The Florida Brewers Guild quietly leaked the information on its website that the annual Florida Brewers Guild Beer Fest, the official kickoff for Tampa Bay Beer Week, will move from Ybor City this year to Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park on the downtown Tampa waterfront, right behind the Tampa Bay Times Forum. It’s scheduled for Saturday, March 1, 2014, and the annual Brewers Ball, featuring the top beers from the Best Florida Beer Championship, on March 2 will also move there.
Mike Halker
Mike Halker, president of the Florida Brewers Guild and president/head brewer of Due South Brewing Co. in Boynton Beach, graciously agreed to take time from a busy South Florida Beer Week for an email interview with Beer in Florida to discuss the changes. Here’s what he had to say.
Beer in Florida: Could you tell us about the new venue for the Florida Brewers Guild Fest and Brewers Ball?
Mike Halker: The new venue is at Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park in Tampa. It’s a great facility not far from our previous location in Ybor City.
BiF: Will there be anything new/changed from previous years, other than the venue?
MH: The biggest change will be the increase in space. There’s more room for parking, more room for food trucks, more room for restrooms, and of course, more room for Florida brewers to serve the great beers they’re making.
BiF: What prompted the change?
MH: The change was primarily due to the need for more space. As you know, Florida’s number of breweries is growing steadily. To accommodate this growth, we needed a larger venue. Cotanchobee Park gives us room to expand. It’s also nice to have the folks from the Brewers Ball join us.
BiF: How does this support the Florida Brewers Guild?
MH: It allows for more growth, therefore more attendees, therefore more revenues to assist us in our efforts in Tallahassee to further the cause of the Florida brewers. It also makes everyone more comfortable and allows the brewers more opportunity to interact with the folks trying their beers. Shorter lines at the restrooms should certainly be an improvement as well.
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BiF: The FBG held a new fest last year in South Florida. How did that go, and do you have any other new fests, events or initiatives planned for 2014?
MH: The festival in South Florida was a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to another one this year. The details will be coming soon but we’re looking into alternatives to the traditional festival and possibly doing something a bit more intimate. We’ll know more in the spring. Also, we’re planning a festival in Jacksonville to coincide with Jacksonville Beer Week. I would look for that festival to be sometime in June or July.
BiF: What does the FBG offer its members, and if a brewery is not a member, why should it join?
MH: The Florida Brewers Guild exists to educate the public about Florida breweries, provide networking opportunities for Florida brewers, and promote free market access for Florida breweries. Breweries in Florida join the Guild to protect our interests in Tallahassee and to have the opportunity to come together with other Florida brewers and participate in the camaraderie that makes our industry so great. It’s a chance to be a part of a movement. It’s fantastic.
Halker says tickets for the 2014 Florida Brewers Guild Beer Fest are scheduled to go on sale Feb. 5. Details will be released at FloridaBrewerGuild.org.
(UPDATE: Tickets are now available and can be purchased here.)
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