January 2025Casey Hughes is the brewmaster at Coppertail Brewing Company.
By Stephen Kubiak, Visit Florida
The view from the brewery’s balcony unfolds like a slideshow of Tampa’s transformation over the years. The brewery sits on the edge of where old and new Tampa converge, a theme echoed on the taps inside. It’s a place where classic beer styles and time-honored brewing techniques mix with rogue experimentation and radical ingredients. This is Coppertail Brewing Company.
Coppertail Brewing Company’s Story
Customers can sample beers in the taproom.
Founded in 2014, Coppertail Brewing Company is the passion project of Brewery President Kent Bailey, a former attorney who was looking for a change.
“I was doing really boring stuff,” says Bailey of his days as an attorney. “On the weekends, I was brewing beer, and I found myself working for those weekends thinking, ‘How can I make this my job?’”
Enlisting the help of brewmaster Casey Hughes, who couldn’t even sample his product when he began his career as an 18-year-old at the now-defunct Key West Brewery, Bailey was ready to take what he calls “the biggest risk” of his life.
“I’d been wanting to move back to Florida for years,” Bailey says with a laugh.
Tampa is the heart of Florida’s craft beer movement with over 60 breweries in the area and craft beer giant Cigar City Brewing Company at the helm. Knowing that Tampa had one of the most mature beer markets in Florida, Bailey chose to open his brewery at the edge of the city’s most famous neighborhood.
“I always loved Ybor City,” Bailey says. “There’s more visibility, more visitors here than any other place in the city. Also, the history of the area is amazing.”
Once Bailey had a location, he needed a name.
“The name of the brewery came from my little girl, Sophia,” Bailey says. “I was struggling for a name for the brewery, and she was telling me about this Coppertail sea monster that supposedly lived in Tampa Bay. It got stuck in my head and it sounded good. What really connected me to that name was the fact that it’s impossible for a sea monster to live in Tampa Bay. It’s crazy. We’re doing something crazy, but we believe in it.”
Exploring the Waters Surrounding Tampa Bay
With little effort, visitors can cruise the Hillsborough River at 5 mph.
Along the edge of Downtown Tampa, where the Hillsborough River meets Hillsborough Bay, there are several local outfitters that can get you out and exploring the waterways. With Urban Kai Stand Up Paddleboarding, you can rent a paddleboard, take a paddleboard fitness class or go on a paddling excursion. If you feel like you still need exercise but would rather sit down, the Tampa Bay Water Bike Company rents out water bikes that you can pedal up and down the Hillsborough River while following the Tampa Riverwalk.
If you’d rather the boat do all the work, eBoats Tampa is a great way to explore the local waterways in an ecologically friendly way. The boats are electric, so they’re quiet — perfect for sneaking up on the Coppertail.
