First Magnitude Brewing Company

Pretty darn decent brewery in Gainesville...named after the type of spring with the greatest flow..."first magnitude" (lots of springs in central Florida). Really nice space in an old warehouse...with room for more brewing equipment...a huge picnic-tabled space in front of the brewing equipment...along with a large taproom and a two outdoor spaces...a small one up front near that day’s food truck...and a big shady one outback with a small stage. There were "20" taps when I visited...all seemed flowing (a small number were guest taps). I was there shortly after a Christmas special event where they debuted a number of barrel aged beers...a few of which were still on tap. I found their beers to be good to very good depending on your preference. Nothing bad...and nothing blew me away that day...but it seemed to me they were more than capable of making even better beers than the ones I sampled that day. First Magnitude is a must stop when in the area...I’m sure you’ll like the place...and more than likely enjoy a number of their beers.

Visited here in early March ’16 while in the area for business. Spacious tap room located adjacent to their brewing facility. Has a "spring" (as in water) oriented them - the name first magnitude refers to a type of spring common in the area. Lots of spring oriented pictures on the wall etc. Has a standing bar and several butcher block tables as well as seating outside. Have their four regulars on tap as well as rotating selections and some one-off barrel aged brews. About a half dozen guest taps as well. Sizes range from 6 oz all the way up to growlers. All I had were tasty and fresh. Barkeeps were friendly, talkative and knowledgeable. If in the Gainesville area, a definite must visit.

Warehouse facility that is definitely a bit outside of the main part of Gainesville/downtown area. They have a pretty big brewhouse/storage facility and a good sized tasting room that is (thankfully) air-conditioned. Plenty of space out back as well with picnic tables and trees and such. Could be a cool place to hangout, for sure.

A whole lot of beers on tap here. They have four year round/standard offerings and then just a bunch of seasonal and pilot batches, as well as guest beers. Beers are available in 6, 10, and 16 pours. So, a flight of four 6 ounce beers is quite a bit. The flights are kind of price (the four standards is $8) and then they go up depending on which of the other two you choose (one has two fixed beers and you choose the others, the other is all four are up to you). Some beers are also only available in a 10 ounce pour, for instance...odd structure to the whole thing.

The people were friendly enough and the beers were pretty decent, I thought. Kind of unfortunate for them to not be closer to the college crowd, but seems like they’re doing just fine.

A visit back to Gainesville and I discovered this new place. This is a place I would have hung out a lot! Nice big picnic tables under live oaks, a stage, a nice friendly crowd and good beers (I like the Ursa best).

Old warehouse, picnic tables under the live oaks, outside, space for corn hole inside. Inside by the bar is OK you can look into the brewhouse area. Rustic like some of the Asheville brewpubs. Food truck looked nice but not what I’d buy with beer.

Visited late April, 2015. This is based on my first and only visit thus far. The location is sort of remote/not near everything else we were doing, but we deemed it a worthy trip after we went!

Big warehouse space when you pull up, not a great parking lot. Big open warehouse is what you see first, games and such in there. It was hot, so we went inside. Nicely lit, sort of wood-themed place, very nice - clean.

Our bartender was friendly and knowledgeable. Gave us a free sample of one of the beers so we could get an even number on the flights.

They had 9 of their beers on tap and a few guest taps. Pretty solid for a new-ish brewery. The beer was pretty good as well!

The flights were very expensive in my opinion. 4 small pours for $12 bucks. That is pretty expensive in my experience. I was pretty disappointed to come out of it with 2 flights and a $25 tab plus tip.

Overall, the beer is good, the staff was friendly, and it was a clean, nice place. I will certainly be back if I’m in the area!

Furnishing consist of high and low picnic tables and benches, both indoors and out. 3 Flights available, increasing in cost as guest breweries or limited release FM brews are added. board games available. 2 flatscreen TVs inside offer sports.

Massive spot out of the way in Gainesville. I can’t believe how big the property is. Went in on a Thursday night and there was a Vet School get together so it was packed and hoppin’ pretty good. Good tap list with some fun guest taps from Funky Buddha and others from Florida. Nice outdoor beer garden area with plenty of seating and plenty of space to wander, and even a fire pit. Food truck out front serving up stone fired pizza. Nice service. Only complaint was the line for the bathroom. Maybe it’s not always thtis busy, but being a place of this size, they’re going to have to stick in a couple more toilets. Overall definitely worth checking out as they expand their selection. They do a couple styles really well (the Tub ESB is recommend, especially for fans of the style).