Beer Geek

Joey Redner was just a beer geek who wanted easier access to craft beer in Florida. Opening a brewery was never part of the plan.

In the early 2000s, Redner tried to educate himself as much as possible about the craft beer industry to make himself a more attractive candidate once someone opened a brewery in Tampa. He owned his own bar, worked in sales for Dunedin Brewery and imported craft beer on the side. He also wrote a beer column for the Tampa Bay Times and frequently tagged along with a beer distributor friend.

Redner waited for a new brewery to open for several years before writing an opinion paper about why there wasn't a major craft brewery in the area. “Is the equipment too expensive? Are the raw ingredients too hard to get? Is the market not there?” he asked. After answering all of his questions on paper, Redner realized he had a business plan.