Due South Brewery: A New Destination for My Florida Trips

Found a new micro brewery last night and it's in my old backyard.

Located off Gateway Boulevard at I-95 in Boynton Beach, the Due South Brewing is three or four miles from my former Florida home.

It's only a few months old, so this trip was my first opportunity to check it out.

Situated in a warehouse area just west of 95, it's a large facility. Divided into two parts -- a more traditional air-conditioned bar and a wide-open garage-like space -- cheerful bartenders and servers dispense eight to ten in-house brews.

I'm a fan of small breweries. Even the ones that are still searching for just the right recipe make me happy despite beers that might be a little disappointing. I didn't have to grit my teeth, though, to savor two pints of Roasted Cocoa Stout.

My two buddies I hooked up with there were drinking Category 4 IPA. There is also a Category 3 and a Category 5 IPA. Cat 3 is 6.1% alcohol; Cat 4 is 7.7%; and Cat 5 weighs in at 8.8%. Can you say, "get your buzz on?"

Due South doesn't have a kitchen, but on the weekends it schedules one of a number of various food trucks to park outside the door. Patrons are encouraged to by the food and bring it in.

We sat in the open warehouse area where more than a dozen tables filled with beer lovers of all ages surrounded us. The weekly corn-hole tournament was raging 10 feet away.

One of my buddy's paid cash at the bar for our first round. For our second round I saw something I've never seen before. After I put up a debit card, the server brought an iPad to our table and ran my card. She then handed the iPad to me. The total for the round appeared along with an icon to click to leave a tip. I clicked on it, added the tip and then signed my name in a box with my finger. Pretty cool!

I didn't buy a shirt on this trip, but I plan on returning to try the Carmel Cream Ale. I may fork over the 20 bucks for a shirt then.

The joint was busy while we were there. I hope they make it. I like the idea of having a micro brewery to visit when I make my quarterly jaunts to South Florida.