Tampa
Quite a few breweries are concentrated in the Ybor historic district and scattered up and down the long stretch of North Florida Avenue on bus route 1. A few of them are included on the Brew Bus tour. You can get pretty much everywhere in Tampa by public transport and it’s inexpensive, though I understood from the beer locals I spoke to that they very surprised I was doing that, apparently they don’t!
Downtown / around N. Florida Ave
Angry Chair Brewing is of course a must-visit for all international craft beer fans. With 24 taps and according to their own website “lots of wood, lots of metal, look at those exposed beams, much wow, and swag, lots of swag” a true craft beer pilgrimage destination.
I was especially taken with Woven Water Brewing, about a 12 min walk from N. Florida Ave. The interior is a interesting mix of craft beer and cocktail bar vibe. The flight of three I had (New England IPA, smoothie sour and coffee porter) were excellent. Lovely bar tender, who was very friendly and informative. That is often a make-or-break factor for me.
Places I visited with the Brew Bus were Florida Avenue Brewing, Ology Brewing, Lowry Parcade (really fun, playing skee ball brought back some memories!), Common Dialect and Independent Bar and Cafe. You get about 50 minutes or so at each location. Well worth the ticket. I happened to be the only one who booked the tour that evening, like having a private taxi! The beers were pretty reasonably priced. The bars that are not a brewery – Independent and Lowry – also had some Belgian beers on tap, which is pretty cool and shows that they are also interested in traditional styles and not only showcasing US beers.
Last but certainly not least, Cigar City Brewing near the airport – the original taproom – is a great spot to hang out for a few beers, especially during Tampa Bay Beer Week when they release their newest Hunahpu! I didn’t get in the early morning queue for that one, however tempting it was. They have a second smaller cider and mead taproom in Ybor.
Ybor Historic District
Ybor is a free 15 min tram ride from downtown. I found the best coffee of the trip there at Tabanero Cigars – yes indeed, a cigar shop, but with excellent coffee! Ybor City was once the cigar capital of the world. It is now known for its thriving nightlife scene and the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Florida, “Columbia”, that has been open since 1905.
Barriehouse Beer should be at the top of your list when visiting Ybor. I had such a wonderful time; Ashley is the best host and bartender! It is very welcome place, almost like a local divebar, but then with fantastic craft beer. The owners come for a family of German brewers who emigrated to the States mid 19th century. You can see clearly from their tap list that they have a preference for German and Czech style lagers. I tried a few from the cutest taster glasses I have ever seen and they were excellent. There are 20 taps of which 6 are Czech sidepull taps. I had my very first mlíko there, a very cool experience. A mlíko is a glass almost entirely filled with foam, with just a small amount of beer at the bottom. The foam is incredibly dense and creamy, giving the drink its milky appearance.
The two other breweries I stopped at in Ybor are equally worth a visit. Coppertail Brewing is the typical big craft beer minimalistic taproom with windows into the brewery, lots of seating and a food menu. Great for hanging out with friends, but perhaps a little too impersonal for a solo traveler. Tampa Bay Brewing Company is also a spacious taproom, though more colorful and located in the downtown area of Ybor right on the historic tram route, with a pretty big terrace. They were showing Return of the Jedi on one of the screens, so of course extra bonus points scored there! They have some pretty neat merch, too.
One of the taprooms I was excited to share here is Bastet Brewing. They had lovely beers and absolutely the best merchandise! I got a shirt there and a Baby Yoda handmade by one of the owner’s mom, it is my favorite souvenir from the trip. So I am totally gutted to read that they have recently closed their brewery permanently due to financial difficulties.
