Rock Brothers Brewing sets opening date and festivities

January 5, 2017

Founders Tony Casoria and Kevin Lilly’s vision for Attic Records and Rock Brothers Brewing have finally come to fruition after years in the making with the opening of their new flagship location for both brands in Ybor City, Florida. The 8,000 square foot historic building will house the brewery where all of the Rock Brothers beers will be brewed. The building will also include The Attic concert venue, which originated in a warehouse in St. Petersburg that eventually evolved into Paper Crane and Bloom. Thirdly, and directly connecting the brewery and venue, the building will introduce “The Tasting Room”, which will serve Rock Brothers beers and craft cocktails. This is a reimagined concept for the Tampa Bay beer scene as Rock Brothers will be the only brewery in the bay area focusing heavily on being a professional craft cocktail bar as well.

Casoria, co-owner of the immensely successful Mandarin Hide in downtown St. Petersburg brought his experience renovating the cocktail culture in St. Pete and his passion for design and music to The Tasting Room at Rock Brothers. “The 125 year old building, with all its character and space allowed for a lot of exciting design elements, and the room to create an impressive back bar so that our talented staff could have all the tools necessary to produce an exceptional product,” Casoria said. The Tasting Room will blur the boundary between craft beer and spirits with an impressive array of beer-tails and the creation of a new genre of cocktails using hops from their beers to make their own hop bitters, syrups, reductions, and tinctures. “We are hoping to do for Ybor what Mandarin has been credited for doing in St. Pete; ushering in a wave of businesses that up the game for the craft cocktail scene,” said Casoria.

While both partners are directly involved on all aspects of the business, Casoria focused primarily downstairs on the bar during the buildout. Upstairs, Lilly took the reins when it came to his personal passion, the concert venue called “The Attic.” After 15 years grinding in the music industry as a full-time musician, tour manager, concert promoter, and artist manager, Lilly’s time spent is finally paying off. “I’ve spent years producing concerts in everyone else’s venues, and while I loved the work, I always knew the end goal was to have a place of my own. The first night I watched a concert in The Attic, I was so busy I couldn’t really soak it in… I couldn’t really grasp the gravity of what was happening,” Lilly said. That show was Grammy Winner, Shawn Mullins, on Dec. 10, 2016, followed by two sold out nights with JJ Grey on Dec. 16 and 17.

Lilly describes the room as an “audible art gallery,” as it will focus on singer/songwriter “Storyteller” sets and intimate evenings with some of the greatest touring acts of the last 20 years. “After spending so much time analyzing shows, we really did put an intense amount of thought into the sound, lights, and feel of the room in order to create the best atmosphere for anyone who experiences a show here,” said Lilly. “With our connections in the industry, and our partnerships with our Rock Brothers bands, this room should be a favorite of fans and the artists themselves in no time,” said Lilly.

While The Attic has been open for weeks now, The Tasting Room has been refining their product before and after the shows upstairs. “The idea was to come online slowly downstairs and properly prepare for our Grand Opening,” says Casoria.

The Grand Opening festivities for Rock Brothers are set for the weekend of January 13, 14, and 15. On Friday the 13th, Florida’s own Thomas Wynn & the Believers will be playing The Attic stage. On Saturday the 14th from noon – 7pm, Vagabond Gita Bohemian Market will be doing a pop-up market in the brewery warehouse space as well as a motorcycle show. The Attic will be open free of charge during this time, so everyone can experience the room. Performances from noon-7pm will include some of the best singer songwriters in Tampa Bay area including Will Quinlin, Shawn Kyle, Lauris Vidal, Geri X, Mountain Holler, and many more. Saturday night the celebration continues with Thomas and Olivia Wynn, JT Brown and Co., and the band that launched Rock Brothers Brewing, Have Gun, Will Travel. Each band will perform their original music plus covers of Rock Brothers partner artist bands such as 311, Rebelution, JJ Grey, and Hootie and the Blowfish.

Rock Brothers Grand Opening Schedule & Events ::
January 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9th ::
Rock Brothers will be open 7pm to 2am in The Tasting Room to accommodate college football fans during the National Championship as well as host any locals who wish to stop by.

January 11, 12th :: VIP Friends & Family Events – Private and Closed to the Public
January 13th :: Concert :: Thomas Wynn & The Believers :: The Tasting Room and The Attic will open at 6pm and close at 2am.
Ticket Link :: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1406513?utm_medium=bks

January 14th :: Grand Opening Day and Concert
12pm :: The Tasting Room and Warehouse Art Market opens to the public.
12pm-6pm :: The Attic hosts a free of charge afternoon of music with some of Tampa Bay’s best songwriters. There will be limited space in the venue, so please arrive early if you plan to see the performances.

6pm :: Ticketed Concert ::
Have Gun, Will Travel, JT Brown & Co and Thomas and Olivia Wynn.
Ticket Link :: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1409367?utm_medium=bks

ROCK BROTHERS HOURS OF OPERATION (BEGINNING JANUARY 15th)
Tuesday – Thursday :: 12pm – 12am
Friday – Saturday :: 12pm – 2am
Sunday :: 12pm to 12am
Closed Mondays

Tampa Bay Brewing Company sets opening date for Westchase location

March 31, 2015

Tampa Bay Brewing Company, fresh off of their slew of awards from 2015’s Best Florida Beer Competition, has now posted an opening date for their second location in Oldsmar/ Westchase area.

From Tampa Bay Brewing Company newsletter:

So, we breathe a sigh of relief now that all the beer week events and St. Paddy’s Day events are now over…

But now we’re feverishly working toward our second location in the Westchase area. We’ve set an opening date of July 6th!

The new facility will be located at 13933 Monroes Business Park near the intersection of Racetrack Road and Tampa Road in the Oldsmar/ Westchase area.

Six Ten Brewing looks at grand opening during Tampa Bay Beer Week

February 3, 2014

Press Release:

Six Ten Brewing is excited to announce the upcoming opening of its craft brewery and tasting room. The 2300 square feet facility is located at 7052 Benjamin Road and sits just south of the canal in the Town and Country neighborhood of Tampa. The three vessel, ten barrel brewhouse was custom built by Premier Stainless Systems of Escondido California and was engineered specifically for Six Ten Brewing. The first kegs are expected to be tapped in early March to celebrate Tampa Bay Beer Week.

Co-founders, Christopher and Leslie Johnson have been planning the opening of their brewery for several years since they made the decision to leave their careers in the corporate world to follow their passion for craft beer and dream to open their own business: “We are leaving the 9 to 5 behind us and starting our future at 6:10”.

Chris, who has been brewing for over 20 years, was a founding member of Tampa’s first home brewing club the Tampa Bay B.E.E.R.S. back in 1990. He started brewing competitively about three years ago and his creations have won numerous medals in local, regional and national brewing competitions. Since then, Chris’s brewing has been featured in the “Saint Petersburg Times” and he demonstrated the brewing process as a guest on the nationally syndicated Daytime TV show.

Six Ten Brewing will offer a variety of hand-crafted ales and lagers made with the finest quality malted barley, hops, yeast and water. These beers will be available to the public in the brewery tasting room which will also offer beer to go in growlers, bottles, and kegs.

Saltwater Brewery announces opening date

December 26, 2013

Saltwater Brewery of Delray Beach has been teasing Florida with photos of brewing operations, their brewery, and their staff hard at work, but they have been tight-lipped with the most essential of details: their opening date. Well, the Christmas Holiday must have put them in the giving mood because yesterday they released that crucial piece of information.

Saltwater Brewery will open on Monday, December 30th, 2013, just in time to make their sign correct (“Opening Winter 2013”).

Saltwater Brewery is located at 1701 West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. More information will be made available as it is announced.

3 Daughters Brewing: Opening soon in Saint Petersburg

November 23, 2013

Saint Petersburg- 3 Daughters Brewing has scaled the mountain and has nailed down an opening date. On that date, owner Mike Harting, his staff, and his family will take up the mantle of Florida’s newest craft brewery. For Harting, this brewery is the realization of a lot of hard work, a lot of fun, and a piece of his family’s legacy.

3 Daughters Brewing has come a long way from inception to brewery, but the story begins in the kitchen of the restaurant Harting co-owns, Bella Brava Trattoria in Saint Petersburg.

In fact, the idea for 3 Daughters Brewing sprang from something as simple as fish batter. At that time, Mike Harting was talking to one of his chefs, Ty Weaver, and they were discussing the possibility of brewing their own house beer for beer-battered fish. That conversation led to brewing beer for on-site sales at Bella Brava at the only time when the kitchen was available for brewing: 2am. So it began, from 2am until 7am Weaver and a loyal brigade of Bella Brava staff brewers took to the kitchen to make beer for the restaurant. At first, staff was brewing once each month, then once a week, then twice a week. Before long, Harting noticed that the beer was more than 30% of Bella Brava’s beer sales.

After seeing how well Weaver’s beers were selling, Harting decided to double down on beer for the restaurant and invite the rest of Tampa Bay to enjoy his beer as well. Harting gathered together investors and shared his vision of 3 Daughters Brewing, or 3DB. Harting quickly raised capital locally to begin his brewery and tapped into a warehouse space on 22nd Avenue in Saint Petersburg to raise his nascent brewery. In its past life, the brewery building made large pipes, some of which are still on display in the parking lot. After construction, 3DB now has 30-barrel brewhouse with a 1-barrel pilot system for test batches. Harting has plans for expansion: he foresees the addition of a canning line in the next year and has room to grow in the existing brewery space.

Mike sees the brewery as an opportunity to make great beer, but also a chance to commune with his brewing roots. Harting comes from a brewing family, of sorts. Mike’s great-grandfather built Harting and Luigart Malt Mill, a brewery in Lexington, Kentucky. While the brewery is no longer in operation, the Kentucky building has been restored and before opening 3 Daughters Brewing, Harting went up to Lexington and removed a brick from the old building and transported it to Florida– a transfusion from one Harting brewing operation to the next.

3 Daughters has plans for three core beers and several other rotating and specialty beers in their bag of tricks. 3 Daughters core beers will focus on beers that fix Florida Saturdays, that is, beers that are not terribly high in alcohol, are drinkable yet not overwhelming, and are big on flavors that compliment endless summer. This lineup begins with Beach Blonde Ale, a light and refreshing blonde; followed by Dunkel Weiss, a German dark wheat beer; finished by an Oatmeal Stout, a stout aimed at stout drinkers that, like Mike, do not care for bitter-finishing stouts. Accompanying the starting lineup will be rotating beers like a malty Irish Red, a cocoa and earthy English Brown, an approachable Pale Ale, a Kolsch, and the bruiser of the bunch, a 9.6% Imperial Stout. In total, 3DB has twleve recipes that are ready for prime time and will enter rotation soon enough, including Bourbon Barrel Porter, a favorite from the 97X craft beer event, one that Harting would like to see released in bottles several times each year.

3 Daughters is dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, but they have announced opening day as 14 December 2013, where they plan to have seven of their beers on draft to mark the occasion. While it has been a long journey from inception to opening, Harting says has been “so much fun, it’s ridiculous.” How much fun? Well, Harting has not missed the chance to include his sense of fun in the brewery– the brewery’s steam system is powered “like a locomotive.” Harting then asked if they could install a steam whistle like a train would have. He got his wish and now every time 3 Daughters brews beer, they can pull the whistle to let the town know that great beer is steaming its way to them.