We toured 2 breweries and 1 brewpub during Bon Beer Voyage's Tampa Beer Safari Weekend this past February. Lucky us! We had the chance to chat with Joey Redner, owner of the wildly popular Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, Florida. For owning such a popular and successful business, Joey is a very down to earth guy and is very into promoting craft beer. BBV: What made you decide to open a brewery?JR: Love. Love of craft beer. Love for my city- there wasn't anyone doing the beers I wanted to drink locally. I considered going to a market where it would be more financially viable, somewhere where the laws work, but I love my city and I decided to overcome whatever it would take to do it here. BBV: What has been the best part of the experience for you to date?JR: Seeing the reaction to the market- how consumers have taken ownership of the brewery. It becomes their brewery as much as your own and they develop a connection with it and it's really cool to see. BBV: Why do you think Cigar City has been so successful?JR: I think it was a combination of the right time in the marketplace and a very underserved craft beer market here in Florida. There is a lot of craft beer in Florida but not a lot made in Florida. Making good beer is also important- the most important at the end of the day. We haven't always been perfect but people sense perfection is what we are trying for, so people have stuck with us. It's like drafting a player from the NFL, you don't expect them to be perfect right out of the gate, but you sense their potential. People wanted to support us even when we were not perfect. But we did it right most of the time, with a good product in an underserved market. BBV: What we love about being in the (craft beer) industry is that there are so many great people and the people we've had a chance to get to know really work from their hearts. Whether they are brewers, distributors, bloggers, bar owners or even the craft beer lovers, all of them seem to have a passion to help promote craft beer here in the U.S. Do you have any thoughts on how we could harness this enthusiasm and dedication and direct it so we can all work together to be more successful in this area? JR: Educating the populace about better beer and continuing the spirit of inclusion to each style of brewery. Not everyone does the same thing. It's great if people are supportive but if they are only supportive of a small segment it's not going to make a big difference. Every brewery has a different approach; we do ales, higher gravity beers; that doesn't mean there is no place for German lagers. There is room at the craft beer table for Bob (Saint Somewhere) doing Belgian style or Brewzzi doing German inspired lagers; there is a wide variety and there is room for all of those approaches. Everything that is well-made is deserving of inclusion. Reaching a wider market is the biggest thing. BBV: Do you have an all-time favorite beer? JR: If you are asking me about a beer that has stood the test of time - it is Anchor Porter. It's qualified over the years, over a decade of drinking. I've always enjoyed the beer - it's never let me down.
