TAMPA, Fla. — If you’re looking for a good cause to drink beer at Coppertail Brewing, $1 of every can or pint of Coral Haze sold goes to coral conservation work and research at the Florida Aquarium.
“When coral spawn, it creates like a hazy environment in the ocean, so we went with the hazier beer just to give it that kind of like little connection,” said Gary Kost with Coppertail Brewing.
“Around 2021 is the last time we did Coral Haze, and we finally brought it back in 2024. Everyone here is super excited about it. It's one of our fan favorites and our employee favorites,” said Kost.
Since 2018, the sale of Coppertail’s Coral Haze has generated $27,000 for the Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation Program. Toni Wofford, Vice President of Philanthropy at the Florida Aquarium, is excited to see the beer back on the menu.
“Our coral programs are one of our most expensive programs. It is funded a lot through individual foundations, corporate partners, partnerships like this with Coppertail Brewing, and even a lot of federal grants,” said Wofford.
All the money raised goes right back into the Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Restoration Center.
“So Florida Reef Track is one of the largest reef tracks in the world, and we have seen so much deterioration and damage over the last couple of years at record speeds just because the water is hotter than it’s ever been,” said Wofford. “We’ve had some human effects from the things we do and climate change and things that are just happening, and so our efforts to help with coral restoration are vital in order to restore the Florida Reef Track.”
“It’s just a fun cause, it’s a good cause, we all know about the coral and how it's becoming endangered, and we all love our waterways; I mean, we’re surrounded by water, it’s Florida,” said Kost.
Coppertail Brewing even consulted with scientists at the Florida Aquarium to make sure the coral on the can is an accurate depiction.
“They suggested that we picked pillar corals, which is one of their efforts, one of the more endangered species of coral,” said Kost.
“Well, I personally love it. It has a great metallic, vibrant color to it. At one point in time, these are the colors you would have seen in the ocean,” said Wofford.
Coppertail and the Florida Aquarium hope their unique partnership inspires others in the community to remember that we’re all in this together when it comes to the environment.
“We love having this neighborhood, we love everything that’s happening on Water Street, we love that Coppertail is right down the street and that we can really join together and support one another in this effort,” said Wofford.
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