TAMPA BAY, Fla. — For more than a decade, Tampa Bay Beer Week has been a beloved Bay area institution.

When local craft beer blew up, TBBW blew up with it, ballooning from a series of small events from dedicated brewers and aficionados into a national attraction. Then COVID happened, shutting down pretty much everything.

This year, Tampa Bay Beer Week is happening – it’s just happening on a smaller scale than the big, boozy events of recent years.

“This year will be reminiscent of the early, formative years of our Beer Week, with smaller events and a more intimate feel,” said TBBW Chairman Travis Kruger in a post on the event’s website. “This year will also provide an opportunity for our breweries to solidify their importance as a part of our neighborhoods, our cities, and as part of an industry that will need to continue to heal along with much of the rest of our nation’s hospitality industry that has been so irreparably damaged.”

There’s no question that craft brewing was one of the hardest-hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these breweries are mom-and-pop operations with razor-thin margins; now is as good a time as any to get out (responsibly, of course), spend a little money in and on a local business, and help these community retailers survive.

Here’s the Tampa Bay Beer Week schedule thus far:

Friday, March 5

Bottle Drop and Tapping, Brew Bus Brewing, Tampa

Lager Week (through the 14th), Barriehaus Beer Co., Tampa

StrawBEERy Fest (through the 7th), Rapp Brewing, Seminole

Escape Brewing Tap Takeover, Clear Sky Draught Haus, Dunedin

Saturday, March 6

Coffee with Friends, Crooked Thumb Brewery, Safety Harbor

TBBW Collab Can Releases (through the 13th), Calusa Brewing, Sarasota

Drink Beer! Eat Perogi!, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg 

Sunday, March 7

Beer Week Brunch, Brew Bus Brewing, Tampa

TBBA Kickoff Sunday Jazz Project with Estrella Galicia and Maeloc Ciders, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

Monday, March 8

Copper Kick Bottle Release, Mastry’s Brewing Co., St. Pete Beach

Crowler Flash Sale, 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa

Rare the Wild Things Are: A Sour Beer Spotlight, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

Tuesday, March 9

Charter 11 IPA Bottle Release, 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa

Total Eclipse of the 7th Sun, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

7th Sun Beer Dinner, Dunedin Smokehouse, Dunedin

Wednesday, March 10

Cycle: Rare Dos and More, Wheelhouse, St. Petersburg

Arkane in the Membrane 2021, Arkane Aleworks, Largo

Team Trivia Night, 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa

Thursday, March 11

A Taste of Belgium, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

Coppertail 5 Course Dinner and Beer Pairing, Coppertail Brewing, Ybor City

Beer Dinner with Civil Society Brewing Co., The Bier Boutique, St. Petersburg

Beat the Brewers Trivia, Brew Bus Brewing, Tampa

Friday, March 12

Wake Up with Wakefield, Hawthorne Bottle Shoppe, St. Petersburg

Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Belgian Golden Strong Release, Troubled Waters Brewing, Safety Harbor

Flight Night, 81Bay Brewing Company, Tampa

Estrella Galicia Presents Joshua Reilly, New World Brewery, Tampa

Motorworks Brewing Tap Takeover + Meet the Brewer, c. 1949, Tampa

Saturday, March 13

Escape Brewing Bike Crawl

Peach Brandy Barrel Aged Belgian Dark Strong Release, Troubled Waters Brewing, Safety Harbor

A Date with King State, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

Sunday, March 14

Sunday Brunch, Coppertail Brewing, Ybor City

Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Belgian Golden Strong Release, Troubled Waters Brewing, Safety Harbor

TBBW Kickoff Sunday Jazz Project with Estrella Galicia and Maeloc Ciders, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

Saturday, March 20

Orval Day 2021, Independent Bar, St. Petersburg

TBAT Hikers Social, Bootleggers Brewing Co., Tampa