Southern Brewing & Winemaking was a vision born from Kelly and Brian’s passion for craft beer and wine. Coincidentally, they met in 1996 at a Belgian beer festival at Atlanta Brewing Company, where Brian was the brewmaster. Five years later, they moved to Tampa, where Brian accepted another head brewer position with Ybor City Brewing.

 

As a brewer in the Southeast, Brian recognized a need for a supplier who could meet the needs of the microbreweries, brewpubs and homebrew shops in this market. In 2002 he sought to fulfill this need by opening a wholesale distribution company, Southern Brewing Supply.

 

In 2008, the demand for products from local homebrewers prompted the owners to open a homebrew shop. Kelly left her 25-year banking career and ventured into the retail aspect of craft brewing and winemaking. Borrowing 2,000 sf of warehouse space from the wholesale company, Southern Brewing & Winemaking opened its doors to the home brewers and winemakers of Tampa in June of 2008.

 

In 2010, the decision was made to sell the wholesale company, grow the retail business and start a brewery and winery.  So, they purchased the old Seals’ Marine building and moved into the space in late 2011. 

 

Southern has since grown into a hangout for locals and point of interest for visitors, offering 38 taps of beers, wines, ciders, meads, kombucha, cold brewed nitro coffee, soda and more, all crafted in house on an “amped up” homebrew system.  These can be enjoyed in the relaxing environment of the Bier Garten, with fire pits, water fountains and lush landscape or in the tap room where various activities and entertainment are hosted; such as Trivia Wednesdays, live music and much more.  And all this is complimented by the regular rotation of food trucks. 

 

And, of course, everything you need to make beer and wine, including extensive knowledge of the staff, is available in the homebrew shop.  So, you can grab a pint and just enjoy or indulge your interest in homebrewing with a beer in tow!