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First Coast Brews: Summer Hopping

Summer is a great time to explore the Beaches and try new places

<p>The City Hop Jacksonville Beach t-shirt costs $20 and you can get a free drink from 13 different stops. No time limit, just bring the shirt and get your drink. PHOTO: Stephanie Danley</p>

Contrary to what it may seem, I'm actually sort of shy. Ok people that know me are laughing right now, so let me clarify. I am quite content to sit in the back of a taproom, tasting and drinking beer. I don't run straight to the bartender and tell them I write for this blog. The places I frequent know me and know this blog, but when I try something new, I do it without identifying myself.

So a little transparency, last week, I wrote about my experiences at Bog Brewing and Old Coast Ales. I didn't say who I was upon sitting down. I was more interested in being just an average beer drinker. When I left, I spoke with them, left them a business card and encouraged them to send me information to share with everyone.

Last weekend, I went to the City Hop Launch Party at Brewz. I wanted to find out about the City Hop program, so I could tell you about it. I didn't tell anyone (well other than the Brewz crew who know me) who I was. I am just a regular patron. I went into this as a beer drinker first, blogger second.

Having said that, here's the deal, City Hop is a great deal if you live near the beaches or go there regularly. We bought our T-shirt, because spending $20 and getting free beer/drink at 13 stops is pretty good deal. Especially since there are some great places, like Atlantic Beach Brewing, Green Room Brewing and Zeta Brewing. Just those three and Brewz make the deal great.

The City Hop Beaches visits Breweries in Jacksonville Beach like Green Room and Zeta, as well as bars and restaurants. PHOTO: Stephanie Danley

It is a self guided tour, you go to whatever place you want, in whatever order. Show the shirt, get a free drink, get the shirt signed and move on. It's one drink free per stop. Fill the shirt and get another beer at Brewz and a final gift. Any of the locations are selling the shirts and there is no expiration on the deals, so you can take your time.

Atlantic Beach Brewing Company is a stop on the City Hop, along with their neighbor Brewz. PHOTO: Stephanie Danley

Here are the participating Beach locations: Jimmy Hulas; Hurricane Grill and Wings; The Wreck Tiki Lounge; Green Room Brewing; Monkey's Uncle; Famous Toastery; Atlantic Beach Brewing; Graffiti Burger Bar; V Pizza; Casa Marina; Zeta Brewing and Flask & Cannon as well as Brewz, which gives you a second free beer when you complete the tour.

City Hop has printed 750 shirts total, so when it sells out, it sells out. Good news, the Winter/Spring tour was only 500 shirts, so there are more shirts available for this 'tour'. In December, another Jacksonville Beaches edition will be released with a new shirt and locations.

For those of you that might not be on the Beach side of town, I'm told they are working to set tours outside of the Beach very soon! Follow their Instagram and Facebook or I'll post it on our Facebook page! As I travel I'll keep you updated on our exploits!

Daily&#39;s Place Amplitheater is a great music venue, beer wise you can get craft beer but at a premium price. BTW Chicago and the Doobie Brothers were awesome! PHOTO: Stephanie Danley

Last week, we also hit Daily's Place for our first concert. The facility is nice, the audio was good, the seats were padded, it was musically fantastic. However a bit of a warning, during summertime, expect to be sweating through the entire show, they do not have fans or any air circulation inside the facility. But more importantly, the concession prices could cost you more than the tickets.

Beer ran from nine dollars to eleven dollars. Domestic is the lower price. They had some cocktail mixed drinks selling for nearly 20 dollars. Food is not cheap either, nor is water. Think Jaguars football game pricing.

As Ed and I discussed, next time we are stopping at Intuition or Bold City Downtown, or Aardwolf, perhaps some of the beer bars too, before we would pay 11 dollars for a can we can get across the parking lot for half that! Just a heads up for anyone who hasn't been yet.

Dress for the weather, not style. Drink lots of fluids before hand and if you are on a budget, plan on having a drink before or after the event. Sorry to Daily's, but I loved everything but the concessions and the air circulation!

Its a busy summer with lots of events, keep track of everything on our Facebook page.

Cheers y'all!

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