Top left:
Leigh
and Mike
Harting, 3
Daughters
Brewing.
Above:
Raphael and
Sarah Perrier
of Kahwa
Coffee. Photo
courtesy
of Stephen
Zane.
also how the craft brewery business—ranked #1934
on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private
companies in the U.S.—got its name. “At the
beginning, Mike and I didn’t know what to call the
business,” says Leigh. “We kept joking, ‘how many
beers does it take to put three daughters through
college?”
The hospitality business is in their DNA. The
couple met working at Steak & Ale and rose up the
corporate ladder. Mike went on to Outback Steak
House and then to Bella Brava in downtown St. Pete
where he was co-owner. It was the desire to make
their own craft beer for Bella Brava that indirectly
launched 3 Daughters.
“Mike and Ty Weaver (at the time the restaurant's
head chef) went to look at a 3-barrel system for
sale in California and ended up buying a 30-barrel
system,” says Leigh. “Overnight we went from supplying
a single restaurant to launching ourselves in a
different industry.”
Leigh jokes that when the system arrived, they
didn’t even know how to turn it on. “We said it’s just
a beer, we can do this. There are only four ingredients.
Of course now, I have a whole new respect for
the science behind brewing. It’s a complex industry
and I’ve grown a passion for it.”
Six years ago, when the couple launched 3
-
neers. The craft beer industry was in its infancy and
the Warehouse Arts District, where they’re located,
still resembled its former history as a run-down
industrial part of town. Today the district is booming
with artists and there are some 40 breweries
between St. Petersburg and Dunedin, and another
60 in Tampa.
3 Daughters is in the midst of rapid growth, too.
From experimenting with a handful of craft beers,
they’ve developed a network of clients throughout
Florida. An expansion 18 months ago enabled
them to begin servicing the entire Southeast, and
they’re talking about possibily expanding into Brazil.
3 Daughters is sold in cans at more than 4,000 retail
outlets, including Target, Publix and Disney. “Disney
is our biggest retail client,” says Leigh. Disney’s
Wide World of Sports carries Beach Blond, the com-
The secret to their success? Leigh says the number
one priority is quality control and that starts in the
lab. “Many breweries hide their lab in the back. Ours
is right up front where everyone can see the team
at work,” says Leigh. “We partner with the USF St.
Petersburg brewing arts program; Mike was a cofounder
of that program and we have interns working
with our quality team in the lab.”
They’ve also created a destination for locals and
visitors. In addition to the production facility, there’s
a large tasting room, game rooms with ping pong
and foosball, and a warehouse loaded with small
tables laminated with game boards. Live bands play
on the weekends. “It’s completely interactive, “ says
Leigh. “No TVs. That was Mike’s decision.”
Risk-taking is also in their DNA. “We have a philosophy
of fail faster; in other words if a new product
doesn’t make it, we’re nimble,” says Leigh. “Ty
(now 3 Daughters Head Brewer) has a sophisticated
palate and likes to experiment, always tweaking
12 'BURGLIFE | Living, Working and Playing in St. Petersburg, FL