Beer in Florida

It’s been a busy 24 hours at Beer in Florida world headquarters. The BeerCity USA poll went live Tuesday  morning, and we’ve been furiously tapping away at the computer keys to get the word out about the #BeerCityTPA campaign to bring the title to the Tampa Bay area.

First, if you haven’t voted yet, click here and vote for Tampa, then come back and learn how you can help spread the word.

We are not going to talk here about how Tampa deserves to be BeerCity USA. Our love for Florida and its craft beer scene is well-documented. Neither will we put down the current BeerCity USA title holder, Asheville. It’s a beautiful town with a great beer community.

Rather, this post is about strategies and benefits.

Strategies

The #BeerCityTPA campaign is fueled by social media. Share, share, share and it can grow exponentially.  Here is a short custom link that you can use for Twitter: http://bit.ly/BeerCityPoll.  Send that out with the #BeerCityTPA hashtag. Put the link on your Facebook page and encourage your friends to vote.

We’ve created a poster that you can print out and hang wherever you’re legally allowed. It has information about the campaign, the above link, and a QR code that people can scan with their smart phones to go directly to the voting link. Here’s the link to that. If anyone wants to make their own poster or brand it with a logo, go for it. (Note: The poster may look weird in some browsers. If that’s the case, shoot us an email and we’ll send it as an attachment).

We created a Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/BeerCityTPA. Please like it, and we’ll try to keep it updated with the campaign’s progress.

We also filmed a short video at the Cajun Café Bayou Spring Craft Beer Festival, in which several Tampa Bay area craft beer brewers and industry folks answered the question: “Why Should the Tampa Bay area be the Next BeerCity USA?”  You can view and download the video here.  Please feel  free to share and embed the video on your websites, blogs, Facebook pages, etc. We don’t ask for credit or linkbacks. It’s for all of us.

The poll is set up so you can only vote once per computer. Don’t many of us have access to more than one computer?  And a smartphone? ‘Nuff said.

Benefits

Asheville has made the most of the BeerCity USA title during the past three years (it tied with Portland, Oregon, in 2009, the first year of the unscientific poll). It’s a source of community pride, and the city uses the title to market itself as a destination.  Now, many of you Floridians might think, “We’ve already got enough damn tourists around here,” but the fact is our economy is based on their dollars, and in these lean economic times, we could use all of those we can get.

Sierra Nevada and New Belgium both announced this year that they are building new breweries in the Asheville area. Did having the BeerCity USA title help? Well, it certainly didn’t hurt. (UPDATE: It was just announced that Oskar Blues is opening a new brewery in Brevard, N.C., about 34 miles southwest of Asheville).

Naysayers may call it a “bogus poll” – it’s without a doubt unscientific – but most of those negative remarks come from locals in the losing cities.

Most importantly, it’s a chance to show the world we mean business, that we’re proud of what our once little beer scene has become, and a chance to come together as a community. Not just our beer community, but everybody.  I think Charlie Papazian said it best in his post announcing the poll:

BeerCity USA is about showcasing what is really driving the American craft beer phenomenon we are all enjoying.  It’s about the view on main street, grass roots, community support; it’s not about mainstream data, averages and statistics.

There are many hundreds of craft beer and brewing communities in America.  There’s magic and uniqueness in every one of them.

There’s also a common theme.  The enthusiasm is not only dynamic and contagious.  The craft beer and craft brewery fan base is at a grassroots level indicative of a genuine support of all of America’s small businesses and the local community spirit that Americans are rediscovering.

…

Beer geek city USA?  Not at all. BeerCity USA is a reason to applause, celebrate and have fun.

This is why the “royal we” has been used in this post. It’s not about one person, one group or even one city. It benefits everyone.

We hope the entire state gets behind this effort, from Key West to Orlando to Pensacola, because as it is often said, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” (We exempt Jacksonville, which landed on the ballot through an admirable write-in effort during the nomination process.)

Are we underdogs? Certainly.  But ask Joe Namath, the 1980 U.S. Olympics hockey team or the ragtag rebels of the Revolutionary War. Sometimes underdogs win.

Vote early. Vote often. Vote Tampa!