Ben Davis, Intuition Ale Works

Ben Davis narrating a First Coast Section American Planning Association (APA) Adaptive Brewuse tour of Intuition Ale Works new craft brewery.

At a certain point, you knew you were going to outgrow your King Street facility. Why did you choose this building as the location that would house Intuition’s expansion?

It had plenty of space to expand our production. The location is great for a larger taproom and to host larger events.

The new facility is vastly different than the brewery on King Street. What are some of the unique things you have been able to do with the new space?

The layout and construction of the building allowed us to raised the ceiling in the brewing area to allow us to install larger fermenters and thus increase production. The rooftop biergarten would be a great addition to the area.

Will this new facility allow you to become a regional brand, beyond the Florida market?

Not yet. Our plan is to supply our existing markets, Jax, Tally, Gainesville, Orlando and Tampa and go from there.The craft beer market still is young and I am not sure what the future holds. I would prefer to focus on existing markets before we consider going outside of Florida.

There are some great urban brewery facilities in areas that are pretty similar to the Doro District, Mission Brewery in San Diego and on a larger scale Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City come to mind. In your mind, what makes a facility a destination in a near downtown urban environment?

Breweries are destinations, assuming your product is well made and customers like it. We don’t need foot traffic and therefore can go to an area that is not yet established. We can be the catalyst for more development. That is why the owners of the Doro building approached.