In March 2012, four friends came together with the concept of opening a brewery in our hometown of Gainesville. We all had great jobs and young kids, so the idea of changing our lives and opening a brewery was truly a leap of faith. As we discussed our reasons for going into the beer business, we realized that each of us offers different perspective and unique experience but that we all want the same thing: make excellent beer, build awareness and appreciation of Florida’s springs, have a great space for people to come and enjoy a pint, be an exceptional place to work, and be a big part of our local community. These ideas are what we bring to the table (and taps) at First Magnitude. This is the reason why we’re here – we hope you’ll join us in our vision and passion for great beer and great community.
Visiting the area next week. Looking for great beer bars with food or just great local breweries with a taproom. So I'm not staying in Jacksonville, Melrose actually, but there isn't a Gainesville Beer community. Any suggestion on good places to eat with a great beer menu? Or, what local breweries would be places to visit? Also, what local beers should I try that I would find at a store? I know I already want to try Cigar City. What else? Cheers.