Last January, I was able to sneak away for a quick trip to the Tampa Bay Area to visit my brother and SIL. I was thrilled to leave the 9 degree weather in Cincinnati for 68 degrees in Florida.
My brother and SIL enjoy a good local brewery as much as I do, so we planned to tour as many local breweries as we could. They had a brewery passport from PubPass, which means we could get one free pint from particitpating breweries. This was a great option to be able to explore many different breweries.
We headed straight from the airport to Cigar City Brewing. Both my SIL and I love having a good soft pretzel with beer cheese when we go to breweries, so we planned on enjoying quite a few together during this trip. At Cigar City Brewing I ordered Fancy Papers, a hazy IPA, to go with my pretzel sticks. The brewery had an open interior space, and didn’t feel crowded. It was well lit and the staff were very friendly. Both my pint and pretzel sticks were delicious.
With time for one more brewery before dinner, we stopped in the Ygor neighborhood of Tampa and visited Barriehaus Beer Co. At this cute neighborhood brewery, we ordered a flight, along with another pretzel. We sampled several beers, all of which were good. The pretzel was a little tough however.
The second day brought overcast and drizzly weather, so we had to ditch our plans to kayak with the manatees. Instead, my SIL, niece, and I visited the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach. The viewing center is a protected reserve with an observation tower, trails, and boardwalk, sitting in the shadow of the Tampa Bay electric power station. During the winter the manatees leave colder waters to return to the warm bay. Built by Tampa Electric, the viewing center is a state and federal sanctuary. It was definitely worth the trip if you are in the area. Dozens of manatees swam all over the bay in pods.
After the viewing center, we continued our brewery tour from the previous day, stopping at Flower Crown Kombucha. It was a cute cafe with a floral theme and cozy feel. They keep many flavors of non-alcoholic kombucha on tap. I tried the Pineappilyever After, which I found refreshing and delish. My niece had an iced lavender latte and said it was good too.
Next, we visited the Henry B. Plant Museum, located on the University of Tampa campus. The unique architecture of the building alone is worth the trip. The museum was originally a hotel built by Henry Plant, meant to be an opulent winter resort. Plant played a large role in the growth of Tampa Bay by bringing railways to Flordia. Inside the museum we saw original Tampa Bay Hotel furnishings and decorations from the Gilded Age.
After the museum we headed back to the Ygor area to Tampa Bay Brewing Company. We satisfied our hunger with an afternoon snack of a hummus/baba plate, a flight, and of couse, another pretzel with mustard and beer cheese. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable about their beer. This was a larger location than some of the breweries we’d visited so far and felt like a sports bar. We washed down the best pretzel so far with an amazing bourbon barrel beer and PB&J beer.
After resting at home for bit, we went to dinner at Mr. Dunderbak’s, a German brewpub. This family favorite of my brother and SIL had fabulous food and over 400 varieties of craft and European beers available.
My last full day was sunny, but much cooler. We embarked on our final main activity, riding part of the Pinellas Trail. The Pinellas Trail is over 60 miles total, stretching from Tarpon Springs in the north, down south to St. Petersburg. Construction began in 1990, building the trail along an old rail line. I roped my SIL into this adventure with me, promising only 10-12 miles on this trip.
We rented bikes from Kafe Racer in Dunedin, loaded them in the back of the van, and headed to Tarpon Springs for our starting point.
Our first stop was Brighter Days Brewing. I was happy to find that Brighter Days Brewing, along with most of the breweries we visited, sold 4-5oz samples. We didn’t have to invest in a whole flight, or pint. The beer was great, and I highly recommend stopping in if you are in the area.
We then headed south on the trail. Only a few blocks later we came to Two Frogs Brewing Company, but unfortunately they were closed. Less than 0.5 miles from Two Frogs, Sponge City Brewing sat a few blocks west of the trail. Their website said they wouldn’t open until later, but we decide to check it out anyway. They were open and it was delightful. I’m so glad we rode by! My SIL and I shared a flight and another order of pretzel sticks. The staff were helpful and the head brewer even came by the table to discuss the beer with us. They’ve only been open for 7 months, but they earned my high opinion. I’m looking forward to checking them out next time I am in town.
Those were the only 3 breweries right off the trail, but if you want to make a full day of it in Tarpon Springs, there are several more breweries as well as a distillery in town.
After riding about 5 miles to Palm Harbor, we stopped at deBine Brewing Company. We grabbed a pint here and headed back out. The blueberry sour was fabulous!
We headed west a few blocks from there to a park, Pop Stansell, on the bay. After exploring a little bit, we were back on the trail.
As we continued into Dunedin to finish our brewery tour, we decide to take a detour west toward Honeymoon Island. We rode only a few blocks to the drawbridge, put our toes in the sand and decided to turn around. We wanted to make sure we had enough daylight to finish our tour in Dunedin.
Dunedin was just over 2.5 after the Honeymoon Beach detour. Dunedin boasts 8 breweries total. Four are close to the trail, and in town there are also many great restaurants, brewpubs, etc. It was a very cute and walkable town. We got down to business and first visited 7venth Sun Brewing Company. We each got a pint, and sat outside to enjoy the beautiful weather along with the good beers. I purchased a can of a gluten free beer to go.
Next door was the HopScotch Cafe, and while it’s not a brewery, they offer many great draft options. Since they accepted our brewery passport, we stopped in and got a charcuterie board along with our beer.
It was almost sunset, so we rode west 2 blocks from this strip mall to the bay to grab a picture.
After returing our bikes to the rental, we explored more of Dunedin on foot.
Afterwards, we headed to Cueni Brewing. The building welcomed us from the bike trail with a mural and cute patio. While they didn’t have food onsite, they did have snacks available. The atmosphere was cozy and welcoming with friendly staff.
We also had HOB and Dunedin brewing on the list, but decided to call it a night as it was getting late and we had already indulged a lot. My brother and nephew joined us for dinner at Salty Soul. The food was 9/10, a perfect ending to the day.
We ended up biking 12.8 miles total. We both survived and had a great time!
My flight the next day was early afternoon, so we were able to grab breakast and lunch in town before heading to the airport. We went to the Ygor area again, where we grabbed coffee and shared a crepe at a local cafe.
Then we headed to Zydeco Brewing. We choose this brewery because it had great reviews and the New Orleans inspired food sounded great. Unfortunately they were in the process of temporarily closing, as the rent had increased in Ygor a lot lately, and they are building on their own site. The menu was very limited due to this. We grabbed a pint, lunch, and a pretzel anyways, which were all great. I hope I can visit them soon at their new site and try even more of their delicious food.
My 3 day vacation sped by, but it was a great visit and we succesfully visited 8 breweries and tried 5 pretzels. I missed my family and was happy to get home (despite the winter weather).
