USA, FL: Green Turtle Brewery officially opens its doors in St. Petersburg

Green Turtle Brewery has officially opened its doors in downtown St. Petersburg, in the former digs of Cycle Brewing, hosting a soft opening Friday, July 18, Patch.com reported.

The British-style brewery and public house specializes in hand-crafted cask ales and classic beers.

Owner Todd Bearden spent decades on the West Coast, first in Los Angeles and then in Las Vegas for the past five years, working in the entertainment industry, behind the scenes in production and lighting, working in theater, television and with concerts and musical events. He eventually went on to run a company that manufactured the lighting equipment used in these productions.

Over time, his passion for home brewing grew.

“What I’ve been doing for the last 12 years is making beer in my spare time, home brewing,” Bearden told Patch. “My wife and I are big beer people. We love to go to breweries and visit. Wherever we travel, we always stop and try the beer and see what it’s about.”

As a home brewer he also attended competitions, taking home several awards, and sometimes assisted with friends who owned breweries.

“But I’d never brewed professionally,” he said.

As he realized he wanted to leave the entertainment business, he began dreaming of opening a brewery of his own.

He and his wife had spent some time living in Florida on the east coast. And for a time, it looked like they might land in the Florida Keys.

Bearden was close to nailing down a property for a brewery across from a turtle rehabilitation center — hence the name.

When that deal fell through, he and his wife began looking for breweries for sale across the state and for Cycle.

They’d not spent a lot of time in St. Petersburg, though her parents call the city home, so they didn’t know it well, he said. But they jumped at the chance and are happy to get to know the area.

They discovered a local art, food and beer scene that works together to uplift each other, he said.

“And that’s always good. You know, it's a competition, but it’s a culture here, and you want that. You want people to go to a place because there are a lot of places to try,” Bearden said.

What sets Green Turtle apart from other breweries is its beer engine, a handpump used to draw beer, usually cask ale, into a glass without using pressurized gas.

“The CO2 forms naturally in the cask,” he said.

It’s a nod back to how British pubs typically served beer, which was stored at about 50 degrees in a cellar and pumped up to the bar, he said.

“Our cask refrigeration units are at 50 degrees and it’s naturally carbonated in the casks and pumped into the glass,” Bearden said. “So, it’s a unique style. It’s a softer mouth feel. There’s less carbonation and a lower ABV (alcohol by volume) typically about 3 to 5 percent. It’s as close as we can get to how beer was done originally.”

In addition to various Green Turtle and guest beers, there will be other options as well, including prosecco and wine on draft, and nonalcoholic drinks.

Down the road, he also hopes to offer guests some British pub-style food at the brewery.

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