This used to be a garage.
Swan Brewing opened April 20, 2018 in a building that had been an auto repair shop since the mid-1940s. We didn't renovate away the history. We kept it.
How It Started
It started in 2014 with a homebrewing supply stall at Lakeland's Saturday farmers market. Four years of weekends, conversations, and community later, Swan Brewing opened its doors at 115 W. Pine St. on April 20, 2018, and the building has been full ever since.
The Building
The building is 3,900 square feet of sealed concrete, raw walls, and exposed everything. The floors still carry 80 years of oil, metal, and history, exactly the kind of patina you don't get by trying. The walls are lined with old auto parts signs. A real traffic light hangs from the ceiling. Anywhere you look, there's something to look at.
The 25-foot bar is built from a salvaged bowling alley lane. The bar front is corrugated metal. On the wall opposite the taps, glass windows look directly into the brewery: stainless steel fermenters, hoses, the whole operation working in plain view. Suspended above it all is a metal winged figure clutching a bottle of beer. We like to think it's Ninkasi, the ancient Sumerian goddess of brewing, keeping watch over the crowd.
One wall is shiplap, built from fence panels collected from Lakeland front yards after Hurricane Irma tore through the city. We knocked out the nails, dried the wood, and turned it into a statement piece about what this community is made of.
Through a 13-by-13-foot roll-up glass door at the other end, you step onto a covered outdoor patio overlooking Lake Wire. The 20-acre spring-fed lake sits on the west side of downtown Lakeland, and if you know your history, it's where units of the Buffalo Soldiers camped in 1898 before shipping out to Cuba in the Spanish-American War. There's a historical marker on the north shore that says so. Good company to share a patio with.
The Patio
The patio is covered, so it runs year-round. There's a stage with professional lighting where we host live music. A food truck pulls into our dedicated spot every day. Picnic tables everywhere. Dogs welcome. Kids welcome. Come as you are.
The Beer
We brew and serve a rotating selection of craft beers, 30 taps at any given time. IPAs, stouts, sours, pilsners, lagers, and seasonal releases. We also pour wine, cider, and a solid selection of non-alcoholic options, because everyone deserves a seat at the table. See what's on tap.
The Community
We've hosted the Lakeland Punk Rock Flea Market, Swantoberfest, open mic nights, trivia, local artist showcases, and more events than we can count. Swan has been a gathering spot for downtown Lakeland since we opened. The kind of place where you come for the first time and you stay for a long time. You never know who you'll meet at The Swan. See what's coming up.