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Tampa Bay's History of Beer and Brewing

Historian Rodney Kite-Powell discusses Tampa Bay's history of beer and Prohibition with Robin Sussingham, host of WUSF's new food podcast, The Zest.

Brewing has a long history in Tampa: cigar maker Vicente Ybor made Tampa the site of Florida's first commercial beer brewery, the Florida Brewing Company, founded in 1897 at the site of an ancient spring.

And the Tampa Bay area wasn’t the least bit interested in Prohibition.

“By 1918, most of the state had gone dry, but Tampa certainly had not,” says historian Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center. Through Aug. 11, the museum is featuring an exhibition called History By The Pint: Beer and Brewing In Tampa Bay.

There were plenty of details on tap when Kite-Powell stopped by the WUSF studios to be interviewed for our new food podcast, The Zest.

For more stories of Florida's food and drink culture, and for instructions on how to subscribe to a podcast, visit thezestpodcast.com.

On The Zest podcast, we explore Tampa Bay's craft beer origins with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.
Tampa Bay History Center /
On The Zest podcast, we explore Tampa Bay's craft beer origins with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.
On The Zest podcast, we explore Tampa Bay's craft beer origins with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.
Tampa Bay History Center /
On The Zest podcast, we explore Tampa Bay's craft beer origins with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.
The Zest host Robin Sussingham with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.
Dalia Colón / WUSF Public Media
/
WUSF Public Media
The Zest host Robin Sussingham with historian Rodney Kite-Powell.

Copyright 2019 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7

Dalia Colón is excited to return to WUSF as producer of the Zest podcast. From 2010 to 2014, Dalia covered health and features for WUSF. Before that, she was a staff reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and Cleveland Magazine.