On the edge of iconic neighborhoods, Outcast Brewing Company aims to reach 'whole of St. Pete'
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 15, 2024

Richie and Jill Hamm plan to make Outcast Brewing Company a household name in St. Petersburg.

The couple recently purchased the brewery at 1776 11th Ave. N., which was home to Flying Boat Brewing Company and later The Brutalist Temple of Beer, for $2.3 million. They paid an additional $300,000 for the brewing equipment already in place at the site.

Richie Hamm said this will be their first time owning a brewery, but they have been searching for the perfect opportunity to get started for quite some time. A native Floridian, he grew up in the Panhandle and moved to the area around four years ago. He said they decided it was time to “lay down some roots,” and they intend to begin investing in several local projects.

“It’s a really hard thing to start from scratch, especially with the economy the way it is right now prices are just skyrocketing,” Richie Hamm said. “To find a building that’s already set up as a brewhouse that’s in a good location is like stumbling upon a diamond in the rough.”

They plan to open by June.

They are working on their recipes so they can quickly get into production and are prepared to dive into the few projects they wish to complete prior to opening, like adding an outdoor bar to the patio and creating some themed rooms within the space.

They also intend to have live music, outdoor games and food trucks.

“Beer is one of those things that brings a lot of people together from all different walks of life,” Richie Hamm said. “We’ll have the full gamut of what every craft brewery has, like IPAs, lagers, probably Irish Red Ales, seasonal sours as well as some real seasonal surprises.”

On top of their craft beers, they will also offer beverages for those with a different palate, including various wines and prosecco.

The brewery is between the Kenwood and the Historic Uptown neighborhoods and a mile from Tropicana Field. Richie Hamm said their name is an homage to their location as much as it is to the vibe they hope to create with their business.

He said a big appeal of the location was its proximity to Central Avenue and the upcoming redevelopment from the Tampa Bay Rays of the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District. He also loved they were in the "backyard" of several well-established neighborhoods. Their brewery will have the opportunity to stretch across those boundaries and “reach the whole of St. Pete.”

Their mascot will be a raccoon, which he said is an outcast animal but is known for its adorable personality.

“We picked Outcast as our name because we’re right on the edge of all of these main areas in St. Pete that everyone is flocking to,” Richie Hamm said. “We are a little outcast here and we’ll fit in where we fit in.”