No reason to get excited…
The thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we’ve been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour is getting late…
– All Along the Watchtower, Bob Dylan
Well, actually there is good reason to get excited. Several reasons, in fact. As we barrel (pun intended) towards Tampa Bay Beer Week, events and happenings keep popping up around the Bay Area. Here are a few to check out:
Tomorrow night, Thursday, February 9th, Peg’s Cantina in Gulfport will be tapping Bell’s HoPsLaM and Batch #9,000 at 6pm. In addition, Bell’s
Third Coast Old Ale, Double Cream Stout, Two-Hearted, and Oberon will also be available. But Peg’s is more than just great beer: they will be giving out tacos (until they run out) with the purchase of every HoPsLaM. If you have never been to Peg’s, you are missing out on one of the true gems on Pinellas County. Amazing food, great beer, and a casual, friendly atmosphere.
Also on Thursday night, the Lagerhaus in Palm Harbor is having a Koko Brown night, with a free pint to Lagerhauser’s who show up, and a pint glass for the first one you buy. I said it a few weeks ago, the Koko Brown from Kona Brewing is a tasty beer and everyone should give it a shot. In addition, Lagerhaus has their own lineup of brews, and some great food as well.
Friday night a new beer is available for the first time in Florida: Green Flash Brewing. In fact, the Tampa Bay market is the only one in the state to
get it, at least for now. The Pour House in Tampa’s Channelside district will be having an official “Roll Out Party” for the San Diego breweries release featuring their West Coast I.P.A., Double Stout, Le Freak Ale, and Hop Head Red along with a number of other California beers. Big thanks to distributor Pepin for scoring this one for us all!
Saturday, the Pinellas Urban Brewers (PUB) Guild is meeting at the Beer & Winemakers Pantry in Pinellas Park at 2:00pm for a brew day! In addition, there will be – as always – sharing of samples, and discussions about the big events coming up. If you are a homebrewer, bring your gear and light it up! If you just want to watch and talk and take notes, that’s fine to. All are welcome.
Tampa’s Cold Storage Brewery, in conjunction with Pepin Distributing, is holding a contest to name their next beer. It is described as a “robust nut brown ale, pouring dark brown/ruby in color. Flavors are nutty, biscuit, caramel with hints of roasted chocolate coffee. A very smooth and clean brew reserving a complex warming boldness.” It logs in at 6.3% ABV and 27 IBU. Send in your entries by posting to the Facebook page or on twitter @drinkbeertampa with the hashtag #NameTheBrew and you could win 2 free tickets to Busch Gardens, your beer name on the tap handle at your favorite local craft beer bars and at the event at Bands, Brews & BBQ at Busch Gardens and some “pretty groovy craft beer swag”! Winner will be chosen on Monday-Feb. 20th.
Finally, some self-promotion and patting on the back for a minute. A while back, I wrote an article about the opening day at Seventh Sun Brewing 
in Dunedin. Apparently it caught the attention of the folks over at CraftBeer.com, so they asked me to expand upon the event and write a “Featured Brewery” piece for their site. It went live today. Here is the link. I am pretty stoked about it.
Cheers!
Beer for the Daddy 