Skip the big-name beers. In Jacksonville, we have dozens of breweries producing incredible craft beers right in our own backyard – and Visit Jacksonville’s Jax Ale Trail initiative helps you try them all.
From Jacksonville Beach all the way out to Mandarin, this free Visit Jacksonville program encourages locals and visitors to (responsibly) enjoy some of the city’s breweries.
I hopped on the ale trail in 2023 and have loved finding some new favorites through the program. It’s an easy way to plan a fun date night or find a new place to take visitors.
Here’s everything I wish I knew when I first picked up that Ale Trail passport – and how to find one of your own.
Read more: Jax Ale Trail: The Best Way to Explore Jacksonville’s BreweriesWhat is the Jax Ale Trail?
The trail is an initiative from Visit Jacksonville. Participants obtain a Brewery Passport and receive a stamp for each local brewery they visit. Once you reach certain milestones, you can submit your passport to receive prizes.
As of August 2024, the prizes and milestones were:
- Four stamps = Koozie
- Eight stamps: Koozie and a t-shirt
- Full passport: Koozie, t-shirt and additional prize
Participating breweries usually have printed passports available. You can also download a digital passport through the Visit Jacksonville app.
How to Join
There are two ways to participate: a printed passport or a digital passport.
Printed passports are available at participating breweries. We picked ours up at Ink Factory in Jacksonville Beach.
Digital passports are available through the Visit Jacksonville app.
The Best Way to Explore the Jax Ale Trail
Whenever I’m looking for a fun date idea, I turn to my Jax Ale Trail passport. We checked the Jax Beach breweries off of our list first, so the passport has encouraged us to explore new areas of Jacksonville.
A new brewery plus a meal or snack at a nearby restaurant is the perfect way to turn trying new beers into a fun couples activity.
What is the Prize?
There are three tiers for prizes, but the serious beer lovers should aim for a full passport! Four stamps earns you a koozie, eight stamps earn you a koozie and a t-shirt, and a full passport earns you a koozie, t-shirt, and extra prize!
Breweries on the Jax Ale Trail
Your passport or the Visit Jacksonville app will have the most up-to-date brewery list. The full list is also available on vitisjacksonville.com website.
