Alden and Val Bing craft beers "from grove to glass"

Alden was born and raised in Vero Beach and grew up surrounded by growers, climbing citrus trees in his neighborhood. In college, he spent a semester in Bavaria and fell in love with hops. Take those two influences and you can see how Orchid Island’s Brewery came to be.

Orchid Island Brewery specializes in IPAs and sour beers. Sours have seen a huge rise in popularity recently and, I think, with good reason. The tart backbone of a good sour creates balance and makes the beers especially good for pairing with food. Plus, they’re just cool. Bacteria and yeast combine in sour beers to create a distinct flavor profile.

Orchid Island Brewery beers and the food in the brew pub’s menu celebrate the history and heritage of the Treasure Coast. Along with sourcing oranges, grapefruit and Honeybells from Schacht Groves, it features meat and produce from local farms, including beef from Birdie Hogan Farm, where cattle are fed spend grain from the brewery and the beef from that cattle is featured on the menu. Plus the water that Alden uses as the base of his beers is condensed from the humid Florida air, eliminating the need to source water from the municipal supply and allowing him to adjust the mineral and salt profile of the water to match whatever beer style he’s brewing on any particular day.