I had the privilege of drinking three outstanding beers when I stopped by the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room in Tampa this past Wednesday evening. Besides being crafted by Florida breweries, these beers shared another commonality in that each have an ABV of 9%. What drove me, literally and figuratively, to CCB that night was [...]
There’s a brewpub chain in the Tampa Bay area called The Brass Ring, and we decided to check out the pub at their Brandon location recently. With the style of a classic English pub, 60 beers on tap and over 300 more in bottles, not to mention live music Thursday-Saturday, it more than lived up [...]
I’m glad to see that one of my favorite Flemish ales, once brewed in a limited basis, is finally available here in the Tampa Bay area. Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale (Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.; Ertvelde, Belgium; Flanders Oud Bruin; ABV: 5.5) is brewed in Belgium for the acclaimed Philadelphia brewpub. This exceptional sour ale [...]
It was a special day on Saturday when Mr. Beery’s in Sarasota hosted a Rare Beer Silent Auction & Mac ‘N Cheese Cookoff to benefit the HelpHOPELive Southeast Lung Transplant fund in honor of Erin Coleman, with all proceeds going toward her double lung transplant. It was a full house that turned out to honor [...]
Stopped by Willards Tap House in Largo on Wednesday night. St. Pete’s Trigger City Trio was on hand to entertain the crowd with a mixture of rock, funk, reggae, and blues, from their original music to unique covers such as Stevie Wonder’s “Sign Sealed Delivered” and The Beatles’ “Back In The USSR.” And of course [...]
While Italy is widely known for its wine culture, the country has a lot to offer in the beer world as well besides Peroni and Moretti. The Italians have had a thriving craft beer industry over the last few years, and we got “A Taste of Italy” when stopping by Mr. Beery’s on Sunday. Stew [...]
Marzens tend to be traditional Fall beers, but I had the chance to try a different take on this beer style at Crum’s Bar and Grill recently. Cigar City Marzen Spring Lager (Cigar City Brewing; Tampa, FL; Marzen; ABV: 5.5) is also known as Cigar City Oktoberfest Marzen when it’s released during the autumn months. [...]
You can add Crum’s Bar and Grill to a growing list of exceptional brewpubs in the Tampa Bay area. Located in downtown St. Petersburg, and owned by Chris Crum and Lanette Miller, Crum’s Bar and Grill offers craft beer, food, and live music in a hip casual setting. Speaking of which, there’s 52 selections of [...]
The last time I was at the Cigar City Brewing Tasting Room in Tampa, I learned something new. Did you know that bats pollinate blue agave plants, which provide the ingredient found in tequila? So it’s fitting that I tried a double cream ale, named for the bat, that’s aged in tequila barrels. Cigar City [...]