The Ultimate SW Florida Brew Tour
When you think about the popular beer cities in the United States, San Diego, New York and Chicago may come to mind, but the Tampa/St. Pete beer scene has earned our attention in its own right.
A number of southwest Florida breweries have racked up awards at GABF and FoBAB, but the people working behind the scenes take gold. During my visit, brewery owners, brewers and beertenders offered special opportunities for tours, rare tastings and to-go goodies that even the biggest beer budget couldn’t buy.
Here’s my quick list of spots to hit when you fly into Tampa and make your way a bit south to St. Pete.
Tampa
Stop #1: Cigar City Brewing: Known for their ever-popular Jai Alai and one of Florida’s most renowned whales, Hunahpu, they’ve got a serious tap list with beers of every style.
Jess’ Recos: BA Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout, Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout - Zhukov's Penultimate Push, White Oak Jai Alai
Stop #2: Angry Chair: As a Chicago native, I naturally gravitate towards their barrel aged stouts over their porters, but definitely don’t overlook their sours and juice bombs, too.
Jess’ Recos: Orange Puffs (all of the puffs), The Rake, BA German Chocolate Cupcake
Stop #3: Hidden Springs Ale Works: In an unassuming location, this brewery has honed two vastly different ends of the beer spectrum: imperial stouts and pastry sours - with some hazy IPAs in the mix. Here, fruit-forward sours take the stage, while their special release stouts keep us around - dare I say - begging for more.
Jess’ Recos: Electric Pegasus, Cat Kong, Black Aggie: Fluffernutter, Darkness in the Light, The Upside Down
Stop #4: Garagiste Meadery: When people tell me they don’t like mead, I ask if they’ll let me change their mind. Stop by this award-winning meadery for a flight, and if nothing else, relish in the story of origin from the incredibly friendly owners, Chad and Sarah.
Jess’ Recos: Reboog Vitis, Maple Meadowfoam, Reboog Fraise, MEH
St. Petersburg
Stop #1: Cycle Brewing: My love for Cycle knows no bounds, so some may say I’m a bit partial. Drink anything they’re pouring from barrels and you will not be disappointed. I particularly enjoy their coconut, hazelnut and vanilla skills. They seriously know their way around the IPA game, too, so you can’t go wrong there.
Jess’ Recos: Blend 3 with Hazelnut, Rare Dos, Strike - Ugandan Vanilla Beans, Brinner, Rare Noa, Crank
Stop #2: Green Bench Brewing: Pils. Farmhouse. Pale Ale. Saison. Is there anything Green Bench can’t brew? Check out Stop #3 below for more on that. But seriously, if the beautiful, outdoor dog-friendly space and variety of wonderfully-crafted beer isn’t enough, keep reading.
Jess’ Recos: Turbid 7, Kulture Khronicles, Sunshine City
Stop #3: Webb’s City Cellar: Some may call it Green Bench’s new sour sista, but we call it the cellar program southwest Florida didn’t even know they needed. This experimental brewery focuses on mixed culture and spontaneous fermentation.
Jess’ Recos: Alice, Half Measures, Simple Fix
Honorable Mention
Arkane Aleworks: They’re putting out some interesting sour IPA’s - this strip mall brewery is worth a stop.
Coppertail Brewing: Home of the one and only Unholy Trippel and much, much more.
Hawthorne Bottle Shop: A delightfully decorated women-owned shop with a killer tap list, vast to-go section and a mouth-watering food menu.
Image via brewersassociation.org
