
BeerWise Podcast: Tampa Bay Beer Week 2023 Podcast Episode
February 9, 2023TBBW April Nominations
April 12, 2023There is no permanence when it comes to fruit. This practice of ours to deliver a whole
pineapple to major events that we attend was greeted with open arms, and more often than not, smiles and laughs. It’s a ridiculous gesture, and that’s part of why we love it so much. But much like craft beer there is no way to keep it forever. Each fruit must meet its demise either by consumption, replanting (thanks Smalls!) or the inevitable march of time.
What are we talking about? Here is a link to a piece we wrote about how this whole thing started. Take a moment to recap and join us back here for this year’s update.
On Friday night’s pre-party collaboration brew at Magnanimous, we arrived as planned with a fresh whole pineapple for our host. But soon a friend arrived with a 6 inch resin pineapple hanging from a ridiculously gaudy fake gold chain. We acquired the necklace from him and began passing it around countless necks for the duration of the event. It made it to the Florida Brewer’s Guild Festival of Craft Beer, and we were honored when its Executive Director wore it with pride. We brought it to Best Florida Beer’s Brewers Ball on Sunday, where it was passed hand to hand so quickly we thought it was lost more than once.

Nevertheless the necklace survived, and as a result, dozens of real pineapples were saved for their intended purpose. In retrospect, our practice was a bit wasteful when unconsumed, so this new jewel was a welcomed reprieve. It survived a Dunedin brewery bar crawl. It survived several smaller scale events, albeit with some minor damage. Repairs were made and with great hope it made its upgrade debut at Lagerfest. This is where it met its unfortunate demise. That’s right, the necklace is no more. Through no individual’s fault, it had what we’re calling a catastrophic failure.
So where does it go from here? Well, we love the enthusiasm with which this new direction has been received. A resin sculpture clearly isn’t the best choice for a permanent solution. We’ll explore other materials and welcome any local artisans you may recommend. Until then we’ll finish this year’s Beer Week with the memory of it, and the hundreds of photos of you all enjoying it. It will be back!






