A pair of recent developments within the local beer scene have caught CL’s eye.
To start, Tidal Brewing Co. made waves earlier this month by opening its doors in Spring Hill. The brewery and tasting room north of Tampa at 14311 Spring Hill Drive — founded by husband-and-wife team Dave and Maxine Peitzman — specializes in, well, making good beer. Specifically, Florida-inspired beer fit for any beach day.
“We strive to adhere to the historical traditions of brewing with a new world flavor in a laid back atmosphere,” reads the Tidal Brewing website.
With help from assistant brewer Chad Dampier, Dave brews a few core beers that’re regularly up for grabs at the brewery, alongside a selection of small-batch releases available in limited quantities throughout the year.
As of May 5, the tap list featured offerings like Melusine (American blonde treated with coconut), Wee Bit O’ Salt (salted caramel brown) and What’s Good Wit It? (Belgian wit brewed with grapefruit peel). But there’s also a lineup of wines on draft, as well as cider, for non-beer drinkers.
Another brewery with a Hernando connection, Inoculum Ale Works, is working on launching a retail location in downtown St. Pete. Started by Keith Krueger and Nick Moench in 2015, Inoculum will continue production at the Spring Hill facility, but the St. Pete taproom allows the sours-only brewery to serve its own drafts and fill its own crowlers.
An opening date for the new location at 554 First Ave. N. hasn’t been announced yet. However, the build-out is expected to move pretty quickly.
For the uninitiated, Inoculum — whose name pays homage to the microbes Moench and Krueger use to inoculate their wort — is committed to the sour beer segment’s science and growth. That’s why the opening tap list has 13 Inoculum sours, an Inoculum kombucha and a couple of guest taps planned. A sour IPA called Tangency is one beer that patrons can expect.
Existing breweries like St. Pete Brewing Co., Cycle Brewing and the new Overflow Brewing Company are within walking distance of Inoculum’s soon-to-open taproom.
This article appears in May 10-17, 2018.
