Favorite Small Brewery: Southern Brewing & Winemakeing

While Southern Brewing & Wine Making began as a beer & wine making supply shop, they moved to a larger building and added a bar/taproom and beer garden for customers to enjoy their consistently crafted small batch beer. Over the years we've been friends with Southern, they've hosted everything from beer making classes and home brewing get-togethers to Tampa Bay Beer Week events.

Southern is so more than a brewing supply store, and it’s far more than just a bar. The original supply store opened in 2008, and in the years since, Southern has done nothing but grow.  We began visiting Southern in 2011, after attending a brewing class. In just the past few years, we’ve watched Southern transform from a supply store with a little bar for sampling to a supply store with a very busy bar/pub, a renovated beer garden, hosting markets and community events, music and food trucks on the weekends, and a very loyal following. 

The Southern concept is actually quite simple—sell quality beer making supplies, make quality beer, surround yourself with people who enjoy the same thing, and support your community When we started going there, it was one of the most laid-back, relaxed atmospheres imaginable.  No pretentious beer snobs, no rowdy bar crowds/frat parties, no corporate rules.  Southern seems to have always been about the people and the product. Sell supplies and share recipes for making great beer, make and sell their own beer, and even teach people how to make beer.  Then, encourage guests to bring their kids and their dogs, make homemade sodas for the kids, provide bowls and water for the dogs, host a food truck, but allow food from anywhere, and make the beer garden a place where everyone wants to hang out…and drink more Southern beer.  Genius concept!

Because Southern brews on a small scale, you won’t find their beer in bottles or cans, even though the idea has been kicked around a time or two.  No, the only place you’re going to find their beer is in their tasting room.  Likewise, because they are small, the taps constantly change and the selection is huge, so it’s a great idea to check out their Facebook page for current offerings.

Here are our suggestions…

1)      Moonraker Imperial Stout…in any variety.  This stout is AMAZING!  It is by far our favorite of     all their beer!!

2)      Oliver’s Gruel Oatmeal Stout 5.5%abv

3)      Fragmented Porter 6.3%abv

4)      Black Veil CDA 8.2%abv