Yesterday we visited Motorworks Brewing in Bradenton, Florida and generally enjoyed our time there, with a few exceptions which I'll mention later. They just opened this week and it showed.
I watched a vat being installed through this protective glass, which gave some interesting reflections.
I liked the outdoor setting better than the inside. A 100 year old oak dominates the deck area and corn toss court. Very nice! It was a bit chilly, hence not many folks outside.
Very attractive and functional. The grass is artificial and looks real good!
Meeting Jimmey and Greta Shelton was a highlight of the visit. They own and operate The Traveling Kitchen and I wish I hadn't been saving my appetite for someplace else. They were located at a gap in the fence near the corn toss venue. Their Mojo Marinated Slow Roasted Pulled Pork served with "Wah-Sum" sauce makes my mouth water just typing it! I tried hard to talk them into coming to Oskar Blues this summer to avoid the heat, enjoy the cool mountain air and savor life in the mountains. We'll see...
The bar is very pretty, as is the rest of the inside. When you visit the restrooms, however, wear blue jeans or take your own paper towels because the hand dryers don't work very well. They're the old-type hot air ones that take forever. They could use some like Lexington Avenue Brewery in Asheville, which still has the best restrooms I've ever seen anywhere.
Our server, Dee, did his best to make our visit a good one. I was very disappointed, however, when I tried to order a Motorworks Belgian Golden Strong which I'd just sampled and was told I couldn't buy one yet. Really? Yep, really. Also, the Motorworks brews were listed and described in type so small I needed a magnifying glass to read them. I don't even like IPA's, yet thoroughly enjoyed the one I sampled. It was excellent! My favorite on this day was the Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Ale. Very tasty!
The wait staff spent a lot of time pouring the 4 samples and explaining them to customers. I suggest they visit the Tasty Weasel at Oskar Blues brewery in Pisgah Forest, NC, to see how it's done. They might also want to visit Greenman Brewing, Highland Brewing, Wicked Weed and Jack of the Woods while they're in the area and take lots of notes.
Motorworks could also use some chalk boards listing the draft beers so they can quickly update them when they run out of something.
We'll probably go back but not for a while. They need to work the kinks out and brew more beer before they can be a favorite watering hole of mine.
