Tampa Bay’s Craft Beer Connection: Buzzing Then and Now
Over the past month, this area has been buzzing with beer events. Tampa Bay Beer Week was in early March, featuring so many craft brews from Florida that not every brewery could participate! That’s a far cry from the time when this event held a handful of local beers and out-of-state brewers represented the majority of brewers. It’s great to see how far the local craft beer business has come since the days of Prohibition and Frank Yuengling’s Tampa brewery- the one that started it all here.
During the 13-year Prohibition period, Frank Yuengling started brewing legal “near beer” to keep his workers employed. He also built a dairy across the street which is still known for its premium ice cream. In 1985, Richard Yuengling took over and revamped the entire business including production, sales, marketing and introduced new green bottles. While his new Pennsylvania plant was being constructed, Richard bought the old Stroh’s plant in Tampa, where the Yuengling family continues brewing beer to this day.
Fast forward to today and you’ll notice that Tampa is far from a one beer town.
The Brass Tap in Carrollwood offers an amazing array of 300 different types of craft beers on tap. They’ve even started brewing their own hand crafted beer on-site. You can’t beat the incredible assortment of brews in this lively bar and the friendly service here gives it a welcoming, neighborhood feel. In addition to the Carrollwood location at 10047 N.Dale Mabry, The Brass Tap has 8 other locations around the Bay area.
The Cigar City Brewpub opened in Carrollwood in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since, thanks to the famed local brew of the same name. Head brew master Nick Streeter put this beer on the map a few years ago when his local recipes quickly became staff and customer favorites. You can also grab a delicious bite of Tampa Cuban “gastropub” foods here too while you try to narrow down which craft beer or soda to experience next. 15491 N. Dale Mabry.
The other great local craft beer pub is the Tampa Tap Room, which combines a huge selection of local and international beers plus Cajun and Creole food from scratch. Stop by here to taste one of the 40 international beers on tap while enjoying a game of pool or watching the Rays or Lightning play on the big screens. The Tap Room won tbt’s “Ultimate Bar” award in 2012 and 2013 and is located at 13150 N. Dale Mabry.
Carrollwood offers a variety of wonderful features and benefits for its residents – including great beer experiences. That’s why we love living here! If you need help with the purchase or sale of a home in the greater Carrollwood area, please contact us at info@dickandkarla.com. It would be our pleasure to assist with any of your real estate needs.
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