Hops for Hunger is a honey wheat orange ale available for a limited time at Big Storm’s four tap rooms in Clearwater, Orlando, Odessa, and Cape Coral. Courtesy of Big Storm Brewing
Big Storm also added specialty equipment that will reduce the brewery’s carbon footprint by capturing CO2 released in the brewing and distilling process and using it to carbonate beer. Courtesy of Big Storm Brewing
Tropicana Field on St. Pete's skyline as seen from 3 Daughters Brewing. Courtesy of 3 Daughters Brewing
3 Daughters Brewing pivoted during coronavirus to produce hand sanitizer. Courtesy of 3 Daughters Brewing
Courtesy of 3 Daughters Brewing
In Clearwater, the craft brew scene is adding a tasting room with a view and a beer with a purpose.
St. Petersburg-based 3 Daughters Brewing is opening a rooftop tasting room on Clearwater Beach that will offer a view of both Pier 60 and the intercoastal waterway. They expect to open the new location, which will be above Hooters at 381 Mandalay Ave., in late February for spring break. The new tasting room will serve 3 Daughters brand favorites as well as small batch craft beers and specialty ciders and hard seltzers brewed and served exclusively at that location. The Clearwater Beach tasting room will also host live music and have a Beach Bites menu.
VP of Sales & Marketing Brian Horne says they expect the beach location will draw in tourists and grow the brand.
“At our tasting room in St. Pete, we already get a lot of transient customers,” Horne says. “We expect that number to almost double at the beach, which helps the brand and brand recognition. They go back and tell their friends about this great brewery they went to.”
3 Daughters originally eyed expansion in 2020 but put the plans on pause after the Covid pandemic hit. After a 33 percent growth in sales in 2021, they decided it was time to move forward, Horne says, with the eventual goal of opening eight tasting rooms around the state.
Big Storm unveils Hops for Hunger
Clearwater-based Big Storm Brewing recently released a new specialty beer that will help raise money for food assistance charity Feeding Tampa Bay, which served 95 million meals in the region last year. Hops for Hunger is a honey wheat orange ale available for a limited time at Big Storm’s four tap rooms in Clearwater, Orlando, Odessa, and Cape Coral. Big Storm is donating a portion of the proceeds from each beer sold to Feeding Tampa Bay.
Big Storm co-owner L.J. Govonio says Feeding Tampa Bay Chief Programs Officer Matt Spence connected with him after Spence saw Govoni’s viral Twitter thread at last year’s Super Bowl trying to find the Kansas City Chiefs fan whose cardboard cutout was seated next to him at the game. Govoni says they decided to team up on a beer to raise money for the charity. Feed Tampa Bay’s wheat stock logo inspired the wheat ale, Govoni says, while the orange peel and locally-sourced honey are nods to the beer’s Florida roots.
The new beer for charity is part of an ongoing effort at Big Storm to make a positive impact in the community. This year, the Big Storm also added specialty equipment that will reduce the brewery’s carbon footprint by capturing CO2 released in the brewing and distilling process and using it to carbonate beer.
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Chris Curry has been a writer for the 83 Degrees Media team since 2017. Chris also served as the development editor for a time before assuming the role of managing editor in May 2022.
Chris lives in Clearwater. His professional career includes more than 15 years as a newspaper reporter, primarily in Ocala and Gainesville, before moving back home to the Tampa Bay Area. He enjoys the local music scene, the warm winters and Tampa Bay's abundance of outdoor festivals and events. When he's not working or spending time with family, he can frequently be found hoofing the trails at one of Pinellas County's nature parks.