You can drink beer brewed on site, eat from a full kitchen and get your morning coffee under one roof at Mocama Brewing Company, 629 South 8th Street, a few blocks from historic downtown Fernandina Beach. Four friends founded the brewery and set it up in the former Lasserre Motor Company building, an 18,000-square-foot structure from 1954 that they turned into a mid-century taproom. The name comes from the Timucua dialect the Spanish called Mocama, spoken along the coast from near St. Simons Island down to St. Augustine. The brewery translates it as "big water where the sun is born."
The taproom keeps a rotating list, with new releases alongside year-round beers, and the brewery puts real effort into its wine list for anyone who'd skip the beer. There are canned seltzers and non-alcoholic options too. The kitchen is open every day, serving breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. and lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. until close. Mocama Coffee shares the building and pours espresso, pour-over and tea starting at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends.
A few house rules and practical notes:
- Beer to go comes only in 32-ounce crowler cans. Mocama doesn't fill growlers.
- Kids are welcome. Pets aren't allowed in the taproom under Florida health rules, though service animals are.
- Two lots hold 85 cars, and bike racks fit 10 bikes.
- Free live music is on the calendar every week.
The brewery tour takes about an hour. It starts with a welcome beer, walks through the production floor, and can end with an optional guided tasting flight; tours share a 15-seat cap, and private tours can be requested. If you're comparing tasting rooms, Marlin & Barrel Distillery is up the street at 232 South 8th. To have tour seats held for visiting family before they arrive, reservations and bookings can lock in the date.