Tampa Bay Beer Week is back for its 4th year, getting things started with a pair of events on Friday, March 6th. The Pour House in Tampa will host the Hillsborough kick-off, while The Flying Pig Taphouse in St. Pete gets the honor in Pinellas County. TBBW (billed as running March 7th - 15th, with a few events falling outside of that range) is intended as a celebration and showcase of the Bay Area's vibrant and growing beer scene, with a focus in craft and specialty beers and beer culture. According to Executive Director Gary Kost, the event was modeled in the image of large-scale beer weeks like those held in San Francisco and Philadelphia. While last year's version included more than 300 events, the 2015 celebration features fewer by design – an effort to emphasize quality over quantity.

For the second year, patrons are encouraged to purchase a TBBW Passport. “The passport is a booklet that has offers from local establishments on goods and services. Most participants have two offers, one good during beer week and one good all year,” Mr. Kost explains.

If there is any misconception about TBBW, according to Mr. Kost, it might be the idea that the event is exclusively brewery-focused. “A lot of people think TBBW is all about local breweries. It is not. We are very proud of our breweries and in fact I would put them up against any other beer city in the country. The local brewers are a HUGE part of this all but what makes this area extra unique is the our vast beer selection. The Tampa Bay Area was a beer waste land only a few years ago. We only had a few breweries like Dunedin Brewery or Tampa Bay Brewing Company. If it weren't for selection pre-beer-boom, I'm not sure that boom would have happened. It showed that this area was ready to embrace the beer culture ... and we have. We have 35 Breweries to choose from, tons of brands fromn Belgium, Germany, Italy, Canada, etc. and a top notch selection of other craft brands from the rest of the country. It's a beer lovers dream!”

To get involved, beer lovers are encouraged to visit TambaBayBeerWeek.com, visit the Facebook page, or speak to event organizers in person at some of the events throughout the week; namely the kickoff events, Brewers Ball on March 8th, and Cigar City's Hunahpu's Day on March 14th.