WORDS Tara Crutchfield
PHOTOGRAPH Amy Sexson
Dissent Craft Brewing Company Lakeland’s newest addition to the craft beer scene, Dissent Craft Brewing Company, opened on Kentucky Avenue last fall, bringing with them a lineup of rebellious brews and ‘outspoken ales.’ Founder and head brewer Chris Price and his former business partner opened Dissent’s flagship brewery in St. Pete in 2018.
Stringer is from Lakeland, so the city was naturally a suggestion for the brewery’s expansion. “Once we started looking at the area, we really loved the downtown. Our brewery in St. Pete is more in an industrial area, so this footprint is substantially different from there. We get zero foot traffic, and it has grown completely organically. […] We’ve done very well, but we wanted to be in a place where we got foot traffic and could be part of a thriving, active community,” said Price.
“I was a homebrewer for 15 years, and that’s ultimately what launched me into this business,” Price said. “Myself and my original business partner were corporate, suit-and-tie guys by day, and this was kind of our rebellion against that world. This was going to be our fun thing, our passion project.”
ABOUT THE BEER “We like to do a lot of experimentation. Our best selling beers are our IPAs and sours,” said the Dissent founder. “We get really funky with our sours, so we have all kinds of weird combinations – Blueberry Marshmallow, Living the Dreamsicle, which is based on an orange Creamsicle ice cream pop. We have one that’s inspired by Dole Whip [called the Annual Passholder], which is our best-selling beer for the last 18 months.”
In 2017, the two homebrewers left I.T. for IPA and got to work on their St. Petersburg brewery, Dissent Craft Brewing Company which would debut the following year. Dissent’s first beer was a mango habanero IPA, the Hazy Mangover. “It’s still one of our top five best-selling beers, four years later,” said Price. The brewery has gained a loyal following in St. Pete, so they brought their successful ‘hop’eration to the Swan City with partners Kevin Stringer and Ashley Mills. “It’s been a blast,” said Price.
Each of those brews started as small batch experiments that have been refined along the way. The way Price approaches it, “If it takes off, great, and if it doesn’t, we keep experimenting.” - CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 -
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