Mathews Brewing Company — Restaurant in Lake Worth Beach

Thank you Google! I say so because I was desperate for some "real" ale, i.e., cask-conditioned English ales (my preferred style), and when you Google "cask beer Florida," they point you to Mathews! This style is for reasons beyond my comprehension not at all popular in the US, but I hope this changes. But thankfully Mathews is not only doing proper English real ale, they are also doing it incredibly well. I rated both their ESB and their dark English mild as 5/5 on Untappd, and, just to give you a frame of reference, I've probably given all of 5-6 beers the full 5 stars out of the 3,000 or so I've tried. So, to give two five stars in an afternoon is saying something. Their non-cask beers are totally fine, with some being excellent, but it's really their cask ales that shine. they clearly have a devout local following despite being relatively new (three years), and it's really only a 5-minute drive from one of the nicest beaches in Florida. I DO wish they let you get growlers/crowlers of cask-conditioned ale. As someone who regularly got cask beer to-go in the midwest, I can say for sure that they still taste great at home, even after sitting in a car for an hour.I guess it's probably just as well that these guys are an hour north of me, or I'd be in there several times a week (bad for liver and budget)! The outdoor area is awesome, and I bet it's a great hangout for better times since they've got a stage and an area where food trucks and/or a BBQ pit appear to serve the masses. 5 stars.

Mid 2021 update: still 5 stars and they’ve got something for everyone. If you are a beer lover visiting or even a local within driving distance, you owe it to yourself to try some real cask ale.

Mid 2022 update: still five stars, and the fan base is clearly growing. Music, food trucks, cool setup, and the best beer I've had in the southeastern United States, period.

2023 update: Rather than rest on their laurels, the beer is getting BETTER (which I thought was not possible), and the buzz is growing. Plenty of breweries have the beautiful setup (like here), and many even have their own concert venues which become local live music hubs (like here), but I feel like many of these breweries with the "pretty face/facade" are usually doing so to distract you from the fact that the beer's mediocre (or worse). That is definitively not the case here. Also, great bartenders and good diversity of food trucks daily. But at the end of the day, it's the English cask ales that will make me drive up from Miami in...

I had a very bad experience here last night and when I feel wronged, I need to say something. The seating here is open seating at very large picnic tables. The tables were full last night except for one table that was open for an extraordinary amount of time except for two people sitting there. So my party (of 2) sat down and the two people said other people were there. By the way there was no evidence of anyone there for over 30 minutes. I said that we would be more than happy to move when the rest of their party arrived. The male of the pair began yelling at my boyfriend and I thought he was going to punch my boyfriend. Then that man got a staff member and instead of the saying what should have been said (which is it’s open seating and there is no one else at the table) he said we needed to move because he was afraid the man was going to start trouble. What? Since when is bullying allowed? I have to move because I’m being bullied? I said I would be more than happy to move when the rest of their party arrived. And I said it three different times! I go to this place a lot and run up some decent tabs for a place that serves beer and wine. I will need to give a lot of thought to going back any time in the foreseeable future in light of how we were treated by the...

• EDIT The last couple of times I went here I noticed that the beers were VERY expensive. I paid $10 for a 16oz IPA (not an imperial or specialty brew - a slightly better than mediocre Hazy IPA). Like my original review, it’s still a good place to visit but watch the pricing BEFORE you get your bill. I probably won’t be returning as frequently, it’s too expensive.

I like all of the breweries in South Florida but Mathews is slowly becoming my go-to favorite. The beers are very good and very consistent with each visit. The vibe is great with a beautiful, air conditioned taproom and large outside area offering games, live music and a large Tiki hut! Service is great, however, I recently went there on a Saturday and the server was overwhelmed and we had to wait a while for a beer (luckily for her, other servers finally showed up and saved the day for all of us). They have a tasty food trucks out front, some are awesome and others a bit overpriced. Beers are around $6 each but, as said before, the quality is great and worth the price to chill and relax. If you're in the Lake Worth area stop by for a pint - you won't be...