Exploring the Tampa Ale Trail

This week we spent several days in the St. Pete - Clearwater area in order to attend a couple MLB games (saw Vlad's three dingers) which afforded opportunities to visit several breweries along the Tampa Ale Trail. There are 81 breweries participating in the 2021 passport program - located as far north as the Greek community in Tarpon Springs through the BlueJay city of Dunedin to Tampa then St. Petersburg and ending at rejuvenated Gulfport. 

Cigar City Brewing
Located within a mile of the Tampa Airport, this iconic Florida brewery recently expanded its tasting room since my last visit. At this location, they also provide in-house only offerings like the Terrifyingly Competent -- a juicy American Pale Ale. This pairs nicely with the Cuban Meatloaf. Follow with a taster of the Bon Vivant's Companion - an American sour ale with raspberries aged in rum and orange curacao barrels.

Clearwater Brewing Company
Housed on a formal gas station this brewery is situated on the outskirts of north Clearwater on the short drive to Dunedin. Although there are about eight breweries within a 3/4 mile radius in that town, don't overlook Clearwater Brewing. The front and back patios provide enough open space to enjoy the Comfy Cream Ale - one of the best of these styles we've tasted.  For the sour lover, go for the raspberry puree Raspberry Romper Calzone Berliner Weisse -- this is richer than others. 

Cycle Brewing
Located in downtown St. Pete and part of an easy walking brewery tour this brewery specializes in its barrel program - most notably aging stout with different ingredients.  Our favorite is the Cherry Wine - a rare DOS aged in Frederiksdal Cherry Wine barrels for 34 months. This is dense with notes of dark chocolate covered cherries. The Saturday is equally dense with copious amounts of chocolate and for a little kick try the Rare DOS 1 Year Aged -- aged one year in a used whiskey barrel. 

Gulfport Brewery + Eatery
This brewery was a great find - not only the establishment itself but also walking the small downtown area of Gulfport. This town had experienced depressed conditions for a number of years until receiving a Federal revitalization grant which they put to good use. Plenty of food is available - which is a condition for any business selling alcohol in the town - plus another barrel program based on the Gulfporter, an American Porter.  Of the four, the Toasted Walnut & Honey was the favorite -- this reminiscent of a Walnut liqueur. But don't skip the Tahitian Vanilla & Coconut, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, or the Mocha Coffee.  And definitely, don't skip the Disston City Lager, named after Gulfport's former name and a fantastic representation of a Pre-Prohibition Pilsner.  Love it when breweries produce solid lighter beers where there's no place to hide defects.

Overflow Brewing Company
Another downtown St. Pete brewery and with an extensive beer list, particularly for those who enjoy a sour lineup. The Obsidian Currants is reminiscent of a Flemish sour and extremely tart. The Persimmon Punch is a tropical fruit drink and the Flowers Just Because is a tasty and light Berliner Weisse. The favorite however is the Going Green, a Gose made like a superfoods smoothie - kale, spinach, celery, apples, and more. The veggies are subtle.

St. Pete Brewing Company
The original St. Pete brewery, this one offers both several IPAs and lighter-styled beers. For the latter, the Put Me In Kolsch is your daytime quaffer - packing plenty of flavors. In the evening theirs a Scottish Ale, Imperial Stout, Tripel -- but Localtopia IPA with the aromatic hops was our choice. 

Florida Beer Tour for Spring Break using theCompass Winery Brewery Distillery App

My son's 10th birthday and Spring Break coincided with a trip to Florida with the stipulation that I can visit a brewery where ever we ventured. And the theCompass Winery Brewery Distillery app was the perfect accoutrement to locating these breweries. We started on the right coast visiting relatives near Cape Canaveral which hosts half a dozen breweries. Our first stop was the beach and the Cocoa Beach Brewing Company, a nano with two beers on tap, the Cocoa Beach Pale Ale and Honey Golden Belgian, The later was quite tasty and brewed with 60 pounds of local honey. The next day we ventured a little north to Titusville and I forced a stop at Playalinda Brewing Company. This newbie has a great selection, many reflective of its environment. The Bottomless Blonde Ale was light and refreshing; the Shear Bliss Ruby Red Grapefruit also refreshing with a citrus and floral character. They also produce a honey Saison, the Honey Bee Belgian, which is just as tasty as the one at Cocoa Beach. The most interesting beer was the Mezzcal Margarita Ale, brewed with fresh lime juice, smoked peppers & agave nectar. The agave is evident but blends nicely into the smoked lemon flavors. And yes, they brew a sour - the Sour Puss German-style Berliner Weiss. You know that was on my sampler list; quite good.

We then drove to the Suncoast with our first stop, Ybor City (actually the Florida Aquarium) and the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. This was my second trip to the brewpub and they only disappointment was I couldn't show my son an operating canning line. No canning that day, but excellent wheat beer in the Wild Warthog HefeWeizen. Yeasty banana in fact. The brewery is best known for Old Elephant Foot IPA™ and Reef Donkey APA - solid beers canned to go.

I was determined to visit Cigar City Brewing, I mean how can one visit Tampa and not include this beer icon?  Fortunately the brewery is centrally located near the airport and with a couple hours available before picking up our travel companions, a side trip was made. The beer selection is overwhelming, maybe 20 beers on tap - some collaborations, some guests, the rest, brewed in house. I was captivated by the Josh's Little Lady Friend Belgian-Style Singel and the English Dark Mild With Cherries, Vanilla, & Coffee. The first was light, bready and funky; whereas the second had loads of flavor, with the cherries exuding forth as the beer warms. With a driver and more time, I could have stayed all day. Fortunately I found the Cigar City Florida Cracker Belgian-style White Ale at Busch Gardens later in the week.

We were staying in Largo, and on our first trip to the beach passed Barley Mow Brewing Company, a relatively new brewery with a diverse portfolio. The Company California Common was an immediate favorite with its smooth flavor and subtle hops. The Illustrious Sir IPA is a lighter bodied IPA, but with a strong nose and fresh finish. Also try the Black Rock Rye with it's spicy malt, sweet aroma, smooth finish. Being a weakling I should have avoided the Chocolate Jalapeno Porter - no subtle jalapeno here - it's in your face.

One of the more useful features of theCompass is it's Location search, where the application returns breweries within a predefined radius of the device. After a day at the Lowry Park Zoo, theCompass showed a brewery in the very near vicinity: the Angry Chair Brewing Company. Despite having a limited portfolio and being located off the beaten path, this gem is a mandatory visit. Their portfolio is currently small because they have a long term barrel aging plan - with sours in play.  Fortunately one sour was available, their Gose - at this point my favorite #flbeer. Sour, refreshing, with just a hint of salt & coriander. Spot on. Their German Chocolate Cupcake Stout is worth a taste, subtle cake flavor with just a hint of sweetness.

Surprisingly there are no breweries near Clearwater Beach, so after a visit to that town's aquarium, I drove the family ten miles north to Dunedin and 7venth Sun Brewery. I had targeted that brewery because of their love of brett and hit two out of the park with the Dancin' In The Street Berliner Weisse and the Hopeless Bromantic, a Brett Farmhouse brewed with Italian Plum. The later was fabulous, my favorite of the entire trip - just above the Angry Chair Gose and the Dancin' In The Street. Sadly the day had turned into night quickly and I couldn't convince my companions on a stop at Florida's oldest micro-brewery, the Dunedin Brewery.

The final day before driving back North was a day trip to St. Petersburg. After watching dolphins play off The Pier, we took the trolley to the center of town where Cycle Brewing and the St. Pete Brewing Company share a common block. While the family ate at Acropolis Greek Taverna, I walked across the street to Cycle Brewing and quickly quaffed a pint of their most appealing beer - the Cycle Path - an Indian Pale Lager that had an IPA finish accompanied by a fresh lager flavor. On the back side of the restaurant sits the St. Pete Brewing Company and with a short amount of time I sampled and returned home with their flagship St. Pete Orange Wheat. I've been enjoying this beer and its refreshing, crisp wheat flavor since returning home. I didn't get a chance to stop into St. Pete's 3 Daughters Brewing, but I've also been enjoying their Beach Blonde Ale as well.

Florida will soon be known for more then their beaches and Disney. Their breweries are brewing refreshing beers to match their beach environment as well as push the boundaries to dark and funky beers. Cheers.

Ballparks & Brews: George M. Steinbrenner Field

Yesterday I watched the final spring training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field between the Yankees and the Nationals and was underwhelmed with the craft beer options. When walking into the stadium I saw a Craft Beer sign above one booth which sold Miller Lite and Yuengling. Another beer station carried Magic Hat #9 and another Abita Purple Haze; two interesting choices. The only Florida beer I stumbled upon was the Florida Avenue Brewing Co IPA. Pleasant, but was expecting more Florida options, not even Cigar City Brewing.

Brews at Zoos: Tampa - Lowry Park & Busch Gardens

During our Spring Break trip to Tampa, my son planned the week around visiting his favorite thing - wildlife and thus visits to Lowry Park and Busch Gardens. The CityPass is highly recommended to cut costs and both parks have abundant animals; but not so much craft beer at Lowry Park. Couldn't find anything.  On the other hand Busch Gardens makes the crowd more tolerable by offering Florida craft beer in several locations. I noticed the Cigar City Florida Cracker at several outside food kiosks, although your lunch or dinner bill increases by $8 a beer. But your best option is the Craft Beer House in Pantopia where Florida breweries were represented by Barley Mow Brewing Company,  Big Storm Brewery, and Cigar City Brewing. Plus a Beer Camp brew from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company or a Sam Adams and you should be set. Cheers.

Brews at Zoos: Palm Beach Zoo

The Palm Beach Zoo is a regular stop in our south Florida travels. They provide educational exhibits on animals indigenous to the Sunshine state (Black Bears, Florida Panthers, Alligators, Flamingos)as well as Australia (Koala and Wallabies), Asia (Tigers), Africa (Fennec Foxes, Serval, Lemurs) and the Americas (Ocelot, Sloths). Plus many more. And on Friday nights the zoo offers Safari Nights - extending hours with live music and wine\beer.  On our last visit, they were pouring local beer from Cigar City Brewing (Jai Alai IPA) augmented with Angry Orchard Crisp Apple hard cider, and nondescript wine.  And Cigar City is generally available at the Tropics Café during regular hours. Cheers.