How Tampa Bay Brewing Broke Through the Noise

Every brewery has a pandemic story. Finding ways to manuever through the years of doubt may have made a brewery like Tampa Bay Brewing Company find some new strengths, believes co-owner David Doble.

“It was tough, but I do feel like we were able to use it to our advantage,” he said recently to Brewer. “When COVID hit, obviously we suffered through that that same fate as others.” 

Working on growing volume through chains at that time, TBBC had to take a step back and focus on selling direct to consumer and that helped in innovation and connecting with local consumers.

“There’s so much ‘noise’ in this town,” he said about the amount of breweries in the Tampa area. “I say that as kindly as I can, but while everyone else seems like they suffered more, what it did was kind of dampened down the noise, so we could be heard more. 

“I really feel like during that time, I believe our brand grew.”

READ MORE: The Reinvention of TBBC

Selling mixed cases of beer out of his truck and delivering it personally, Doble found fun again in the process during those years and it helped later on. The brewery recently debuted a new IPA, Coral Head, while weekly new releases became a part of the process again. It was a far cry from the start the brewery had as a brewpub with a typical lineup of beers.

Now as a new core brand, Coral Head has shown strong sales early since its release in March.

“Ever since, our strength is getting more,” he said. “We got to introduce a new a new core.”

In the first three weeks, TBBC had already had secured 1,000 placements in retail.

“It’s strong. Publix put in about 300 sets and authorized the beer to be sold into every single store that they have,” Doble said. “That for us is huge.”

The brewery also started to work with Coral Restoration Foundation, a cause that is very near and dear to Doble’s heart. 

“My brother’s ashes are actually cast in a reef,” Doble said. “I feel very fortunate where beer has put me into a position where I can have an impact. I just think it’s cool.”

Photo courtesy TBBC