A bit of history for context.

Before Prohibition, small local breweries and pubs were viable businesses all across America. This is where locals came to enjoy beer and talk about local problems and issues, or maybe  come to unwind and just to feel a part of the community; It was home away from home. Then Prohibition hit on December 18, 1917 and by 1920, after ratification by the states, nation-wide prohibition was enforced and for the next 13 years, no one could legally produce or consume any alcohol. When prohibition was repealed 13 years later only the largest breweries survived, and for nearly 50 years, all we knew in America were one dimensional beers. Beer was more or less consumed as a means to an end, rather than enjoyed.

How we got here.

In 1979 home brewing became legalized by the federal government and in most states, you could brew beer at home legally. This sparked the passion for brewing at the local level once again, giving birth to local home grown breweries popping up all over the country. Americans began to circle back to their roots, to local establishments and local beer. Chubby Mermaid Brewing Company aims to be no different in this aspect. We are born from the homebrewing community and we enter our local community beer scene with an extreme passion for the craft.

What we do.

Our Mission at Chubby Mermaid Brewing Co. is to provide a safe and comfortable environment to our local community in South West Florida (SWFL) while producing locally crafted beers backed by science and passion. Our goal is to bring new beers and new concepts to crafting beer while still being able to color outside the lines from time to time. We will research and produce new or hybrid styles as well as older, or classic styles of beer, backed by historical examples. We will introduce our small batch series to our patrons in hopes of honest feedback, as we value your opinion and want to craft beers that are exciting and balanced. Once we have enough positive feedback on a particular small batch we will scale it up to our main brewhouse system for a larger reach in our community.

Food.

We would like to see you hang around a bit longer at your local brewery, so we will offer a limited menu during normal lunch and dinner business hours. We plan to have a mix of classic bar food options as well as flatbreads, soup(s) of the day and occasionally one-day-only specials. Look for our lunch specials which will be offered on weekdays for those who want a quick lunch and possibly a half pour of your favorite beer. We also will allow food trucks to frequent our establishment (landlord permitting), more options are always better.

Gluten Free Options.

For those of you who suffer with Celiac Disease, we empathize, we also have family who struggle with this issue and they love beer but have fewer options or worse none at all. Of course we will offer wines and seltzers, however we are doing extensive research and development for true gluten free options that closely mimic regular beer. Our gluten free beverage goal is not to simply use gluten reductase in our beers and label it “gluten reduced” we want to provide a true Gluten Free option. We will also utilize strict adherence to true gluten free beer options through certified sources as well as utilizing certified gluten free grains and adjuncts including the yeast used in fermentation. Our gluten free beers will be offered on our small batch series, until there becomes enough demand to produce a gluten free beer on a larger scale.

Giving something back.

Being a SWFL brewery we are also not immune to some of the local issues that most residents of SWFL can agree on, and that is the plight of the Manatees and their ever over crowded environment. With that being said, our brewery will donate annually 1% of our total onsite beer tap sales to the Save The Manatee Club, which is a non profit club that helps rescue and protect the local Florida Manatees .

Patronage at our Bonita Spring Taproom will help contribute to these gentle creatures survival. We would encourage you to also donate directly to their foundation so please click the image below to be redirected to “Save The Manatee Club’s donation landing page”.