- October 17, 2024
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When Susan Carrubba bought her son, Rob Turner, a five-gallon home brewing kit, she didn’t think they’d actually open a brewery together.
Turner was 18 years old then. He’s 40 now, and the mother and son duo are one half of a family-owned and operated brewery. Carrubba’s husband Robert Carrubba is also an owner, and his daughter Brittany Sutherin is the general manager.
The Inner Compass Brewing Company celebrated its grand opening at 10316 Technology Terrace on June 5. The soft opening was held the weekend before.
“Friday, we had maybe a couple tables open. Saturday, every table was full,” Carrubba said.
The brewery took two years to build from the ground up and is only a 3-minute drive from the Carrubbas’ home in Esplanade. It was designed by a family for families. While beer is the main attraction, there’s something for everyone — including dogs.
One side of the lawn has a dog area that includes water bowls, waste bags and a trash can. The other side of the building is for humans who love to play cornhole. The brewery will be hosting tournaments.
The back patio overlooks a tree-lined pond and features a stage for live music, a jungle gym, giant Jenga and tether golf.
Inside entertainment includes arcade games, table shuffleboard and live music in the bar area. Music plays on Friday and Saturday nights until 9 p.m. Carrubba is considering adding Sunday afternoons to the lineup, as well.
On Monday, the first beers for the grand opening were kegged. It typically takes three to four weeks to brew, and Carrubba said they only received the temporary certificate of occupancy two weeks earlier.
The hope was to have six out of the 30 taps pouring Inner Compass beers on opening day. The rest of the tap options are all craft beers brewed in Florida.
“My family loves beer, but I’m a wine drinker,” Carrubba said. “I made a point of having good wines, too.”
That doesn’t mean she never drinks beer. The Rizzler is Carrubba’s favorite from her son’s recipes. It’s a hefeweizen, a German wheat beer.
Carrubba joined Turner’s beer venture after his first partner backed out. The first Inner Compass Brewing Company was located in Sanford, Florida. It was a 650-square-foot renovated gas station that opened in 2016 and closed amid the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Carrubba learned two things from the Sanford location: They needed a kitchen and more room to brew beer.
At 7,500 square feet, the Lakewood Ranch location leaves room to grow. The family is planning to introduce distribution in about a year when their “feet are solid” running the brewery.
Distribution requires additional equipment and room. Until then, 32-ounce crowlers can be taken to go, and customers can bring their own 64-ounce growlers to fill and go.
The kitchen serves classic bar food, such as pizza, burgers, chicken wings and soft pretzels with beer cheese. Carrubba said the meats are all high quality angus and the like.
The bar and restaurant seat 157 people inside, and there’s additional seating outside. The dining room off the main bar area seats about 50 and can be closed for private parties.
There’s a smaller bar inside the dining room that’s decorated with wood that Robert Carrubba gathered after Hurricane Ian. He spent his career in the remodeling business, so finishing off construction of the inside of the building was a natural fit for his skill set.
Each member of the family brought their own work experience to round out the team. Turner has been brewing beer for over 20 years, so he stuck to what he knows. Sutherlin worked at Motorworks Brewing for seven years, so she oversees the tap room and the over 50 employees.
And Carrubba fills in where needed. She’s the finance person and also a registered nurse working full-time for a pharmaceutical company. She laughed and said she just pays the bills on the weekends.
The meaning behind Inner Compass is painted over the front door when exiting the building: "The inner compass is your true essence, the part of you that is all-knowing, all-powerful, creative, loving and limitless."
