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Along parade route, beer sales are out

Gasparilla organizers couldn't reach a deal with a beer sponsor, so those wanting a brew might have to bring their own.

By JANET ZINK
Published January 26, 2006

TAMPA - Beer drinkers, take note: You won't be able to buy any brew along the Gasparilla parade route this year.

Instead, you'll be taste-testers for four new drinks that the makers of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum are testing in Tampa.

The beer tap ran dry because EventMakers, the company that promotes and organizes the event for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, couldn't finalize a deal for a beer sponsor for this year's bash.

Miller Brewing Co., which has sponsored the Gasparilla parade the past six years, rejected a new contract offered by EventMakers last February.

"The new proposal was something that didn't make financial sense," said Tim Carter, senior marketing manager for Miller Brewing Co.

EventMakers went back to Miller in November with another contract, but the company declined. "We were disappointed," said Darrell Stefany, president of EventMakers.

In December, Stefany went to Pepin Distributing Co., provider of Anheuser-Busch beers. But Pepin already had worked out its budget for 2006, said Bill Gieseking, Pepin's director of marketing. "It's kind of expensive," he said.

The five-figure sponsorship deal is more than what the company pays to be the official beer sponsor for the Florida State Fair, which lasts 10 days and draws 800,000 people, more than twice as many as Gasparilla, Gieseking said.

But the money wasn't the deal-breaker, he said.

It was the timing.

"We did inform EventMakers that we're open to receiving their proposal for 2007," he said.

Stefany also went to Diageo Inc., which distributes such beer as Red Stripe, Guinness and Harp. But the company doesn't want to offer those products. It wants to introduce new canned mixed drinks.

"This is a test market for these brands," said Gary Galanis, Diageo vice president of corporate relations.

The vodka, rum and whiskey drinks have an alcoholic content of about 5 percent, the same as beer. They will be sold at eight locations along the 3-mile parade route for $3 for a 12-ounce can.

Drink sales benefit six nonprofit organizations.

This does not mean there will be no beer along the parade route, since it's consumed in large quantities by parade-goers who bring their own.

Merchants near the parade route say they think the lack of beer on Bayshore will be a boon to their business.

Shakil Ahmed, manager of 3,000 Imported Beers on Swann Avenue at Delaware Avenue, said he expects a 10 percent increase in business.

"If they have to walk a half-mile they will find me. And I'm not going to run out," he said.

Times staff writer Alex Zayas contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 01:22:21]