Drink Local Florida Blog
Walking Tour of Four Pub Pass BrewerieS in St. Pete
In a six-by-two block area of St. Petersburg, between Central Ave. and 1st Ave. South, there are four craft breweries partnered with the Tampa-St. Pete Pub Pass. You can park, or better yet Uber, then walk to all four. It's also a popular stretch for the cycle trolley brewery tour.
In the beginning of the year Drink Local Florida and Pub Pass teamed up for a giveaway - we gave out two South Florida and one Tampa-St. Pete Pub Pass, with Drink Local Florida koozies and bottle openers for runners-up. We held on to one Tampa/St. Pete Pub Pass and have been using it all year to visit different breweries and claim our one free beer. This included stops in Ybor City and Tampa, and now four in St. Pete.
Below is a quick description of the brewery and the beers we had there. We've also created a list of the four Pub Pass stops here on Google Maps, with walking directions from one through four that totals 11 minutes over a half mile stroll. This would be broken up with brewery stops one way, then a half mile stretch going back, so around a half mile to one mile total of walking depending on where you are dropped off and picked up.
Right Around the Corner
Right Around the Corner (RATC) Arcade Brewery is a really cool place if you are in to good beer and old school video games or arcade games. From the games to the wall art, everything about this place is 80’s and 90’s nostalgia. Many of the tap handles are the gun from Duck Hunt for NES, while NES, Sega, N64 and other classic gaming systems are setup for free play. There are several arcade games that are mostly a quarter to play. It’s a split level building with the arcade up on the second level after the first level with the bar, TVs and game consoles.
We had a few beers here and all were solid. This started with using the Pub Pass for their straight ahead Bob's IPA to set the baseline, then following that up with their Strawberry Milk Shake IPA. It was mid-November and they were about to kill the Pumpkin Ale keg, so we tried that one as well. These beers were enjoyed while playing a little N64 and some arcade games. It's easy to spend several hours here and they have plenty of great beers to try while you hang out.
Pinellas Ale Works (PAW)
Pinellas Ale Works, or PAW, is as dog-friendly as they come. The brewery has a great outdoor section and there are water bowls, treats and toys for dogs. We were there on Sunday when they often have a free dog wash. The dog friendliness shows in their beer names as well, like the Milk Bone Stout.We sat outside and watched the dogs get washed (wishing we brought Landis dog for a bath), and it was a beautiful fall day. A Pumpkin Festbier was enjoyed for even more of a bier garten feel, served in a glass stein-style mug. I will be coming back for more from this awesome dog-friendly brewery, and hopefully catch another free dog wash day like they were doing this time.
Avid Brew Co.
Avid Brew Co. is a local micro brewery and brew supply shop in one location. If you are new to home brewing, it's a great place to get educated while you enjoy their beers. If you are an experienced home brewer, it's a great place to get your supplies and also pick up a pint or two.Being our first time there, we went with one of their straight ahead IPAs. It was called Full Spectrum IPA - an American IPA with a good bitterness and strong hop profile. It's approaching 7% ABV.
Avid Brew Co. is towards the Eastern most end of the stops on this four brewery walking tour - so it makes sense to be either your first or last stop.
Cage Brewing
Finally there was Cage Brewing. This is a cool place to go, they have chess boards out and interesting events, like a recent Ukulele playing conetest. The brewery is really like a cage. There are black metal and cast iron gates that protect brewing equipment and the tap room area, which are covered but open-air/outside.We stamped our Pub Pass getting the Mango IPA that was hoppy, hazy and slightly sweet. Sweet is expected for a mango beer, but this was not over sweet and still had some bitterness.
All-in-all the Pub Pass has been great. In addition to a free beer at each of these four breweries, we were able to get our passes stamped at Tampa Bay Brewing Co. and Rock Brothers Brewing around Cetro Ybor, as well as 81 Bay Brewing in South Tampa and a few more. There's even two more participating breweries, Flying Boat and Overflow, in the near-by St. Petersburg area we need to hit up next. We have until the end of the year to use the Pub Pass, and a 2020 version is on sale now with 25 participating locations in the Tampa and St. Pete area.
Posted: December 9, 2019
