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Tripping Animals has been one of South Florida's more positive craft beer stories over the last few years, having grown steadily since the pandemic over a span that's seen several state breweries close and downtown taprooms shuttered. That's part of the reason co that produced 7K bbls last yr, in line with 2024, is aiming to expand in the Sunshine State, specifically its lower half, where co-founder and prexy Juan-Manuel Torres sees an opportunity for the brand to become as synonymous with Miami as Cigar City is with Tampa. Co's goal is 4% growth in 2026 if the craft environment sees a modest rebound: "Hopefully the market will help us out a little bit more," Juan said. Pricing Keeps Focus In-State, Which Turns it to Year-Round Offerings The other reason Juan and his founding partners - Iker Elorriaga, Daniel Chocron, Ignacio Montenegro - are looking local is upward pricing pressure from non-FL distributors. Co's beer is already in 13 states including AZ and the Carolinas, and the plan outside of the Sunshine State is to grind out small victories where it can find them rather than look to switch partners. It's a "discussion of how we can move a little more liquid and adjust our pricing" with its existing distribs, Juan said. "Every month, every quarter, we try to be better with them."In a neutral environment, pricing might not have forced the issue on its own, but, given the hole in the South Florida craft scene, the wind and the tide are moving together toward the Miami area. Tripping Animals works with Green Light Distribution out of Orlando and is expanding its range of options as it looks to carve out more of a year-round local presence rather than largely rely on the summer selling season.In 2026, Juan said co is planning to introduce a suite of new products to help it own more of the calendar, including NA beers, starting with a sour in the Spring; Tiger Tea, a "Twisted Tea" concept, RTDs, and 10 mg/container THC-based bevs, which are rolling out this month despite Nov's looming 0.4 mg/container federal dosage cap. It doesn't seem to worry Juan, who more or less said there was safety in numbers as it related to craft breweries in the cannabev business: "I don't think they're gonna kill the product itself," he guessed, adding that "we're confident there will be a way forward."The Benefit of "A Really Nice Landlord" The sticker shock of lease renewal, especially after 10-yr terms, has contributed to lots of craft brewery closures in recent years. "Thankfully," Juan said, "we have a really nice landlord," and co just re-upped for a decade on terms he described as fully reasonable, which he said was not the norm in the industry. "South Florida has been hit hard" by cost increases across the board, he said, with Tripping Animals taking it on the chin in packaging but not in materials ("Thank God for that," Juan said.) But he feels for the cos that couldn't make it work: "Between pricing and leasing, at some point it doesn't make sense."Among those bitten by circumstances are Biscayne Bay, which closed its downtown Miami location in Nov, following the lead of Dogfish Head, which did so in 2022. More broadly speaking, the state's Due South was a Covid casualty in 2021, while Clearwater's Big Storm was sold out of bankruptcy last mo following the arrest of its founder, who is awaiting trial on charges of embezzling more than $100 mil from charity. So many of the state's breweries remain in flux that Tripping Animals can't help but aim to fill the vacuum, even in a tuff environment.Everything is Irie To help raise its profile, co is doing a "big campaign" for its flagship beer, "Ever Haze for Florida," in which it will donate $1 for every case sold of that beer's 12oz or 16oz cans to a quarterly rotating charity. It's also hosting its annual Irie Jungle Festival next mo at co's Doral brewery, featuring more than 70 breweries for a "curated multi-sensory beer-tasting experience blending the world's best craft breweries with immersive art." The festival is in keeping with the inspiration for co's name, the Venezuelan word tripeada, which effectively means "to chill and have a good time."That feeling was what inspired Juan and friends to start building the co in 2015, but it's the attention to detail that has led them to succeed where so many have fallen short. Juan isn't overly nostalgic about the craft beer boom, but he's romantic about it, and thinks it will come back, albeit "little by little. It's gonna take 3-4 years to be back where we were." In the meantime, Miami beckons. Will the Animals trip or run away with it?

Miami's Tripping Animals Focused on FL After 7K Bbl 2025, Out-of-State Pricing Pressures; Prepping RTDs, NAs and THC Bevs to Capture Full Calendar

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