Nestled inside a set of three, small, white home-like buildings sits the Hourglass Brewery and Tap Room. You’ll find this unique, local brewery in Longwood, Florida neighboring the historic district. Really, there is no place like it in the area. Here you can enjoy a wide variety of beer brewed on-site. The Hourglass sells their beer in bottles or you can sample and enjoy their beers, and a few other local brews, in the Tap Room.
Finding The Hourglass Brewery is fairly easy, however, finding the actual Tap Room can take a little exploring. The Hourglass Brewery sits along Longwood’s County Road 427 (aka Ronald Reagan Blvd), near 434. We parked at the first entrance we saw, and maybe if we had known to turn onto E. Maine and park in the second parking lot along the side of the buildings, we would have found the Tap Room with more ease. Instead we walked up to little house #1,…. massage parlor. Little house #2 had an “Open” sign, but was marked “Hourglass Staff Only”. Where to go then? Surely it wasn’t the third little house hidden in the shadows… to our surprise it was. The Hourglass guys kindly peeked their heads out of the brewery and directed us to the Tap Room. Suddenly,our visit took on a speakeasy feeling.
The Tap Room is an intimate room with an L shaped bar. Urban murals filled the walls enhanced with accents of bright paint, glowing from the black lights along the ceiling. About 10 or 12 beers are served on draft, 3 of which were “guest brews” (beers from other local breweries). You can order up a pint or have some fun sampling the beers at $1 per sample (each sample is just over an ounce). We had lots of fun sampling nearly each of the beers including “Doc Brown”, “Merkhat Mocha”, “Tempus Perfectum”, and “Pendulum”. Pints range from $3 – $6 (basically the higher the ABV the higher the price).
I prefered the light Autumn taste of “Tempus Perfectum” while husband, much in the spirit of Marty McFly, became a fan of “Doc Brown”. The Tap Room is low-key and a great place to relax and socialize. We visited on a weeknight, fairly early, so it wasn’t too busy. But the friendly Hourglass guys explained that they have been very busy on the weekends, having to set up outdoor serving areas.
Tours of the actual brewery are offered everyday at 6pm. We will definitely be back to check out the tour and of course enjoy some locally brewed beer. Although it is out of the way from the attractions area, the Hourglass Brewery certainly would present a unique, adventurous opportunity for Orlando visitors. For locals, it is a must. Just make sure you eat beforehand or pay a visit to their neighbor the Oasis Cuban Cafe, no food is served at The Hourglass Tap Room. Don’t expect a state-of-the-art, trendy environment. Instead you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a small business, made up of local guys who are passionate about craft beer. The Hourglass Brewery is the perfect way to taste and savor thisfloridalife.
Related articles
- Searching for Saturday Night in Lake Mary (thisfloridalife.com)
- Sanford Saturday Night (thisfloridalife.com)
- Max & Meme Cafe: Longwood, FL (thisfloridalife.com)
thisfloridalife.com 
This sounds great! It (with the brewery) is definitely on my list to visit next time I am in central Florida. Do they really serve no food at all? Not even snacks?
Bags of chips. Their main purpose, really their only purpose is brewing beer. Maybe if business stays strong they will expand… not sure though. It is a fairly small place.
Ah. I hope they stay strong! There is a lot to say for pairing beer and good food (or at least snacks–you can drink more that way!).
Amen to that 🙂
I love the idea of the $1 samples! When I visit breweries, it’s hard to try all the ones that sound good. After three or four, my taste buds lose some of their effectiveness and my wallet is empty! 🙂
I like beer and I like Florida.
Me too 🙂
I went last night and the beer was very tasty. If you are in central FL, I highly recommend taking the time to come in and enjoy the brew that is offered. The tour was great and the guys at hour glass have created an awesome place.
We were there last night as well, we had to go back. Husband really likes how friendly the guys are and I love how unique it is. And I love trying the new beers as they rotate.
Was just there last Friday. Didn’t realize you were so close where I’m located. Pretty weird linking with random internet people who are so close in real life!
Isn’t that the truth 🙂