Beer with Cuban, Ybor City roots returns to production

After more than 60 years of dormancy, Cerveza La Tropical, a beer produced in Cuba and Florida, has returned to the Tampa Bay region via a distribution deal with Cerveceria La Tropical, a Miami-based brewing company.

The Cerveza La Tropical brand was launched in 1888 by the Blanco Herrera family in Kohly, an area of Havana, Cuba, according to a news release. The beer was a major success and a source of national pride, and in 1897 it came to Florida thanks to a licensing agreement with Ybor City-based Florida Brewing Co., Florida’s first commercial brewery, which brewed and marketed it as Florida La Tropical.