Tampa Bay Beer Week celebrates their tenth anniversary in 2022, and ten years of beer weeks are a perfect illustration of the growth that the beer scene has seen and how just how many new and awesome breweries that call the Bay area home.
The Old New Kids on the Block – 2012
As Tampa Bay Beer Week began in 2012, Cigar City Brewing, 7venth Sun Brewery, and Tampa Bay Brewing Company were some of the only names in local beer that distributed their beer to bars and restaurants. These young brewers were opening their doors and learning about the unique tastes of Tampa’s residents and visitors and getting their feet under them.
Enjoy a taste of 2012 Tampa Bay Beer Week with a Cigar City Brewing Maduro Brown Ale, 7venth Graffiti Orange Wheat Ale, or Old Elephant Foot IPA to taste some of the landmark beers in Tampa Bay history.
New New Kids in the Bay – 2017
As Tampa grew in prestige and number of breweries, breweries won medals and gained attention new breweries opened their doors and Tampa Bay Beer Week grew. Tampa was no longer a city’s beer scene, but an area’s beer scene. Areas like St. Petersburg, Largo, Trinity, Gulfport, and Sarasota had breweries emerge and distribute their beer to fine bars and restaurants.
Toast the middle years of Tampa Bay Beer Week with a healthy pour of Cycle Brewing Cream and Sugar, Please Porter, Escape Brewing Other West Coast IPA, Green Bench Coffee Pot Bayou Stout, or Motorworks Cruiser Kolsch.
Snowbirding becomes permanent – 2022
One of the newest trends in craft beer is satellite breweries. Tampa Bay will soon be home to two breweries that are building or crafting permanent homes in the Bay Area.
Lord Hobo Brewing of Massachusetts is building a home in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa. Look for more regular appearances from their Boom Sauce and HOBO Life IPAs. They will have a space just down the way from Woven Water Brewing, Hidden Springs Ale Works, and Magnanimous Brewing.
Sun King Brewing of Indiana is making a permanent home in Sarasota, in the building that used to house JDub’s Brewing. Now beers like Sunlight Orange Vanilla and Osiris Indiana Pale Ale can become permanent fixtures on the bottle store shelves instead of being vagabonds that came and went with the springtime.
(https://floridabeernews.com/2022/01/04/indianas-sun-king-brewery-is-opening-a-taproom-in-sarasota/)
Tallahassee’s Ology Brewing is moving into the former home of Angry Chair Brewing in Seminole Heights. Tallahassee’s most experimental brewery makes beers in a similar spirit to those of Angry Chair, so fans of Ric Flair Night and the former tenant should feel like a brother or sister moved in rather than a complete stranger. Maybe a few more hazy IPAs, but in today’s world that’s to be expected.
(https://floridabeernews.com/2021/09/22/this-florida-brewery-is-moving-into-angry-chairs-building/)
While neither of these breweries have opened their doors yet, you can still drink to the future of Tampa Bay Beer Week with beers from newcomers to the Bay Area like Magnanimous Brewing Crown Lager, Gulfport Brewing Unsteady Freddy Double IPA, Ology Brewing Sensory Overload Double Dry-Hopped IPA, and Woven Water Brewing Nouveau New England IPA.
The Whole Sunshine State Has Grown – 2022 and beyond
When Tampa Bay Beer Week first began, Tampa was one of the state’s only concentrated areas with great brewers making outstanding beer. Just like the Tampa Bay Area’s beer has grown up to become awesome in all corners, so, too, has the state of Florida. It’s not just Tampa Bay and it’s surrounding area making awesome beer, but Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Palmetto, and Miami. Great beer is being made throughout the Sunshine State with no signs of stopping.
Drink to the future of Florida’s craft beer scene with a beer from El Jefe from Miami’s J. Wakefield Brewing, an Artifact Saison from Unseen Creatures Brewing & Blending, or a Karate in the Garage NEIPA from Jacksonville’s Southern Swells.
However you choose to celebrate Tampa Bay Beer Week in 2022, we will be there for you – our team has an absolutely stacked lineup of beer from all corners of the state of Florida — and together we will celebrate the best time in Tampa Bay’s beer history and the future of extraordinary liquid from Florida breweries right now and going forward….