Just found out about this place in St. Pete and was wondering how good their beer is from those whove been there. Is it worth driving over from the east coast to grab some growlers? It's hard to find a lot of infrormation on them.
Yeah totally worth it. Really good brewery. make sure you bring cash they don't take cards or checks.
Their Rickshaw IPA and Crank IPA are some of the best hoppy beers native to FL, and lets not forget about their session brew --- Fixie. Its hard to believe they still have bottles of Rare Dos available, AFAIK, considering how good of a barrel-aged stout it is. Then you include their berliners (which are rarely available for growler fills) and you have all the markings of a great brewery. Now, is it worth driving four hours from the east coast? In my opinion, no. Unless you hit up several others breweries to make it worth your while. In my case, I found a few nice BAs who lived in the area who were happy to trade some local brews in exchange for Cycle releases. For me, it was worth the time saved avoiding the long trip, as well as gas money otherwise spent on even more beer. And I got to introduce new beer to new friends. Unfortunately, since they don't crowler all their goodies I'm left with only my imagination on some of their beers (I'm looking at you, Codename Shakefield). Your call.
Its in a great location to hit multiple spots. The Cycle IPA's are awesome and RareDos is one of the better barrel aged stouts you can find. Totally agree on Silent Captain at Green Bench too...very, very good!
I'd do it. Get whatever you can in crawlers to take with you (not everything's available so that there's some left for everyone). Check the hours for Green Bench;and if you're gonna make the trip you might as well hit up all (or some) of the places in Tampa. I'll probably stop by myself at some point, but we'll see... after-Christmas shopping with grandma might be more fun! ;P
Find more good places: http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...e-first-winter-14-update.236546/#post-3048290
Thanks for all the responses everyone. I'll hit up Cycle and some others after the Holidays. How many crowlers will Cycle fill? I was hoping for 6 but I don't want to be a pain in the ass.
I have seen way more filled at once. The person on the back bar generally mostly just does that. If you show up during non-peak hours though they will probably be a lot happier. Grab a beer, sit out front (some of the best people watching you can find in Florida!), and leave them a list. They will make sure it gets done timely and will be appreciative of your 'layed backness'.
Just gonna reiterate what others have said, cycle is great, make a day trip out of it. That said IMHO Cycle/PEGS have consistently been one of the best breweries in FL. From their Hoppy beers (crank is outstanding) to awesome sours and world class BA stouts, you just can't go wrong. And on top of that they are nice down to earth folks. Totally worth a trip.
I was there Wednesday and unfortunately RareDos was sold out. However tried Crank for the first time and absolutely loved it. First hoppy beer from down here I've truly enjoyed.
