Big Storm Brewing Enters the Odessa, Tampa Bay Market

The two friends met at University of South Florida and they’d been brewing beer in their homes for years. But when Clay Yarn, 31, and Mike Bishop, 27, both lost their jobs within a month of each other last year, they decided it was time to take their penchant for beer out of the garage and into the bars.

"We said, ‘Are we really going to do this?’" Yarn said about their ultimate decision to become beer brewers. "We had a serious sit down, and it was now or never."

Enter Big Storm Brewing Co.

The Odessa-based micro-brewery is poised to join a small, but growing class of local breweries in the Tampa Bay area. Think Cigar City Brewing and Cold Storage Craft Brewery.

Yarn and Bishop say Big Storm sets itself apart because its brews are complex enough for the true "beer geek," yet something the regular beer consumer can enjoy.

Bishop, the head brewer, had plenty of time to figure out exactly what type of beer the company would make. He spent nine months in an apprenticeship at Dunedin Brewery learning the ins and outs of the beer making business.