Unrefined Brewing

Unrefined Brewing occupies a circa 1912 building on East Tarpon Avenue in downtown Tarpon Springs, a structure that previously housed Saint Somewhere Brewing before Unrefined took it over. Opening on July 5, 2019, the brewery was founded by five co-owners, Gordon Scott, who serves as head brewer, along with Tom Scott, Tony Pautauros, Ed St. John, and Allen King, a group that by day works in fields like real estate, sales, and trading rather than the beverage industry full time.

Gordon Scott reportedly learned of the historic building’s availability while in New Orleans and brought the other four partners together to purchase and establish the brewery in it, giving Unrefined a founding story tied directly to the building’s own history as much as to the beer itself. Operating out of a structure built in 1912 gives the brewery a physical setting that few newer businesses in town can match, a genuine piece of Tarpon Springs architectural history repurposed for a modern craft brewery.

The brewery has built its reputation specifically around sours and stouts, two beer styles that sit at opposite ends of the flavor spectrum, sharp and tart versus dark and rich, which suggests a brewing program willing to commit to more technically demanding styles rather than sticking to the lighter, more universally approachable beers that dominate a lot of small taproom menus. Gordon Scott brought over a decade of home brewing experience into the venture before it became a commercial operation, background that likely shaped the brewery’s willingness to specialize in styles that reward that kind of technical patience.

Unrefined Brewing operates primarily on weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, with Fridays added specifically during First Friday street parties, a recurring downtown Tarpon Springs event. That schedule, built around weekend and event based hours rather than a full seven day operation, is typical of smaller craft breweries where the ownership group is balancing the business alongside other work, and it rewards visitors who plan a Tarpon Springs trip around a weekend or a First Friday specifically.

The brewery also operates a second location in Dunedin, a nearby Pinellas County town with its own well known craft beer scene, extending the Unrefined name beyond Tarpon Springs while keeping the original downtown location in its historic 1912 building as the flagship. For beer drinkers interested in a brewery with genuine local roots, five community owners, a historic building, and a deliberately specialized beer list, Unrefined Brewing is one of the more distinctive stops in downtown Tarpon Springs.