New microbrewery to open in Mount Dora

ABOVE: The old Mount Dora Brewing will be home to Eden Abbey Brewing Community

When Peggy and Jeff Herbst decided to retire and close Mount Dora Brewing, you could almost hear craft beer lovers sobbing in their mugs.  In a few months, those tears will be replaced with ice-cold beers when a small new microbrewery opens in the space.  

If all goes well, Eden Abbey Brewing Community is expected to open in late winter or early spring, 2022.  The owners, Ben and Eve Passmore, have been ministers, missionaries and entrepreneurs for 15 years.  Ben has been brewing his own beer since 2016 and 18 months ago the couple set out to turn their home-based brews into a full-fledged business.  The hunt for the perfect location for their microbrewery landed them in uptown Mount Dora which had the perfect space to accommodate their goal of bringing people together around excellent beer, coffee, food, music and fun.

Eden Abbey Brewing Community favors European-style brews and its most popular beer is its Belgian Tripel.  They also have a pilsner, brown ale and lager, plus IPAs and seasonal brews. They also make a point of keeping  an eye on brewing trends.  

The tap room will serve eight to ten house beers on tap and feature live music on weekends.   Similar to Mount Dora Brewing, Eden Abbey Brewery Community will also have a family-friendly cafe that will dish out lunch and dinner.  The Passmores are currently courting chefs, so the style of food will depend on which one they decide to partner with.

Prior to moving to Kissimmee, the couple operated Happy Hive Music Cafe in South Malta and discovered a successful recipe in all of the areas they love most: faith, family, community and excellent hospitality.  They hope to recreate some of that vibe at their new 405 S. Highland Street brewery. 

The Passmore family will be relocating to Mount Dora in the coming weeks and will be working on the renovations while awaiting their licensing.  Stay tuned to Mount Dora Buzz’s Facebook page for an opening date. 

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