About us
Our Story
What started as an escape became something much bigger.
Escape Brewing Company began in 2012 when longtime friends and coworkers John McGregor and Matt Thompson started homebrewing on the weekends as a way to escape the grind of their corporate sales careers.
What started as a hobby quickly became a passion. After countless batches, homebrew competitions, and more than a few late nights perfecting recipes, John and Matt decided to take a chance on something bigger.
In 2014, they left their corporate careers behind and opened Escape Brewing Company.
FROM 3 BARRELS TO SOMETHING BIGGER
Escape started small—a 1,200-square-foot brewery, a 3-barrel brewhouse, about 30 taproom seats, and no kitchen.
But the community showed up.
Before long, Escape expanded into the space next door, added more seating, upgraded to a 10-barrel brewing system, opened an off-site warehouse, and began distributing beer throughout Florida.
Along the way, the beer started getting noticed.
Escape earned numerous awards at beer competitions across the state, including a Gold Medal for The Other West Coast IPA at the 2016 Best Florida Beer Competition—a beer that helped put Escape on the map.
A NEW HOME FOR ESCAPE
As the brewery, distribution, and community continued to grow, we knew it was time to build something bigger.
In 2024, Escape Brewing Company opened its new home in Trinity—a destination built around everything we love about bringing people together.
The new facility brought our production brewery, taproom, and outdoor beer garden together under one roof, giving us the space to brew more beer, host bigger events, and create an entirely new Escape experience.
Then, in 2025, we opened The Collective at Escape—our adjoining food hall and cocktail bar featuring locally owned food concepts, craft cocktails, and even more reasons to gather.
STILL INDEPENDENT. STILL LOCAL. STILL ESCAPE.
More than a decade after opening our doors, we're proud to remain an independent, locally owned brewery.
Our beers can now be found throughout Florida, and our brewery has earned awards across numerous styles—including being named Best Large Brewery in Florida at the 2026 Best Florida Beer Competition.
But what we're most proud of is the community that helped us get here.
Escape has grown from a tiny neighborhood brewery into a place where people come together for great beer, food, cocktails, live music, watch parties, markets, celebrations, and everything in between.
The building is bigger.
The brewery is bigger.
The dream is bigger.
But the idea behind Escape hasn't changed.
Drink. Enjoy. Escape.
Our founders
John and Matt both started brewing beer in their garages as a way to "Escape" from their corporate sales jobs. It didn't take long for them to figure out that their true passion was making beer. What started off as a hobby quickly turned to a full on obsession of making beer.
They both decided to "Escape" corporate America, quit their day jobs, live the American Dream, and open a brewery.
