Ginger beer is back in the Burg. A relaunch of St. Pete’s original ginger beer, Tidal Ginger Beer is coming to a glass (or can) near you. The smooth and spicy soft drink made with fresh ginger is already popping up behind some of our favorite bars around town, and soon it will be available in stores, as well.

A pair of local entrepreneurs have been working on the project for almost two years, tweaking and developing the recipe to bring Tidal to life. Patrick Bennetts and Craig Vogeley, the local duo behind Tidal, have been in works with 3 Daughters Brewing for nearly 18 months to craft the perfect recipe, tweaking the original recipe little by little to get a perfectly-balanced drink that goes down smooth and finishes with the trademark ginger bite.

The key, of course, is using real ginger, as opposed to the ginger extract or flavoring like nearly every other ginger beer on the market. In fact, the second entry on the ingredient list after carbonated water is real ginger. No fake flavorings, just real ginger plus a few natural ingredients mixed into bubbly water, resulting in a deliciously balanced beverage with about half the sugar content of most ginger beers and sodas. That commitment to the real product is part of why Tidal ended up partnering with 3 Daughters, as they required a great local and reliable partner for a project that is so hands on.

Tidal is already available at several popular bars and cafes around town, where it is served either on its own or as part of a cocktail or mocktail at places like Urban Stillhouse, Grassroots Kava Bar, Dog Bar, Driftwood Café, Cocktail, and several others. Urban is serving it up in a Kentucky mule, while Grassroots is making fantastic kava mules. And in fact, Tidal is the only product on tap in the 3 Daughters tasting room that isn’t a strictly 3 Daughters creation, though they certainly had a hand in its development.

Tidal Ginger Beer is a St. Pete success story

Bennetts, Vogeley and the 3 Daughters team went through multiple iterations and taste tests as they worked to brew a beverage that perfectly balanced the aroma and spice of ginger, while still remaining approachable and refreshing. The end result, appropriately, was an experience akin to a spring day on the beach in St. Pete – one part heat, two parts refreshing relaxation.

For the moment, Tidal is available in the original ginger beer recipe, and soon they plan to launch more flavors such as hibiscus, blueberry, and mango. They are also in development with 3 Daughters on RTD (ready to drink) canned ginger beer cocktails, which will be lower ABV, sessionable cocktails meant to be the perfect complement to relaxing days in the Florida sun.

Feedback from local bars and coffee shops, Bennetts and Vogeley say, has been fantastic, as several early adopters already have customers asking for it by name. And indeed, while Tidal is great on its own, it makes an excellent mixer for restaurant bars and home bars alike.

The next step for Tidal will be to lock down a distributor, and they hope to see 12-ounce cans of the ginger beer on the shelves throughout the area by sometime in April. Long term, owners plan to scale production and begin distributing throughout the state. If you have a restaurant, café, or bar interested in carrying Tidal, reach out to Justin Rowley, Tidal’s Business Development Director, at justin(at)tidalgingerbeer.com

“There was a void in St. Pete without having a locally-made, real ginger beer around,” Bennetts said. “We were thrilled when we discovered the opportunity to pick the brand back up and deliver it to the community. We want a locally-made, family-friendly drink that people here can be proud of, and we hope to be yet another great local product that St. Pete is known for.”

Learn more about Tidal Ginger Beer at tidalgingerbeer.com, and keep your eyes on the website in the coming weeks for the ability to order Tidal directly from the manufacturer. In the meantime, follow Tidal on Instagram to see where they’ll popping up next. After sponsoring charity events and working festivals like the St. Pete Grand Prix, they’re due next at the Campbell Park Skate Park anniversary celebration on April 15.