Tonight, as the University of Central Florida Knights make their 2026 season debut at the Bounce House, so, too, will two beers from Brewlando, exciting additions that are part of the local brewery’s new Brew-CF line.
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The Brew-CF Pilsner and Brew-CF Light Lager will join the Jernigan’s Hazy IPA, Brewlando’s bestseller, helping fans cool off amid the heat of competition — and the unforgiving Florida summer.
Brewlando founder and UCF alum Shara Pathak will be sweating among them, cheering loudly, charging on.
Any craft brewery would be delighted to secure an official partnership with a Big 12 school, but for Pathak, its significance goes far beyond the beer biz that the Bounce House will afford.
“It’s especially meaningful,” Pathak says. “A partnership with my alma mater was just huge for me.”
Pathak’s family visited Orlando annually from their native Trinidad every year before emigrating when she was 16.
“[The frequent visits and friendships her father formed] were how my family decided we’d settle here,” she says. “And though I graduated a long time ago — almost 80,000 students graduate every year, and you wonder where everyone goes and what everyone does — I stayed local.”
And thrived, though at first, craft beer was not on the marketing major’s bingo card.
Back in Trinidad, her family’s business was printing. They started anew once stateside, a niche spinoff into ID wristbands. Pathak was working there full-time while earning her degree full-time, as well. Upon graduating, she became president of Price Chopper Wristband.
The business continued to grow, as did Pathak’s entrepreneurial spirit. In 2020, the acquisition of a software company gave Price Chopper a leg up, elevating it into digital ticketing and access control. The company, which supplies ID wristbands to UCF for use in different areas of the campus, turns 29 this year.
When beer (much to her craft brew-seeking husband’s delight) joined the portfolio in 2022, it was sort of by accident.
“I’d done a real estate development project a few years prior and one of the tenants in a commercial building I owned decided after three years that they weren’t going to continue,” Pathak explains, noting that she’d had no intention of jumping in.
But it was right before Christmas. The staff really wanted to stay open. Pathak’s heart was open, too.
“I said I’d do it temporarily. I’d keep the doors open until we could find somebody else,” she laughs. “We were going to run it as a business. Beer wasn’t a hobby for me.”
“It *was* supposed to be temporary,” she laughs. “I was actively looking for another operator, and in that search, found an executive in the brewing business who had 25-plus years with some big names, like Yuengling. We decided he would come in as the chief executive officer.”
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And that’s how Brewlando was born.
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Two years later, a similar situation saw them acquire Sanford Brewing Company. And not long after, UCF came calling. When the phone rang, Pathak laughs, she didn’t think it was real.
“I didn’t return it!” she says. “But then I got an email and saw it was actually attached to UCF, so I picked up the phone to call him back.”
Becoming a part of the Big 12 had expanded their partnership opportunities, and craft beer was on their list. A UCF alum-founded company was appealing. Even better, one with a woman at the helm.
Pathak laughs.
“My background was in manufacturing and technology … but Brewlando is all about community and this particular partnership with UCF was, to me, a big window into that community-driven spirit that is our foundation.”
Named for Aaron Jernigan, Orlando’s first settler, Jernigan’s Hazy IPA, Brewlando’s bestselling of its 23 pours, has been available at Knights games in previous years. Joining it in 2026: the Brew-CF line.
“We wanted to continue to evolve Brewlando into more of a Central Florida staple,” says Pathak of the catchily-named line. “It has a fun ring that works well with our UCF partnership. It stands for ‘Brew Central Florida.’”
Available in cans at games and elsewhere on campus, the Brew-CF Pilsner and Brew-CF Light Lager are inspired equally by Floridian weather and a desire for crushability.
“People want something refreshing,” she says. “These are lighter-bodied and easy-drinking.”
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And with lower ABVs, fans can enjoy a little more.
You’ll also find these and other Brewlando pours at 20 different Publix stores around town, with concentrations near UCF, as well as at their other locations in Maitland, Sanford and the original on Hoffner Avenue in Orlando. Brewlando’s Winery & Tasting Room at Icon Park offers up even more choices for less beer-centric patrons.
Brewlando’s footprint continues to grow, and next year it will begin greeting visitors to the city at MCO’s Terminal B, replacing the Outback Steakhouse location. Pathak is thrilled.
“It ties us into Orlando and Central Florida in a very significant way.”
For tonight, though, she need not look beyond the Bounce House, which always feels like a homecoming.
“I have this theory that things move the way that they should in exactly the times that they should,” she says. “And I’m so excited that we’re a part of craft culture in Orlando … and at UCF.”
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: [email protected], For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
If you go
Brewlando is Central Florida’s Official Craft Beer of UCF Athletics and is available at the stadium on game day. More info: brewlando.com
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Brewlando Brewing: 6820 Hoffner Ave. in Orlando
The Winery & Tasting Room: 8395 International Drive in Orlando
Brewlando Maitland: 160 Independence Lane in Maitland
Brewlando Sanford: 400 Sanford Ave. in Sanford