Background
Luke Kemper started Swamp Head Brewery in 2008. It was the first microbrewery in Gainesville.
Luke was able to get together a little money and hired Craig Birkmaier as a brewer. They found a little warehouse space in Gainesville and set out to find a brewing system. A brewing system was found south of Ocala from the old Spanish Springs Brewing Company. It would take almost a year from the time the equipment got to Gainesville to the time Swamp Head Brewery sold its first beer.
Swamp Head’s slogan is “inherently Floridian” because they try to use local ingredients and brew beers that are balanced and approachable for the hot humid Gainesville weather.
In 2015, Swamp Head moved into its new building with triple the beer production capacity, triple the tasting room space, more than triple the parking with just under 70 spaces.
The facility went from 6,500 square feet to 13,500, also adding 36-foot tall yellow silos that hold 60,000 pounds of grain.
Swamp Head now distributes their beer across Florida.
Experience
Beautiful location for this big brewery. Lots of indoor & outdoor space. We arrived at Swamp Head Brewery when they were preparing for a Gators game. Unfortunately that meant they wouldn’t serve any flights and we had to drink our beers from plastic cups. We were not a fan of that. The Gainesville Green was fresh hopped, slight noselight IPA. the Saison was just OK, and their Wit was very drinkable. We enjoyed some food from their food truck. Under other circumstances we might have had more fun.
No nearby lodging noted.
If you are heading towards Apalachicola, check out Oyster City Brewing !
