Brady brew: Three games in, signal-caller already has a namesake beer

Tom Brady’s tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a less-than-ideal start as the NFL team suffered a Week 1 loss to division rival New Orleans Saints. But the Bucs have since righted the ship, with two straight wins as they prepare for an Oct. 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. 

To celebrate the Brady era, 3 Daughters Brewing in St. Petersburg has released Former New England IPA, a new beer 3 Daughters Vice President Brian Horne describes in a press release as “a Florida twist on a classic American brew, a citrusy and crushable version of the traditional New England-style IPA, highlighting the flavors of the Sunshine State while giving a nod to the history of great brewing in New England.” 

The new brew is also a tribute to colorful tight end Rob Gronkowski, a.k.a. “Gronk,” who played alongside Brady for nine years with the New England Patriots and then came out of retirement to join the legendary quarterback in Tampa. 

The Bucs organization will be under close scrutiny as it allows 10,000 fans to attend Sunday’s home game. The team played its first two homes in an empty stadium because of concerns about the ongoing pandemic. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has been vocal about his desire to get butts back into seats at sporting events and wants to see a sold-out Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV in early February. 

As for 3 Daughters, it has been equally vocal about the need for bars and breweries to be able to fully reopen. It even hosted DeSantis, along with other local brewery representatives, in early September for a discussion about how to safely get back up and running. 

The brewery's lobbying seems to have been effective, because on Sept. 25, DeSantis lifted statewide restrictions on bars, restaurants and breweries, allowing them to operate at 100% capacity, though local municipalities can still impose limitations as long as capacity is not reduced to below 50%.