On Tuesday night, Special Hoperations, a club dedicated to the craft of homebrewing, took over 7venth Sun Brewery's Tampa location for Homebrew Tuesday.
The Tampa Bay Beer Week event was hosted in the brewhouse, attached to the taproom bar. Going through the doors — from a quiet, dimly lit setting to that bright room — was like stepping into a hobby convention. Attendees buzzed about the tables, tasting a dozen or so beer samples and chatting with members of the club.
Everyone in the crowd of roughly 50 seemed happy to be there, and within minutes of my arrival, I shook hands with at least three Special Hoperations folks.
Mike Stinson was the first member to welcome me in.
"We don't care about your day job," Stinson said.
Then he waved his hand over the homebrewers present.
"You're a pilot? Whatever, let me try your beer. Architect? I don't care — let me try your beer."
Clearly, I'd joined a welcoming community — guys and gals with personal rigs set up in their garages and beach coolers — that gathered to drink, talk and bond over beer.
Each recipe was so obviously made with care, joy and, most of all, respect. Many of the Special Hoperations members had traveled overseas, where they had the opportunity to taste suds they'd never been exposed to before. In fact, the majority of what was available at the takeover were their passion projects.
"Well, when I was in England, I tried a cream ale," said member Cecil Medina of his homebrew, "and I loved it so much I wanted to make one myself."
These sort of answers were popular among the group of homebrewers, who looked down at their creations like proud parents. And, in case you're wondering, Medina's cream ale was delicious — the first sip smooth and, well, creamy, with a sweet, mellow finish that had me pouring seconds.
Another fan favorite was Dark & Stormy, the tropical stout from member Alex Amyot. It was a darker beer yet easy to drink, thanks to Amyot's fruit and ginger infusions.
"Sure, we're voting for best beer," continued Stinson, handing me a raffle ticket. "But that's not what's important here. We're all here because we love beer, and we love making beer."
But Special Hoperations, a two-time winner of the Florida Homebrew Club of the Year award, does have a funny kind of problem: too many of its members are going pro. So, if there's a rig taking up a corner of your garage, why not consider joining?
It's a way to get that brewed love of yours into like-minded mouths.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.