Craft Beer Cartel

Went to Riverside last night for the release of High or High Watermelon and Laguintas 420 beers. I must say, they sent me across the street and when they say it’s cheaper at Craft Beer Cartel they aren’t kidding! Walked in thinking id buy like a few Laguintas and took the whole case plus a case of Hop Stimulator by Funky Buddha. Load up on all the best beer here!

I like to say things in a review that other people don’t. Everything good which has been said about this place is true and does not need to be repeated by me.
So…What’s new?
Well this is. Brew shops don’t just sell stuff for boozing with. A very important ingredient in booze is malt. Malt is good for you. Beer contains a sugar called maltose. and maltose is good sugar as it contains no fructose. All this is a bit dull, right?
Anyway, if you like malted milks you can buy malt powder at the Craft Beer Cartel for a fraction of the price of malt powder in supermarkets (if you can find it at all). Then there is malt extract syrup. On toast in the morning, this stuff is brilliant. It’s cheap, better for you than honey and, if you keep it in the fridge, it makes a great spoonful of candy… straight from the can… and again, no fructose. Bonus!
No one else would have thought of this.
I know.
I’m brilliant.
So is the Craft Beer Cartel… even if all you want to do is to buy a few bottles of beer.

Amazing selection!!! Tons and tons of beers ! The staff were also super helpful in finding products and making suggestions

Awesome place! The gentlemen working was very helpful and took the time to tell me about home brewing. They have a class that teaches you how to brew your own beer that I plan on attending. This place is for craft beer enthusiast. Try it out!

If you’re into home brewing or maybe just a fan of craft beer then this is the place for you. The staff is always friendly, and eager to help you with anything you need. I even had them write up a custom beer recipes for me when I first started to home brew. They keep a well stocked brewing supply inventory, and the ingredients are always fresh. Check them out sometime.

Looking for a special gift for the craft beer geek in your life? Looking to find some great, unique brews? Looking to start brewing your own beer?! Craft Beer Cartel is the spot you’ve been looking for.
First, I want to start with the fact that the owner Adam is one of the best people to talk to if you want to find out more about craft beer. He was actually one of the first distributers of craft beer in SoFla and he also owns Native Brewing — which you might of seen around town (and will likely see a lot more of soon!).
Just recently they started doing growlers! You can get 36 and 64 oz growlers of various brews they have on tap — all of which are from Florida. More exciting than that you can get the brews that Adam makes in house starting next week! They make small batches of their beers here, and you can’t really get them anywhere else. If you want to try some great local beer, drop in for a growler!
Two of the brews I have tried — and I’ll go get growlers of include:
Morning express — a coffee stout, that is one of the BEST stouts I have ever had. Great coffee flavor thanks to the local roasters — Argyle Roasters, perfect carbonation… delicious.
Melon Sour — on my last visit I got to try some of this. It was a new experiment for Adam, as he turned his Watermelon Wit (which is awesome) to a sour. Sours are growing on me — and this was INCREDIBLE. STRONG watermelon scent, with a nice subtle taste and not too sour. It was light, refreshing and delicious.
Aside from there you can also get hundreds of different bottles of beer! Whatever style you are looking for you can find a bottle or can here of something you’ve never tried. I picked up Imperial Doughnut Break from Evil Twin brewing and it was amazing! You can also get a $ 30 basket — that makes a perfect gift for anyone that loves — or wants to learn more — about beer.
Last but not least, the shop offers up all the goodies you need to start home-​brewing. From kits to yeast, to hops… you can get it all here. Adam will likely be more than glad to chat you up about brewing as well — you can tell beer is this guys passion!
Parking in the lot is plentiful, considering this is a grab and go spot. You can drink the beer here, you can buy it to go only. The prices are pretty good compared to other craft beer shops and I heard rumors they are going to start doing something special for brunch soon… keep an ear out for those announcements!
Big fan and I’ll be back soon for a growler of the Melon Sour.

Great staff very passionate about beer
Wonderful selection of great beers and
Look around there’s lots of gems
#beerfamous

I heart CBC! This location used to be a rough and tough convenience store– they sure have made some awesome changes. The store is currently the only location where brew supplies and grains and yeasts and kits and bottling supplies of this extent can be found. They literally have sacs of grains and hops that they will grind up for you and help you to curate your own brew or follow from a recipe. Not to mention their craft beer selection is stellar– i was able to find some rare Shiner Prickly Pear seasonal and lots of other lil gems. They have popcorn, chips, charcuterie supplies, gift baskets, brewed coffee drinks, and other noshies along with all their brew gear. They saved all the bottle caps from Riverside Market across the street and used them to create an awesome floor tile mural. Catch the store’s pup hanging out in the store as well– charming!

Ask Adam (our local beer guru) for recommendations. Check out rarities shelf for beers available nowhere else in Broward County. Line up early on Black Friday for Bourbon County. (Yes, some sleep in cars overnight.) Attend «Meet the Brewer» events and sample beers FREE.

Cute store located near the airport with a nice selection. Very knowledgeable about their beer and super helpful. The owners wife went above and beyond by breaking into her husbands cellar to sell me a Last Snow on Thanksgiving. Great selection and build your own 6 packs make this a one stop shop for all your rare and obscure craft needs. I will be stopping back every time I fly into Ft. Lauderdale airport.

Great selection, cool staff and great prices on beer and definitely home brew equipment and ingredients.

Thank you glorious beer gods for the bounty we are about to receive. The hoppy the bitter and the sour unite under one roof of tranquility, love and deliciousness which is the craft beer cartel.

I absolutely love this. I always wanted to buy tons of the special beers that I discovered at Riverside Market but always found them a little pricey. But now I can come and continue to support this amazing local market because of their awesome selections and perfect prices! I see they have a lot of events (like meet the brewers) which I would love to attend someday. The staff is always super friendly and always willing to help you make a selection.
They also have some tables to relax and enjoy one of their beers on tap or sip on some coffee. I had a hard time finding the hours recently so when I came in I was informed they are open at 9 am Monday through Saturday and 11:30 on Sunday. ;)

I love living next door to this place. They hold great events and I cherish not being limited to the crappy beer selection at generic convenient stores. They put great effort into the renovation so it feels comfortable while you’re shopping and theres so many cool things to look at. I always learn something new about brews while I’m browsing. Great for us beer nerds!

Craft Beer Cartel is Riverside Market’s answer to shitty Florida state beer regulation.
Observe.
If you stop by Riverside Market for a brew and a (seriously amazing) bite to eat, you get charged one amount for beers to go with your meal. The prices are more than reasonable for a restaurant. But say you and your friends get your game all turnt after the second round, plus you’re all nacho-​drunk, and you want to drive back to your friend’s awesome pad while she’s still only one Sea Dog Blueberry deep. So you find a couple 750mls to take home and swig on the porch.
Those 750s (and other sized beers) will have a state-​mandated mark-​up, because Riverside sells food inside it’s establishment. (Disclaimer: I am not fluent in legalese! I just know that because of what *kind* of business Riverside Market is – selling food, allowing people to buy beer and drink on premises – it’s a mark up to sell beer TO GO from their business)
So what Riverside Market has done is buy the place caddy-​corner to the four-​way stop nearby and designed it to sell beer to-​go. That way you can pick up the beer *significantly cheaper* than if you buy it from their place that sells alcohol AND food.
Thanks for making our lives more complicated, Florida.
But thank you Riverside Market for taking care of your customers.
xoxo

HOORAY BEER!
Really friendly staff, huge selection of beer, and reasonably priced.
They have this amazing floor they’ve made out of bottle caps that’s cool to gawk at.
It’s right by Riverside Market so you can hit up BOTH
#hooraybeer

My wife and I dropped by after checking out Funky Buddha. The young lady working was extremely helpful and enthusiastic about craft beer. To many times you go to a place like this and the employees could care less, not the case here at all. She was awesome!
Great selection of craft beers and home brew supplies also. It’s definitely worth a visit!

This place is five stars for all of its originality and beer credibility. This is the coolest beer store you’ve ever visited. First, I think it is one of the only homebrew stores in Broward County; it’s certainly very local considering the next closest are either south to Miami or north to Boca. They sell everything you need to brew your own beer, along with plenty of advice. The winner of a recent homebrew competition had purchased all supplies from the Craft Beer Cartel. To add even more legitimacy, one of the owners is Adam Fine, who also happens to be the owner of Native Brewing Company. The Craft Beer Cartel is their current brewing home. How cool is that? He’s a great guy and super knowledgeable.
The decoration of the shop is incredible. The entire floor is composed of beer bottle caps. It was designed by actual customers and the floor has so many interesting, colorful designs. My favorite are the lamps. They have empty kegs hanging from the ceiling and refitted with lights inside. Of course the kegs are decorated for Native Brewing.
Craft Beer Cartel shows its legitimacy even further with their events. I recently attended an event with the brewers of newly opened J. Wakefield brewery. It was awesome to hear how these experts brew and experiment, all while trying four of their brews (served up by Adam). This is an ongoing thing in which Craft Beer cartel brings in brewers to talk and share about their beers.
All of this, and I haven’t even mentioned the beers! They have one of the best selections of craft beers that you are going to find around south Florida.
Meet up as SFLHops to the next beer event at

This place is really hidden in a residential neighborhood, near a small park. You know, the type that you imagine may have a small convenience store or pizza place in the corner, but not a place for home brewing supplies and craft beer selection. They also have beer on tap (a few from local, eg. Wakefield and Cigar City) and coffee too! (well, they are both brewed… so you can’t say there is no connection…)
I don’t home brew, so I can’t comment on their supply, I just went to check out their bottles of beer. They have lots of bombers, and quite a nice selection of singles. Although, if you shop at Total Wine, you probably won’t feel excited. They don’t have lots of breweries, or beers from all over the world, but of the breweries they have is a good line up. There is space for expansion so I do hope they will bring in more beers in the future. And I do prefer shopping small business than getting my singles from Total or Publix, so maybe next time I will come, grab a beer, and browse to see what’s new.
The previous reviewer mentioned in Jan that some racks are missing price tags. Still are.
BTW look down at your feet and check out the floor. It’s painstakingly laid out in mosaic, hundreds and hundreds of beer caps. Impressive!

A few friends and I stopped here yesterday on our way back to Orlando after attending the Funky Buddha Maple Bacon Coffee Porter event on ¹⁄₁₀. I didn’t know much about this place (I guess it recently opened?) until yesterday but was pleasantly surprised by it.
The beer selection is very impressive and everything is arranged nicely. No matter which beer style you prefer, you’d be likely to find it here. There are stouts (all kinds), ales, IPAs, sours/​lambics, etc. Most, if not all, regions of the country are represented, too. I remember seeing a section of the cooler that is dedicated solely to west coast-​style beers.
I don’t know a ton about brewing (I just like beer a lot!), but CBC sells plenty of brewing materials — if you’re a home-​brewer then you should check this place out. CBC sells what appeared to be dozens of different hop styles (galaxy, mosaic, etc.). I also saw some home wine-​making kits; take a look at those if wine, and not beer, is your persuasion.
If you’re in the area and missed out on any regular Bourbon County stout, the store still has some (as of yesterday, ¹⁄₁₁).
The only thing that was «off» about CBC was that there were no prices on the beers, so an employee had to price-​check anything I was thinking about buying. Since this is a new operation, perhaps the price stickers will be coming soon.
The employee who helped us was knowledgeable and did so quickly and efficiently.
Not sure when I’ll be back in Ft. Lauderdale (this past weekend was my first visit ever, as far as I know) but I definitely will stop in here again if I return. 4 – 4.5 stars as a first impression.