Brewery owners are the best.
Don't take my word for it; take the brewers'. These guys love each other.
I find this out when I start to talk to brewers about the Dunedin beer culture; craft brewery owners not only don't mind the competition, they don't, apparently, even see each other as such. And with so many craft breweries in a relatively small space, you'd think Dunedin would have beer rivalries. After all, the downtown has something like, what, 37 brewers within a one-block radius? OK, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea: Dunedin feels like the brew hub of the universe these days.
And how did that happen, anyway?
"Dunedin" and "brewery" are not words I thought I'd ever put together. When I was a kid, Dunedin had no clever orange murals, no bustling downtown, no Casa Tina… no real reason to go to Dunedin unless you — as I did — had a boyfriend there. And even then, dates weren't in Dunedin, unless you count making out on the Dunedin Causeway.
But then the Pinellas Trail happened, and Dunedin, well, Dunedin exploded. The Dunedin portion of the trail opened in 1992, and four years later, Dunedin Brewery — the oldest microbrewery in the state — opened. It took another 18 years, but when 7venth Sun Brewery opened, Dunedin Brewery welcomed them with open arms.
"Ultimately, a new brewery opening up is a good sign," Dunedin Brewery general manager Michael Bryant says. "Not only does it create a saturated brewing district where beer tourists seek to visit, but it also creates a market where neighboring breweries have more incentive to be creative and make the best beer they can. Competition in the microbrewery world is more of a friendly rivalry. Our basic approach to competition is to treat them like neighbors. We don't see direct competition unless breweries are copying each other. When a neighboring brewery makes a great new beer, the rest of us are inspired to also make great new beer."
Justin Stange, one of the owners at 7th Sun Brewery, credits Dunedin Brewery for how far the city has come, hops-wise.
"Dunedin Brewery paved the way many years ago when the craft beer scene was much less sophisticated. They faced an entirely different set of challenges that the new breweries that have opened there in the last five years," he told CL. "Honestly, without them I feel there wouldn't be such a great beer scene in the small town of Dunedin."
After the second brewery found a following, the hits kept coming — see sidebar. Today, you can walk to all five Dunedin breweries, and there are two more on tap this year. Even with those two — Caledonia and Soggy Bottom — at the edge of the downtown, Dunedin's beer hub remains eminently walkable. Although space by the Trail remains scarce, the Trail still brings beer drinkers to the town. Cueni Brewing Co. is particularly well-positioned; as Bryant comments, Cueni's "the only brewery that you can jog right into from the Pinellas Trail."
Up the Trail a ways in Palm Harbor, Sean Greelish, co-owner of Stilt House Brewery (2014) says he chose his location because of the Trail (and the proximity to Dunedin's probably didn't hurt, either) — from the front of the taproom, you can see the Trail.
"It's directly on the trail; we were the first brewery directly on the trail. We have a guardrail cut that comes right into my parking lot," he says. Earlier this month, Biking For Brews brought 164 cyclists at Stilt House.
That's a lot of beer in a small area, but many brewers say when it comes to craft breweries, more is better.
"Since our first neighbor — 7venth Sun — opened up, we've seen more beer travelers come through town because they are able to experience multiple operations in one afternoon," Bryant says. "We are firm believers that our highly saturated town of breweries will be just fine as long as every operation maintains their unique approach to beer. Above all, quality of beer is the determining factor for a successful brewery. So far all the brewers in town are doing a great job to maintain that level of quality."
"Dunedin's kind of its own neat little destination, and with two more breweries coming online, we'll have one brewery for 5000 residents," Andy Polce, owner of Dunedin House of Beer, says.
Dunedin has diversity in its brews, too — Dunedin Brewery honors the town's Scottish heritage; Woodwright has a carpentry vibe (think awls for tap handles and a menu mimicking a radial arm saw blade); each brewery has found its niche. That, and good beer, Bryant says, makes a beer-soaked market work. It helps, too, that the brewers view the town as a beer lab.
"It's almost like a loose R&D where we can all taste new ideas and share our own as well," Bryant says. "You can find brewers visiting neighboring breweries to enjoy the beers there." Each new brewery, he says, brings more positive effects with no downside.
Polce agrees.
"Our taphouse is the best focus group in the world."
"In Dunedin, we are lucky to be saturated by neighboring breweries who have their own identity and style [and] approach to the business," Bryant says. "This is what we believe creates a harmonious successful brewing district in a small town such as Dunedin. We are very happy with the other breweries who have flourished in our little town."
Polce remains cautiously optimistic about the Tampa Bay brewing scene overall.
"Not all of them are going to make it," he says of the craft breweries, although he's quick to add, "I think Dunedin's going to be OK; I think some of these other breweries may not make it."
Any brewery with good product will do well in the area, though, he says.
"These places that pop up are going to be carried by the locals. Back in the day, anybody could open a brewery and be OK, but it's not quite that way anymore. Some will survive in the tasting room," he says. "If you offer a nice product, you'll be OK. As far as beyond that, for distribution, you're going to have really good product. Some of the products are not up to par."
He's quick again to say he believes Dunedin's a cut above those not-up-to-par products.
"We're doing some great things in Dunedin. There's still enough to go around. Some of the more recent breweries that are opening have done it to capitalize on the location," he says.
Stange agrees.
"In order to survive each brewer must have something unique to offer. That can be a number of things outside of the different brewing style, techniques, and packages they offer. Some have only beer, while others offer food, some offer live music that varies in style and size of venues. A few offer games for the demographic looking for more of a bar setting. They all have their own personalities."
"I feel confident the area can support these new breweries," Polce adds. "Most of them operate their tasting rooms similar to a small beer bar. There is plenty of local and tourist combine to support that growth."
Stange says he thinks the new breweries will help the area as it evolves.
"I feel the breweries will draw other craft industries to the area, such as restaurants, high end beer bars, cider, mead and other alcohol producers," he says.
As I sit on the second floor of Woodwright Brewing, soaking in the wood shop vibe (along with Mad Beach Brewing's Kalypso Cider), I look down over the bustling bar, then turn to watch cyclists heading off the Trail and into various tasting rooms. I see people leaving 7venth Sun and making their way into Woodwright; I see people settle up at Woodwright and head south to Dunedin Brewery. Dogs, babies in strollers, locals and tourists all wander in and out of the breweries.
Yeah, this is much better than making out on the Causeway. Well done, Dunedin. Well done.
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2017.