It all started with craft beer battered fish! When Chef Ty Weaver was working on a fish recipe that called for beer, he took it upon himself to brew a beer that he could use to cook with. Little did he know that this would be the start to a new journey in 2013 with Mike and Leigh Harting, owners of 3 Daughters Brewing, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The brewery’s name came about during construction when the Hartings had a thought:“how many beers do we have to sell to put three daughters through college?” With a location and name set, 3 Daughters released their flagship beer, Beach Blonde Ale, a 5% easy-drinking light ale perfect for St. Petersburg sunny weather.
While focusing on running a new business, 3 Daughters Brewing pays extra attention to sustainability and philanthropy.
“After we first opened, we had our spent grains tested at the University of Florida. Since they have enough protein to feed cattle, we sell it to farmers for their livestock. The money we receive is donated to the St Pete Free Clinic who purchase food at cost through US Foods (a long partner of owner Mike Harting) to supply their Food Bank,” Harting said. “Though it took almost 5 years, we have completed the circle and can help feed the community with byproducts of our manufacturing process. We are very proud of that.”
In 2017, 3 Daughters added a cider portfolio and continued to expand by making hard seltzers with flavors like Blueberry Black Peppercorn and Cucumber Basil, which are available at 4,000 retailers statewide like Publix, Walmart, Target, Winn Dixie, Disney, and more.
“We began making seltzers as a fun experiment in the tasting room. One of the great things about being a small company is you can be nimble and try lots of fun innovative products,” Leigh Harting said. “The hard seltzers began as a fun endeavor and they were one of the most popular offerings in our tasting room. So we decided to launch on a bigger scale and put out 3 flavors and a mixed 12 pack called the Beach Box.”
Today, 3 Daughters is 32,000 sq. ft. with two warehouses and a taproom with 40 taps, rotating between 150 recipes of beer, cider, and now seltzer. The brewery is open 7 days a week and offers a food menu of snacks, sandwiches and more. They are distributed throughout Florida, select Carribbean islands, and even Brazil.
Upcoming events with 3 Daughters include sponsorship at the St Pete Run Fest, Skyway 10K, Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater and the P1 Powerboat races at the Don Cesar. Also stay tuned for taproom events like Beach Blonde Day (June 21st) and our Seltzer Fest (July 20th). These events will include live music and local partners on site with food and craft cocktail contests.
