St. Petersburg’s first micro-brewery sits unassumingly between other former warehouse buildings at 1133 Baum Ave., just a street off of Central Avenue.
Green Bench Brewing Company, which officially opened a few weeks ago, honors its hometown in its theme and its branding. The name references the benches that were once so numerous on city sidewalks that St. Petersburg was called the “city of green benches.” Many of the offered brews are even named after local places.
The brew master currently has five original beers on tap, including Maximo Milk Stout (named after the local park), Temple Mound Brown Ale, Skyway Wheat and the signature Green Bench India Pale Ale. Each one has a fascinating back story which can be found on the brewery’s website.
Green Bench occasionally carries drafts from other local breweries as well — this week it’s Old Elephant’s Foot IPA from the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. The Green Bench brewers also collaborate with other breweries for limited edition beers. There is plenty of variance, with a different selection of beers on tap every week.
Co-owners Nathan Stonecipher and Steven Duffy also plan on hosting many unordinary events at the brewery. Coming up are an evening of yoga and drinking on Nov. 6 and a battle of the bands on Nov. 16.
Inside the tasting room on a Saturday afternoon, bluegrass music rings from the rafters and almost every seat at the bar is full. Others enjoyed a view from windows that look out towards Central Avenue. Behind the bar, even bigger windows give patrons a glimpse into the brewing room.
The fenced-in side yard offers tables, lawn chairs and of course, green benches. It’s also kid and pet friendly. Green Bench has a distinctive design element — the décor is minimalistic and also fits the historical theme, with a lot of wood and brick.
Greg Dunn of Cape Coral visited Green Bench for the first time this weekend. Dunn, an avid home brewer, said Green Benches beer was “very good” — he tried Green Bench’s IPA and stout.
According to Dunn, when craft beer houses and breweries start to spring up, a more cultured city is not far behind.
“That’s where the movement starts,” Dunn said. “It’s an injection of youth. And it makes us old guys come downtown again.”
Dunn also said that when it comes to creating craft beer, it’s not about being the best.
“The thing is, none of these places have anything on anybody else, they just have something unique to them.”
Green Bench is certainly unique, and locals will probably come to love it for the character as much as the beer.
Learn more at greenbenchbrewing.com.
We tried: Green Bench IPA
Recommendation: Tasty, go try it!
Thoughts from the crowd: “A very good, dry IPA with a big aroma.” –Greg Dunn
Also on tap:
- Maximo Milk Stout
- Temple Mound Brown Ale
- Skyway Wheat
- Saison de Banc Vert (A “farmhouse ale”)
