Cup of kindness runs dry

Busch Gardens' new Belgian owners have a lot to learn about the theme park and the place it holds in the fabric and flavor of Tampa. Taking away the free beer is tough to swallow.

For 50 years, Busch Gardens has given away beer samples. It kept Anheuser-Busch products in the hands of visitors to the Tampa brewery. But it also reflected a simple courtesy of less complicated times. InBev, the new owners, say they will close the taps Jan. 25, in part "to broaden our profitability" and to appeal to nondrinkers. But the theme park is hardly a beer-soaked tailgate party with roller coasters.

Generations of locals savored a draft in the Hospitality House, overlooking the pond and the bird garden, long before Busch Gardens ballooned into another mega theme park. The beer house was not a freewheeling saloon, but an air-conditioned respite where visitors could learn the history of beer-making.

Nobody pays $70 for a day's admission for two modest beer samples, and any public safety concerns are minimal. Nobody ever likened the beer house to Gasparilla or a Buccaneers game. For many, especially longtime residents who patronized the park for years, this modest show of appreciation sets Busch Gardens apart from other sterile corporate tourist attractions, a rare refusal to cash in on a quiet corner. The free beer in the small waxy cup is campy, but it is a Tampa tradition that added just a bit to the identity of the place.

Better not tell the park's new owners about hand-made cigars, the Cuban sandwich, Bayshore or the university's minarets.

Correction

Our belated New Year's resolution is to be more careful with numbers. First, we were off by 50 cents on the surcharge Progress Energy customers will pay per 1,000 kilowatt hours for early construction costs toward a Levy County nuclear plant. It will be $11.42 starting this month. In correcting that mistake we said the plant will cost $17-million, which would be quite a deal. The actual cost is $17-billion.