Best Ways to Check out the Bay Area’s Craft Breweries
If you’re looking for a great way to get to know Pinellas County while tasting some of the area’s best brews you’ll want to check out the Craft Beer Trail. Your adventure will take you as far north as Tarpon Springs down to Gulfport and while the distance is only an hour from start to end you’ll definitely want to take your time (and perhaps hire a driver)! The Craft Beer Trail includes many of the breweries that made our top 10 list. If you follow the entire trail you’ll be hitting up 15 local Breweries. An added perk of the Trail is that you’ll find many brews that you won’t find anywhere else. The Craft Beer Trail is the first of its kind in Florida and is part of a push by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater to get the area noticed by beer geeks across the country.
Here are the Breweries included on the Craft Beer Trail:
1.) 3 Daughters Brewing
2.) 7venth Sun Brewing
3.) Barley Mow Brewing Company
4.) Brewers’ Tasting Room
5.) Cycle Brewing Gulfport
6.) Cycle Brewing St. Pete
7.) Dunedin Brewery
8.) Green Bench Brewing Co.
9.) Lagerhaus Brewery & Grill
10.) Pair O’ Dice Brewing Company
11.) R. Bar
12.) Rapp Brewing Company
13.) Saint Somewhere Brewing Company
14.) Sea Dog Brewing Company
15.) St. Pete Brewing Company
16.) Silverking Brewing Company
17.) Stilt House Brewery
The Tampa Bay Beer Syndicate is another great resource for planning a brewery tour. The website has four mini beer trails that highlight different parts of the Bay area. You can choose multiple mini trails by selecting the area you want to visit. For more information on Hillsborough County beer trails (there are eight) click here. To check out the mini beer trails in South Pinellas County including St. Pete, Largo and Clearwater click here. For Northern Pinellas County featuring Tarpon Springs, Dunedin and more click here. For Sarasota and Bradenton tours click here.
If you want to enjoy a brew while seeing the sights check out the Pedal Pub. The Pedal Pub is powered by three to sixteen people who enjoy wine and beer while riding along the most popular areas of downtown St. Petersburg and Bradenton. Public tours are available for $25 to $30 per person. All riders must be 21 years or older and have a valid driver’s license.
10 Great Breweries in Tampa Bay
1.) Cycle Brewing – Located in Downtown St. Petersburg, this brewery offers tastes of everything on tap. It’s cash only (and there’s a Regions Bank next door so you can hit the ATM!) and you can enjoy your beer inside or outside on the patio. You’ll find most pints here are $5 and on Mondays you can get a 32 ounce growler fill for $5. Known well by beer snobs for their barrel aged stouts, every so often have special bottle releases that have craft beer enthusiasts lined up around the block to get their hands on a bottle (or a case). Follow them on social media to find out about these releases!
2.) Cigar City Brewing – One of the largest and most popular Breweries in the Bay area you’ll find Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. Serving beer since 2009, they were among the first in the area to join the craft beer movement. In 2010 Cigar City Brewing received the honor of “#3 Best Brewery in the World by RateBeer.com and took the number 4 spot the next year.
3.) Green Bench Brewery – This downtown St. Petersburg Brewery was named for a piece of the city’s history. Green Bench comes from the green benches the lined the city in the early 1900’s. The website says the benches were a way for people to slow down and get to know each other. Today, the owners hope the beer will bring people together in much the same way. Green Bench is the first craft microbrewery in St. Petersburg. You’ll also find some great meads here as well as wine – and the pretzels – try the mustard. That’s all we are saying. Green Bench is also super dog friendly so bring your pooch!
4.) 7eventh Sun – This small (and we mean it’s TINY!) Dunedin brewery packs a lot of punch. The brewers have experience with some of the most well known brands nationwide as well as locally before opening 7eventh Sun in 2012. According to their website, they specialize in Belgian-style beers, IPAs, spirit barrel aged beer, and oak-aged sour beer.
5.) 3 Daughters Brewing – 3 Daughters is the largest brewery in St. Petersburg in terms of sheer size. There is an air conditioned tasting room, and a warehouse where visitors can play life size Jenga, Connect 4, checkers, darts, or even mini golf while enjoying a cold craft beer. They also feature live bands on weekends frequently and have some great food trucks in rotation in case you get the munchies. 3 Daughters has several seasonal beers and they also can and growler some of their more popular brews.
6.) Rapp Brewing Company – Located in Seminole, this brewery focuses on hand crafted, small batch, artisanal Ales and Lagers. They have around 20 beers that they make right on the property. There is a tasting room on site and many times there is fabulous food to go with your brew. They bring in all kinds of bites from food trucks and local businesses.
7.) St. Pete Brewing Co – This brewery and tasting room offers a west coast twist to the beer made on property. Located in Downtown St. Petersburg, it deserves a place on your list if your planning on stopping in St. Pete.
8.) Sea Dog Brewing Company – Located in Clearwater, this brewery is known for great beer and great food. They have daily specials and unique brews like “Treat or Treater”.
9.) Pair O’ Dice Brewing Company – The new Bone Daddy Pumpkin Ale is back and ready for Fall at this Clearwater brewery. The focus here is on west coast style ales made with the highest quality ingredients.
10.) Barley Mow Brewing Company – Simple. Honest. Craft. That’s the motto at Largo’s Barley Mow Brewing Company. With weekly specials and Happy Hours you’re bound to find a good deal on a great beer.
Again, we’ve featured a few of the many craft beer highlights in Tampa Bay. Do you have a favorite? We’d love to hear your suggestion below in the comment area.
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