I heard that a brewery had opened in Columbia County recently, so I decided to ride over to Lake City and check it out. I was under the impression that the brewery was in an expanded portion of the Marion Street Bistro and Brew House, but my mistake was a fortunate one. Once we got our table on Friday night, we asked the waitress about the brewery. She told us the new brewery was around the corner and that they do not serve full meals there.

We had a good meal at Marion Street Bistro and were treated to live music by Kellen Vincent as we were finishing our chicken and waffles with a side of oysters. Kellen told the crowd that he won his way into the Suwannee River Jam this year, and after listening to him play a few songs it was easy to believe. I really enjoyed his renditions of “Hey Ho” by the Lumineers and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Considering the news lately, I think the entire restaurant was glad he played “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

After dinner, we walked around the block and found the Halpatter Brewing Company. We entered the downstairs part of the brewery through some garage doors, and there was a short line in front of the bar with a long row of taps behind the bar. Above the taps was an enormous screen that listed the 16 choices of beer, ale, cider and stout. Six of the 16 choices were made in Lake City. None of the choices are what I would call cheap; so if you feel the price of Bud Light has gotten ridiculous lately, you probably would not think the trip to Halpatter was a wise choice. The food choices were things like chips and salsa or a soft, warm, pretzel, so I was glad we had already eaten.

I decided to try the Pineapple Cider from a company called Ace because I have never even heard of pineapple cider before. It was so sweet and delicious. I took my glass outside and stood by the fire for a bit. There were a couple of fire pits and a couple of corn hole games going on. Thankfully, no one threw one of the game bags into the fire while we were there. We went upstairs to check out that part of the brewery.

There was a large wooden deck outside and several tall tables inside next to the bar and many taps that also had a large screen above them like down stairs. There was also an adjacent room where an intense game of ping pong was taking place. Upstairs there were also 16 beverage choices and very few were repeats from what was available downstairs. I decided to try one of the local brews this time. The Cookies and Cream stout from Halpatter was the best stout I have ever tasted. I usually don’t like stout beer, but I could get used to drinking a glass of Cookies and Cream after dinner.

There was some construction still going on, so maybe one day soon you will be able to get a full meal along with an incredible beer, ale, cider and stout selection. I think it is great that there are delicious beverages made right here in our neck of the woods. The Halpatter Brewing Company is located near the corner of NE Hamilton Street and NE Hernando Avenue in downtown Lake City.

Eric lives in Suwannee County and is a public school educator. He is an independent contractor. You can reach him at miamistyle8@gmail.com.