St Petersburg, clearwater and vacinity
Corporate Ladder Brewing
Corporate Ladder is located across the bay, south of St. Petersburg. They are a highly rated neighborhood brewery, however, I did not particularly find the beer to my liking. Their logo perhaps explains why - "We Make What We Love". What about what everybody else out there loves? Or maybe because this was my last stop after a long day of my beercation, day 1 and I had already enjoyed some pretty awesome beers touring the best in Tampa. Simplistic taproom with a few tables and bar seating. There was a selection of about 10 of their beers on-tap with a selection of both ales and lagers. There were also a few guest beers available. Food trucks are available on weekends. Location: 4935 96th Street East, Palmetto Updated Nov '18
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Flying Boat Brewing
Flying Boat has a great story behind the name. A lot of interesting history to read on the walls of the brewpub, but basically, it's a tribute to the early 1900s hydro-aeroplanes that carried passengers across the bay between Tampa and St Petersburg. The travel time was 23 minutes compared to 2 hours by steamboat. They have a spacious taproom with the production brewery visible behind large glass windows. There was a nice selection of about 15 ales and lagers. Location: 1776 11th Avenue North, St. Petersburg Updated Nov '18
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Green Bench Brewing
Green Bench was St Petersburg's first microbrewery and is now a large 12,000-barrel (annually) production brewery. The have a large taproom and nice patio to enjoy a wide variety of beer styles. There were more than 20 beers on-tap, including a few guest beers. The tap list included ales, lagers, ciders and meads. Their second tasting room, which features barrel-aged beers, was open yet. It opened in early 2019. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. Location: 1133 Baum Avenue North, St. Petersburg Updated Nov '18
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Cycle Brewing
Cycle Brewing is the best-of-the-best in the Tampa-St Pete's area. With excellent beer, a comfortable taproom and friendly atmosphere, the experience was exceptional. Anyone who knows beer, knows Cycle Brewing. I was lucky that they had a special bottle release during my visit here, so I got to bring home some great beer. They do some great barrel-aged stouts here but it didn't matter if it was a stout or an IPA, they were all great.Hopefully, I can get back here again soon. Location: 534 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg Updated Nov '18
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Dissent Craft Brewing
Dissent brewing is an off-the-beaten-path brewery in an industrial part of town with a small, but comfortable, taproom. They were serving a nice variety of ales and lagers. There were only a couple people in there the night I was there so not much happening and not much conversation - just drink a few beers. Location: 5518 Haines Road North, St. Petersburg Updated Nov '18
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Inoculum Ale Works
Sour ales, period! If you're looking for something else or a variety of ales and lagers, you should probably look elsewhere, but not before trying one of their sour ales. This location is just a small, quaint tasting room as all the beer is brewed off-site and their main headquarters.This location is just a few doors down from St Pete's Brewing. As a sour lover, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here. The taplist wasn't huge but there was a good selection of sours to choose from. The bartender was friendly and knowledgeable. Location: 554 1st Ave N, St. Petersburg Updated Nov '18
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Big Storm Brewing
Big Storm is probably the largest brewing in the Tampa/St. Pete area. They have 3 separate breweries and taprooms. I went to the Clearwater location and both the taproom and brewery were quite large. There was a large selection of beer to choose from - around 20. Like a lot of large production breweries around the U.S., the focus seems to be on volume rather than flavor or uniqueness. I found the beers that I drank to be just average, at best. They do have a nice pub food menu, so it's a nice place to enjoy a meal and a beer. Location: 2707 49th Street North, Clearwater Updated Nov '18
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7venth Sun Brewing
This location in Dunedin is the original start-up location for 7venth Sun before they grew into a larger brewery in Tampa. The taproom is a lot smaller with fewer taps (10), but they are still serving up mostly the same brews as the other location. As with Tampa, the bartender was very friendly and knew a lot about 7venth Sun and craft beer, in general. Location: 1012 Broadway, Dunedin Updated Nov '18
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Two Frogs Brewing
Two Frogs is located in downtown Tarpon Springs, about 30 miles north of St. Petersburg. It's a small brewery and taproom. Unfortunately, when I was there, they had some brewing issues so there were only a few taps of beer pouring so I had a glass of each. They were all very enjoyable. Normally, there would be about a dozen beers on tap with maybe a guest beer or two. Location: 151 East Tarpon Avenue, Tarpon Springs Updated Nov '18
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Grindhaus Brew Lab
This is a small nano brewery with a homebrew supply store behind it. This small batch brewery is definitely worth visiting when you are in the area. These guys are pumping out some very good beers. Their glasses are some cool-looking lab beakers. They only use real ingredients - no extracts! Stop in and enjoy great beer while having a great conversation about beer with the owners. Location: 1650 N Hercules Avenue I, Clearwater Updated Nov '18
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Arkane Aleworks
Arkane has been voted Florida's best small brewery in 2018 and 2019. They have a lot to show for this with a nice taproom and 25 or more rotating taps. The beer menu is split by beer style, making it easy for you to move right to your favorite style. But be adventurous and try some other styles too, because they were all quite good. Food truck is available several nights per week, including weekend. Location: 2480 East Bay Drive #23, Largo Updated Nov '18
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Rapp Brewing
Started by a key figure in the Tampa Bay beer scene, Rapp specializes in German and Eastern European beer styles. They have an amazing 40 taps pouring a wide variety of beer styles. This small-batch brewery must never pause from brewing beer. To support this, I saw a bout 50 small fermenting tanks on wheels (pictured at right). The spacious taproom is in open view of the brewery. There is also a game area to challenge your sports skills while you enjoy the beer. Location: 10930 Endeavour Way, Seminole Updated Nov '18
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