could definitely a meal for one person. The food was kind of slow to come out, but I do expect that to get better as they get more in the groove. Also, many of the options they have on the menu that weren't available at the soft opening sound delicious! DRINKS We ordered a margarita on the rocks and a whiskey sour, both wells. The margarita was good; the sour was meh. Just not a lot of flavor. They do not have their beer taps setup yet, but one of the employees said they thought they would be ready by the end of this week. There were several local options setup as well as others. They had cans too. This is going to be a brewery eventually. We asked one of the employees and she said that's supposed to happen by/in December 2018. We're really looking forward to that! You can see them getting it ready to the right of the bowling alley. AMBIENCE/SETTING Really cool and fun decor. It has a cool/hipster/vintage/dive bar feel. I know that sounds weird, but it's really all those things. There are old road signs and old telephones and old beer cans and skeletons riding cycles and that rusted out old truck outside - and a taxidermied buffalo. Inside. It's eclectic and I like it. They are going to be adding a whiskey bar and a karaoke bar to the current beer/cocktails bar and "outdoor" bar area - which is actually indoors but with big garage doors that they can bring up to take the walls away. This area is really nice but may get pretty smoky sometimes. (It is sealed off from the rest of the place, though the rest of the place does smell like cigarettes until you get used to it, likely thanks to the decades being a dive bowling alley. I hate the smell of cigarettes, but this wasn't awful.) There are also tables and high top tables with stools inside and out. In addition to all the above, there are some vintage arcade games and darts. SERVICE Everyone we talked to was super friendly and helpful, and I think we probably talked to at least five employees. The bartender had a little trouble entering our order, but I'm pretty sure that's just because it's all new in there right now. I don't expect to have that problem in the future. SUMMARY I think we're going to become regulars here, especially once they open the brewery portion and the whiskey bar. The food was good enough that we would come just to eat and drink; the bowling is just a bonus. I think Jacksonville Brewing Company/The Phoenix is a great addition to the Westside, and to Jacksonville as a whole!

We always run out to Grey Matter Distillery in Mayport to check out their themes, so of course we…read moremade a plan to stop in for Pink Matter. I think this might be one of their more under rated themes. If not this, then their retro them for certain. It's almost hard for me to write about their cocktails nowadays because they're always so good. I went ahead and attached a LOT of photos to this review of cocktails from the past several themes they've done as well. I just love the fact that they always have real craft cocktails, not just a minor twist on something that they're charging more for. It's worth noting that they always offer Mocktails and THC infused drinks for the non alcohol drinkers. We didn't try as many things as we usually do but we REALLY liked what we did get a chance to try. Off the top of my head, I'd say the Cabana Boy was my personal favorite. That's the whiskey sour that comes as a pairing in the Twin Palms special. My wife liked everything enough that she didn't have a favorite. If you haven't been to Grey Matter Distillery; go check out this theme because it's a good one. Then make sure to keep on eye on them because I'm guessing their Retro Theme will be coming back next and I'm always excited for that one too. A version of this review originally appeared in the Jacksonville Fun, Eats & Drinks Facebook group.

Grey Matter is the place to spend the evening sipping on a few cocktails and enjoying the scenery…read morebecause the Grey Matter team invest a lot of time in making the environment embody the theme of the month. They currently are set up as a time capsule for the millennial with everything decked out in 90's nostalgia. The menu is a composition book with cocktail names Be-Kind-Rewind. The bar looks like something made by Lisa Frank and one room has a reproduction of a teens bedroom complete with mad libs, giga pets, and Brittney spears posters. Go back in time and take advantage of their trivia nights and music trivia as you get a buzz.

Went up to see Rickolus play on Mother's Day and was very pleasantly surprised by the craft brewery…read moreand their options. They had a BBQ food truck, came to the tables and took orders. Did not expect that level of service. It was a very cool venue with inside bar, courtyard and covered area that had games and sofa. Very cool place and glad we found it!