Beerfest 2012

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Thanks to all the fans who turned up to Beerfest 2012!

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Craft beer in cans!

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Ybor City microbrewery reaches bay area milestone: craft beer in cans

By Justin George and Tom Scherberger, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Monday, February 13, 2012

TAMPA — The next evolution in Tampa Bay’s small but growing craft brewing community came Sunday.

Dave Doble, head brewmaster at Tampa Bay Brewing Company, some family members, staff and friends gathered around a canning machine they named “Anita,” as in “I need a beer.”

Dave Doble checks out a new canning machine at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company on Sunday. The brewing company is the first Florida microbrewery to can beer in Tampa Bay, hoping to churn out 2,000 cans of beer in time for the Ybor City Knight Parade.

Doble grabbed one, poked his car key into the bottom, flicked open the tab and shotgunned the cold contents down his throat while everyone else took giant gulps of their own.

Just like that, down went the first craft beers canned in the Tampa Bay area, a milestone opening the door for further sales and distribution of the Ybor City brew while also increasing the exposure, relevancy and availability of Florida’s microbreweries.

“We never thought we’d be anywhere near here,” Doble said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Coming to a store near you, Tampa Bay Brewing Company’s flagship Old Elephant IPA will be sold $10 for a four pack of 16 ounce cans. It’s a fancy, local beer in a convenient and accessible package.

“I prefer cans,” Doble said. “I like to fish. I like to boat. For everything I do, cans make sense.”

Although canned beer is common, comprising roughly half of all sales, it has been only since 1935 that beer came in cans, when Krueger’s produced 2,000 cans in Richmond, Va.

Craft beer makers avoided cans, largely because of the perception of off flavors. But with improved technology, more craft beer is being put in cans. They’re now considered superior by ensuring purity and taste by preventing light damage and oxidation.

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Tampa Bay Beer Week

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First Ever Tampa Bay Beer Week!
March 3-10, 2012

Tampa Bay craft brewers plan beer week in March

By Tom Scherberger, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, February 10, 2012

TAMPA — The email went out last month, a call to arms of sorts to the Tampa Bay craft beer community.

It began with a simple question: Any interest in starting a regional beer event modeled after Philly Beer Week? If so, let’s talk.

And they did, gathering for a series of meetings at a conference room at Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. The result: the first ever Tampa Bay Beer Week, March 3-10.

A loosely knit group is organizing the event, representing virtually all the major players in the Tampa Bay craft beer scene — brewers, distributors, tavern and home brewers. And it’s being run with the same sort of collaborative spirit that has characterized the development of the local brewing industry.

Doble said Tampa Bay Brewing has 10 events planned that week, including a beer dinner at its Ybor City brewery and pub and another at The Pub at International Plaza, and three brewery nights at local taverns that specialize in craft beer.

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