Craft beer is good for the soul. At least that’s what you tell yourself if you’re a craft beer lover! Tampa Bay is home to over 55 breweries crafting home-brewed beer with lots of personality. So it's imperative and inevitable that Tampa locals love craft beer and celebrate it often with craft beer festivals.
Throughout the year there’s Tampa Bay Beer Week, which has at least six craft beer tasting events. So if you don’t know a lot about beer and are interested in an education on the fine art of brews, carve out time during the first week of March to attend these tasting events so you can learn about what you like and don’t like!
Welcome to Tampa Bay’s ultimate guide to beer-tasting events!
St. Pete Beer and Bacon Festival (2020 Dates Coming Soon)
Two of the best things in life come together for a weekend long festival: bacon and beer! Grab your friends and head to Vinoy Park in Downtown St. Pete for an afternoon of endless samplings of over 100+ craft beers and 50+ bacon-centric dishes. With live music all day and al AYCD atmosphere, this is an event you don’t want to miss out on each January.
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Florida Food & Brews (2020 Dates Coming Soon)
On one of the perfect 70° sunny days in February, head to England Brothers Park in St. Pete for a day filled with food and brews. With tons of local food, music and comedy headliners, artists, retail shops, and local craft brews, there’s nothing more you could need. Invite your friends and make it a party!
Beer Bourbon and BBQ (2020 Dates Coming Soon)
Tampa’s favorite smoked meat onslaught is back for their 6th year in Curtis Hixon Park! Pig out at the Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ festival to enjoy all the pleasures that true Southerners live for! With many of Tampa’s local breweries in attendance, you're invited to try any or all of the beers at the festival. With the purchase of a ticket, you receive unlimited samplings of beer and bourbon!
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Tampa Bay Beer Week
For seven years, Tampa Bay has celebrated everything craft beer for eight straight days in the first week of March. Thousands of beer tasting events ranging from large-scale festivals to beer tastings, beer dinners, and more take part in the annual celebration every year. The success of Tampa Bay Beer Week has been a major factor in the continuing growth of the Tampa Bay area craft beer community.
Here are some of the Tampa Bay Beer Week events you can’t miss:
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Temple Terrace Craft BrewFest
For the fourth year, the Temple Terrace Craft BrewFest is back! Since 2015, The Rotary Club of Temple Terrace has put on one of the locals' favorite events with over 35 different breweries in attendance.
Come out and try over 100 beer samplings from local and national breweries under the shady oaks of Historic Woodmont Park! The brewers promise is to bring their best brews to thousands of locals and visitors alike. A variety of food trucks, retail vendors, and live music will make this the do-not miss event of 2019!
Bolts Brew Festival (2019 Dates Coming Soon)
There’s nothing better on a hot and humid summer day than cracking open an ice-cold beer. Luckily, the Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing back the craft beer drinking event of the summer for their second year in a row. Sample your way around Amalie Arena as over 100 craft beer varieties from more than 50 local and national brands take over the Lightning’s home court.
Halfway There Festival of Beer (2019 Dates Coming Soon)
Tampa Bay knows we love beer, so they don’t let us go too long without a craft beer festival! At the six month mark after Tampa Bay Beer Week, there's a Halfway There Festival of Beer at Armature Works.
Over 58 local, national, and international brewers will bring their best and newest creations to the sample stations for you to try! Upon entrance, you'll receive a sampling glass that allows you unlimited samplings of craft beer. Food is available for purchase in the Heights Public Market for when you get hungry!
Busch Gardens Bier Festival (2019 Dates Coming Soon)
Thrills are on tap at Busch Gardens with the all-new Bier Fest! Toast to the end of summer every weekend for three weeks at the end of August through September 16. This year, it extends into Labor Day Weekend.
This all-new festival blends the local Tampa Bay craft scene with time-honored traditions to create a unique food and beer celebration. With over 100 beer samplings from 65 local, regional, and national breweries, you'll rotate through the festival listening to live entertainment and eating contemporary fare. The food pays homage to a traditional Oktoberfest with a modern spin.
Sand & Suds Beer Festival (2019 Dates Coming Soon)
With sand between your toes and a different beer at every turn, the Sand & Suds Beer Festival is a beachside sampling event you don’t want to miss! More than 100 brews will be available for tasting and sampling as you are given a souvenir glass for unlimited samplings. Try one or try them all! With beer flowing through your veins, you’ll have an opportunity to hear live reggae music and get a picture with the colorful sunset as your backdrop.
Brews by the Bay (2019 Dates Coming Soon)
Feel like a kid again while sipping on hundreds of beer samples as you adventure around the Florida Aquarium. Dive into the food samplings from local restaurants so you don’t drown in beer! It will be overflowing with endless beers, delicious food from local restaurants, a sea of live entertainment, and even a silent disco. Plus, all of the exhibits will be open to enjoy!
Find more events in Tampa by registering on 813area, your free local guide to everything going on in Tampa Bay.
Cover photo courtesy of Adobe Stock Images
