As many of us have read in the press in the past 48 hours, Oskar Blues, a past sponsor of the Beer Bloggers & Writers conference, has completed the deal to purchase the highly successful Tampa brewery, Cigar City Brewing, which is hosting a dinner at the upcoming conference.
Backed by Fireman Capital Partners, Oskar Blues has secured the acquisition in a still-rapidly-growing industry. With other acquisitions and expansions already ticked off in their plans, including the purchase of Perrin Brewing, Oskar Blues is quickly becoming a major national brand. We ourselves love Oskar Blues in part because they sponsored a visit to their Asheville brewery for our 2015 conference and also sponsored the first-ever BBC in 2010 in Boulder.
Cigar City Brewing is considered the number one brewery in Tampa for its brewery scene and its beers. “Cigar City has great beer, a great following and great culture. We see them pushing the boundaries and doing creative things on the beer side and now we have a way to provide them with additional resources,” said Chad Melis, marketing director at Oskar Blues Brewery. “Cigar City will continue to do what they’ve always been doing. You’d be an idiot to change that.” Via @TampaBayTimes
Cigar City also happens to be our venue for the post-live beer blogging progressive tasting and dining event on Saturday night. At the conclusion of our 50 minutes and 10 beers worth of exciting live beer blogging, all attendees will be whisked away to Cigar City for tasting and treats, hosted by Visit Tampa Bay. Cigar City Brewing is not only one of Tampa’s most popular “night out on the town” spots but they also produced 61,000 barrels of beer in 2015 and now with the increased capital and expansion opportunity with Oskar Blues and Fireman Capital Partners, will expand those horizons in the coming months.
This July, you will get the chance to visit Cigar City, get to know the establishment, and indulge in the Tampa Bay brewery scene. Won’t you join us? Register Today for the 2016 Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference