Tampa Beer Snobs

05/28/2026

05/22/2026

Just in case you were thinking about doing something dumb this weekend, the judges are off until Tuesday.

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05/22/2026

Tales of Ales in Athens is located a few blocks away from the Central Municipal Market (which is worth the time to visit), in a quiet neighborhood and a modest storefront. Part beer bar, part brewery, this place is where I would hang out every weekend if I lived in Athens. The owners are brewers and do collaborations with several locals, and they know their beer. They had many of their own beers, other local beers and a wonderful selection of Belgians and American beers. I must admit to getting a bit wobbly, though happily so. Let's do the thing:
1. Smoked Robust Porter - 6.2% abv from Chios Microbrewery located on the island of Chios. What a wonderful beer; smokey, dry and rich.
2. There's No Such Thing as Seagulls, Oliver - 8.7% abv, is a wild ale with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes produced by the Varietal Beer Company in Washington. Another magnificent beer, very tart, very winey and very drinkable. This is waaaay too easy to drink.
3. Hay Joe Farmhouse Ale - 5.2% abv. by Athens brewery Strange Brew, which, by the way, is a Bob and Doug McKensie movie from the early 80's, and silly as hell. This unfiltered and unpasteurized is a really good interpretation of a French farmhouse ale with all the banana and barnyard funk that you would expect. Easy drinker.
5. Strawberry Daiquiri fruited sour beer - 6.0% abv. from Omnipollo Brewery located in Sundbyberg, Sweden was the wtf beer of the day. The fruited sour is brewed to mimic the taste and texture of a strawberry daiquiri, and it does exactly that. While it was quite strange, it was still quite good.
4. Straffe Hendrik Quad - 11% abv. is one of those beers that has become hard to find, so if I sees it, I drinks it. Thick and rich with dark fruits and subtle spices, this is the epitome of a Belgian Quad beer. This one was the straw that broke the camel's back which forced me to go eat a pizza immediately afterwards.
Had I had the ability, I would have had several more as that the selection was extraordinary.
This bar is highly recommended.

05/22/2026

As one door closes, another opens. This is the circle of life.

One of its trademark green benches popped up outside its new location at 200 N. Tampa St. a few weeks ago, along with a “coming soon” sign.

05/20/2026

Athens, Greece has very few breweries, and in fact, beer is just not a popular thing. There are, however, a few excellent little beer slingers that can be found, you have to search for them but they are around. Of course, we searched and found a few.
An easy walk northwest from Monastiraki Square will bring you to Tapfield, a small beer bar tucked away in an area of really nice restaurants and tavernas. While Tapfield does not have their own dedicated brewery, they are brewers and do collaboration beers with locals.
First up, Familiar Field Chocolate Stout (6% abv) which was a collaboration between Tapfield and The Old Familiar Brewery from Greece. This was so wonderfully dry and so wonderfully chocolaty that I wept in my beer. With hints of vanilla and finishing with a bit of caramel and biscuit, this is one excellent beer.
Down Under Double Dry Hopped Neipa (6.8% abv) is another collaboration between Tapfield and ALU Beers. This sneaky bastard was deceptively light and sessionable and would make a great beach beer, but with that abv you would end up passed out in the sun and burn your ho**ey ass. The flavors were there, but for a double neipa it was a bit light.
Heart of Glass Blonde Ale (5.1% abv) By ALU Beers was our next sipper. Athens is located in a semi-arid climate and they prefer beers that are light and refreshing. This beer is exactly that, light and refreshing. I could drink this one all day and is really quite good.
Tapfield is labeled as recommended by the snobs.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g189400-d21251186-Reviews-Tapfield-Athens_Attica.html

05/16/2026

And another icon passes into the sunset. At least we will still have Westchase.

05/16/2026

The beer that made Milwaukee famous is no more.

Pabst Brewing Co. is ending production of Schlitz, the beer that 'made Milwaukee famous,' after 175 years.

05/14/2026

Beer tripping, again, this time we are in Greece, the cradle of western civilization.
First up is the Ftelos Brewery on the stunningly beautiful island of Santorini. It needs to be said that the beer culture is not well developed in Greece, and for the most part, they prefer lighter lagers and pilsners. You can find a bit of variety; you just have to search around a bit.
We'll go through the lineup from left to right in the photo.
Blue Monkey Lager - 4.7% abv. Their biggest seller (no surprise) and yep, it's a lager. A bit of Heineken funk to it. I've had worse.
Blue Monkey Pale Ale - 6.5% abv. This is a quite nice pale ale with a light body and finished quite dry. Good hop character.
Malt and Marvel Double IPA - 7.8% abv. Big hops and a bit of sweet background, quite balanced. The bitterness continues to develop on the back of the palate after you swallow. Quite good.
Cyrene Oenobeer - 9% abv. Mother Goose! A blend of beer and local wine. Santorini wines, by the way, are incredible, amongst the best in the world. The texture was very champagne like with a light body. Quite refreshing and perfect for the climate. Excellent beer.
The 'F' Project (their experimental series) Chamomile Wit - 3.2% abv. Obviously quite light on the palate from the low abv. They grow all of the herbs and vegetables that they use right next to the brewery. In this case, the chamomile, which is a fresh as you can get, overpower the wit somewhat, but it was interesting.
The 'F' Project Barrel Aged Tomato Gose - 5% abv. This beer is unbelievably complex and our first reaction when we read the name was totally WTF. But is you think about it, the saltiness of the gose pairs perfectly with the island grown tomatoes. Then, they age the beer in wine barrels AND hibiscus to add more levels of complexity. This beer is a master crafted brew, one of the best that we have ever tasted. The flavor on the tongue starts with tomato then progresses t wine and finishes with the slight tartness of the hibiscus, with the salt hanging around in the background. Perfect for a super hot climate. We ended up drinking an additional pint of this magnificent brew.
The 'F' Project Barrel Aged Porter - 9% abv. The quite good porter was aged for 12 months in Vinsanto (a local dessert wine) wine barrels. Even though it was aged in dessert wine barrels, the beer finishes quite dry and is not terribly sweet. Chocolate and coffee are the dominant flavors with the wine appearing in the background. Excellent beer.
Malt and Marvel Rosemary Gose - 3.8% abv. This is another wtf beer. At first taste I was unsure of what I was tasting or if I even liked what I was tasting. As the flavors matured, I came around to being a fan. You can definitely taste the rosemary, and the oils from the rosemary gives it an interesting mouth feel. This is a damned fine beer.
This brewery is a bit outside any of the major towns and was a bit of a hike, but we walked there in good time from Fira. Nice facilities and with beers that are much better that is necessary for a high volume tourist area. I will be dreaming about the tomato gose for years.
We highly recommend visiting this brewery should you be visiting Santorini.
https://ftelosbrewery.com/

04/21/2026

Just 4 years ago, Stone Brewing in San Diego was sold to the Japanese beer giant, Sapporo. Now the Belgian brewer, Duvel, has acquired this beer legend.

Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement with Stone Brewing, a subsidiary of Sapporo USA, to acquire the Stone Brewing brand, as well as select hospitality locations, bringing one of America’s foundational craft breweries ...

04/07/2026

Finally, a holiday that I can get behind that doesn't stand for anything other than a good time.
Please support your local breweries and beer purveyors.