What's On Tap, Tampa Bay - Oldsmar Tap House

by Mike Pomranz, Posted Jan 28th 2009 @ 11:59AM

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

In honor of Super Bowl XLIII, this week's "What's On Tap" takes us to Super Bowl central: Tampa Bay, Florida.

I haven't made it down to Florida's Gulf side since I was a wee lad, so I figured I'd defer selecting a beer-friendly establishment to Tampa's resident beer expert, Joey Redner. Back in June of '08, Redner wrote an article listing "Tampa Bay's 10 best beer bars." If you're a football fan, a beer fan and you happen to be making it down to Tampa Bay for the big event, you may just want to print this list out wallet-size and keep it on you at all times.

Even if you weren't lucky enough (or rich enough) to score tickets to the game of the year, "What's On Tap" would like to remind you it's still fun to see what different beer bars around the country feel is worthy of stocking for their draft selections. After the jump, let's take a peek inside Joey Redner's number one Tampa Bay beer bar, Oldsmar Tap House...

As far as a Super Bowl watching destination, I was a little worried: Redner reported that Oldsmar Tap House is about good beer and good conversation with "no TVs to distract." But I figured for the year's biggest television broadcast, they couldn't leave patrons high and dry. "We added one when the Rays [Tampa Bay's suddenly not-so-bad baseball team] made their run," explained Tony, Oldsmar's extremely affable owner. "We usually keep it off, but if there's a game, I don't want people going to the sports bar." Sounds like a fair compromise to me. Game on!

But TV on or off, with a "World Class" rating on both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, sounds like Tony's been doing just fine without catering to the sports' crowd. Let's take a look at their current draft list:

Dunedin Nitro Stout
Old Rasputin
Shipyard Blue Fin Stout
Duchesse De Bourgogne
Hooker Hop Meadow IPA
Avery Ale to the Chief
Delirium Tremens
Erie Mad Anthony's APA
Highland Gaelic Ale
Welsh ESB
Shipyard Imperial Porter
Golden Pheasant
Weyerbacher Merry Monks
Paulaner Hefeweizen
St. Bernardus Tripel
Sea Dog Apricot Wheat
Red Seal Ale
Anchor Steam
Stone Smoked Porter
Kapuziner Hefe
Lagunitas Brown Sugar
St. Bernardus Prior 8
Erie Misery Bay IPA
Uerige Dopplesticke
Erie Sunshine Wit
Samichlaus
Kona Pipeline Porter
Lost Coast Choclate Porter
Abita Turbo Dog
Bells Two Hearted Ale
Stone Pale Ale
Hitachino Espresso Stout
Unibroue Maudite
Pilsner Urquell
Hofbrau Original
Schneider Weisse

In case you hate to count, that's 36 taps covering a few continents. However, the biggest surprise I saw was three taps from the Erie Brewing Company. The small Pennsylvania brewery is a long way from the warm weather down in Tampa. "They got great stuff," Tony states with earnest enthusiasm.

Towards the end of our conversation, the phone cuts out for a second. "Sorry," apologizes Tony. "I'm pouring a beer while we're talking." You got the owner answering phones and pouring pints, extra chipper early in the week; despite being the dead of January, the temperature is in the upper-70s and his only nuisance is a boring blogger asking him to recite his draft list. This sounds like the life. If I ever get back to Tampa, I'm definitely dropping in.

Oldsmar Tap House is located at 300 State St E # 107 in Oldsmar, FL. www.oldsmartaphouse.com.

[Photo Credit: oldsmartaphouse.com]

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Filed Under: What's On Tap?, Drink Recipes, Drinks
Tags: beer, oldsmar, oldsmar tap house, speakin suds, super bowl, tampa, tampa bay

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-28-2009 @1:29PM Karen said... I'm happy to see this post! I grew up in Palm Harbor, just a couple miles from Oldsmar, and I love to visit the Tap House every time I visit my family back home.

Be warned that the Tap House is EXTREMELY small inside - a bar, maybe 10 tables, so get there early if you want a seat!

The owner, the few times I've spoken with him, is extremely knowledgeable and very friendly.
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