Pinellas Ale Works has opened a new taproom near Lealman, moving into the former Dissent Craft Brewing space at 5518 Haines Rd N in St. Pete. The spot, dubbed PAW Taps & Tails, is dog- and cat-friendly and already held a soft opening, with a grand opening party planned throughout opening weekend.
A Reinvigorated Space With Its Own Brewing Gear
According to I Love the Burg, PAW Taps & Tails took over the shuttered Dissent Craft Brewing space and is described as a reinvigorated brewery space that serves PAW craft beer and promises the same award-winning brews customers already know. The new location has its own brewing equipment and plans to brew exclusive beers on-site, adding to what the brewery already produces at its original Grand Central District location. Saucin' Wings, a local chicken wing food truck, will provide food at the taproom on Fridays and Saturdays, the outlet reports.
The expansion builds on reporting from St. Pete Rising, which detailed plans for a 2,400-square-foot taproom with up to 38 taps, communal seating and dog-related retail merchandise. The brewery plans to brew beer at the Haines Road taproom as well, per that outlet, and Pinellas Ale Works acquired much of Dissent's brewing equipment after Dissent's closure and Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The current PAW lineup includes the Milk Bone stout, Puppy Love hazy IPA, Schwarzhound dark German lager and the award-winning 1888 Russian Imperial Stout, according to the same report.
Events on Tap, From Trivia to Yappy Hour
PAW Taps & Tails is expected to host live music, trivia nights and monthly Yappy Hour events benefiting local animal shelters, St. Pete Rising notes. That tracks with Pinellas Ale Works' broader programming, which its own site describes as hosting weekly and monthly events benefiting Pinellas County animal-related charities, per Pinellas Ale Works. The taproom is expected to be open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the same source.
The location will double as an active brewing site rather than a pure retail front, according to 995qyk.com. Non-beer drinkers will find kombucha, seltzers and sodas on the menu, the station reports, and the Lealman site has a sizable parking lot, something the Grand Central taproom lacks. Cider may eventually join the beer offerings there, and a food truck could eventually become a permanent fixture on the property, per the same report.
Paying Homage to a Neighborhood Brewery That Closed
Pinellas Ale Works has said the new taproom will include design elements meant to pay homage to Dissent and its customers, with one representative telling St. Pete Rising, “We're trying to pay homage to Dissent, in some ways.” Dissent Craft Brewing opened at the same Haines Road address in 2018 and became, as the Lealman Exchange once described it, a neighborhood gem that grew from one strip-mall unit to three units plus a taproom in Lakeland, pouring 21 beers on tap that ranged from IPAs to stouts to Berliners.
That run ended last year. Dissent's owners announced the brewery would close permanently on Aug. 17, 2025, according to the St. Pete Catalyst. Pinellas Ale Works, which has served St. Petersburg from its Grand Central District location since 2016, is now using much of that same Haines Road space to grow into Lealman, pairing its familiar beer menu with the dog-centric branding that has defined its original taproom.
