We attended the Seventh Sun Brewing Company release party in Dunedin on Saturday, as a packed house was on hand to usher in the new Tampa Bay area brewery’s first official pouring. Local bluegrass band the Crackerbilly’s entertained the crowd, and tasty cuisine was provided by Dunedin’s Olde Bay Café and Tampa gourmet caterer Wicked [...]
Anne and I hit a new brewpub in downtown St. Pete this past Saturday. The Ale and the Witch has been open for a little over five weeks now, and is a cool place with live music, ambiance, a great location, and of course beer. Owner Bret Andress is a craft beer aficionado, and it [...]
This Saturday marks the second anniversary of Billy’s Beer Blog. To mark the occasion, I’ve decided to do an updated version of my Ultimate Case. While I’m keeping two of my three rules from a year ago – no retired beers and a limit of one beer per brewery – I’m dropping the ban on [...]
Anne and I spent Christmas weekend in Savannah, which is becoming a tradition for us this time of year. As a local stated, “In Augusta, they ask you which church you belong to. In Charleston, they ask what your family name is. In Savannah, they ask what you drink.” We arrived around dinner time on [...]
Anne and I had a blast at Wazoo 2010 this past Saturday night at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. In addition to having more than 250 beers and beverages from around the world, the event featured cuisine from restaurants as well as live music from area based artists Velvet Jones, Impulse, and The Paper [...]
We watched Fatal Attraction for the umpteenth time the other night. As most of you know, Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) thought that he could have his cake and eat it too, but instead wound up with rabbit stew. Ironically, I just had a beer whose title would be a fitting description of Alex Forrest (Glenn [...]
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 [...]