Digital Passports Launched For Craft Beer Trail In Pinellas County

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Gulp Coast Craft Brewery passport has shifted into a digital passport for beer connoisseurs to use while exploring the St. Pete/Clearwater Craft Beer Trail.

The passport is available for free as of Monday on mobile devices.

Running from Tarpon Springs to St. Pete, the St. Pete/Clearwater Craft Beer Trail divides the area’s 35 plus breweries into three regions for easy exploration. The digital passport makes it easier for craft beer enthusiasts to track their trail progress, a news release said.

“The growth of the craft beer industry in this community over the last decade has been incredible to witness,” Steve Hayes, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President/CEO, said. “Following a difficult year due to the pandemic, our local brewers have shown impressive resilience and creativity. The passport program’s shift to a digital platform expands access to information about the area's local breweries and encourages support from visitors and residents.”

Launched in 2017, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater’s “Gulp Coast” Beer Passport encourages trail participants to document their journey through the largest craft beer destination in the state. The original paper passport directed users to collect stickers at each participating brewery - now, Craft Beer Trail explorers will record their journey on their phone by checking into passport stops via mobile geolocation services. Participants who visit and record 15 stops along the trail are congratulated with a Gulp Coast T-shirt. The program aims to boost local businesses, as St. Pete/Clearwater locals and visitors alike fill out their passports at hotspots such as veteran-owned 5 Branches Brewing, dog-themed brewery Pinellas Ale Works (PAW for short), and Black-owned Green Bench Brewing Co. in downtown St. Pete.

In celebration of the new digital passport, anyone that signs up and visits three breweries before Jan. 2 will be entered to win the “beercation” getaway with a three-night stay at The Hollander Hotel in downtown St. Pete, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater said.

For more information about St. Pete/Clearwater’s Craft Beer Trail, participating businesses and the “Gulp Coast” Beer Passport, please visit the website here. To access the new digitized Gulp Coast Passport, visit GulpCoast.com for instructions on how to sign up.