Last month, breweries from around the world competed in the World Beer Cup in Las Vegas, and one of the big winners is from right here in Tampa: BarrieHaus.
You could say Jim and Brittney Barrie fell in love twice, first with each other and then with craft beer.
“A true love story,” said Jim.
“We met in Gainesville, Florida. We were both going to the University of Florida, and we were both undergrads,” said Brittney.
Jim, a two-time national champion with the Gators football team, and Brittney, a manager for the swimming and diving team, got married in 2014.
“We took our honeymoon to Belgium and Germany because we love Belgium beer,” said Brittney.
The couple began brewing at their home, eventually pursuing their dream of opening their own brewery, BarrieHaus, in 2019, located between downtown Tampa and Ybor City.
“We wanted to be in a downtown district where there is a lot of people bustling around and a really good craft beer scene, so we moved back to Jim’s hometown, Tampa Bay,” said Brittney.
Inside BarrieHaus there is a wall of fame honoring all the men in Jim’s family who brewed before him.
“My great, great, great grandfather, Philip Kling, he opened a brewery in 1863,” said Jim, admiring the photos on the wall.
From grain to glass, Jim takes pride in brewing European Style Lagers that you can’t taste everywhere else.
“A lot of our guests come in, and they’ll be from out of town and say, ‘this as close as we’ve had to German lagers outside of Germany,’ so that makes us very proud to recreate that experience,” said Brittney.
2024 was an award-winning year. First, it was named the best small brewery in the state at the Best Florida Beer Championship, and then it won gold at the World Beer Cup in Las Vegas for its Bublina Czech-Style Pilsner.
“This beer, out of 152 around the world, over 50 countries compete in the World Beer Cup, and this beer came out number one,” said Brittney.
“It’s very validating because you put so much sweat, tears, blood, not literally into the beer, but it's very validating because it’s one of the most prestigious awards you can win,” said Jim.
The couple hopes to be a voice in the craft brewing community.
“We’re glad ABC Action News is covering this story, specifically our win, but highlighting all small businesses, especially small breweries,” said Brittney. “Breweries are community meeting places, they are family-friendly, they are a lot of fun, and you get to know the people behind the bar, and you really get to know the people in your neighborhood.”
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