Tampa Bay History Center toasts Bay area beer scene

The History Center’s latest exhibit looks at the beginnings of beer and brewing in the bay area.

(TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 14, 2019) — Almost as soon as the cigar smoke started rising from the factories of Tampa’s Ybor City, the beer started flowing. In 1897, the aroma of Cuban tobacco emanating from the city’s cigar factories mingled with the scent of imported hops fermenting at the Florida Brewery – the state’s first.

Raise a glass with the Tampa Bay History Center for “History by the Pint: Beer and Brewing in Tampa Bay,” a new exhibition highlighting the local beer and brewing community, opening Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m.

The exhibit traces the heady history of beer-brewing in the bay area, from its Ybor origins to Florida’s craft beer capital.

Learn about early breweries and brewing methods, Prohibition’s effects on Florida, the rise of national breweries in Tampa, and how the home brewing movement of the 1970s triggered a cultural shift in the way Americans consume beer.

The exhibit features Florida Brewing Company artifacts, which was the first commercial brewery in Florida, as well as items from larger national breweries that called Tampa home in the 1960s through the 1990s. Also included are photos and items related to the bay area’s craft beer boom from Dunedin Brewery, Cigar City, Ulele, Coppertail and more.

All paid guests will receive a free pint glass on opening weekend (March 2-3) while supplies last.

“History by the Pint” is on view at the History Center from March 2 through September 29, 2019. For more information, visit tampabayhistorycenter.org or call (813) 228-0097.

Raise a glass with the History Center at one of these upcoming events:

March 1 – Member Preview
5:30-7:30 p.m.; Limited tickets available to the public.

March 2 – Exhibition opens to the public
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. All ticketed guest will receive a free History Center pint glass, while supplies last.

March 14 – Tap Talks at 81Bay Brewing
6:30 p.m. Pre-registration required.

March 28 – Brewseum After Dark
5 -8 p.m. at the History Center; pre-registration required.

April 11 – Florida Conversations: Florida’s Craft Beer History
6 p.m. at the History Center

April 28 – Tap Talks at Coppertail Brewing
6:30 p.m. Pre-registration required.

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Located on Tampa’s Riverwalk, the Tampa Bay History Center includes three floors of permanent and temporary exhibition space focusing on 12,000 years of Florida’s history and culture. A Smithsonian Affiliate museum and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the History Center includes the Touchton Map Library and Florida Center for Cartographic Education and the Witt Research Center, and is home to the Columbia Cafe. One of Tampa’s premier cultural venues, the History Center’s hands-on, interactive exhibits and theaters provide an entertaining and educational experience for visitors of all ages.