Best Florida large brewery of 2024 right here in Fort Myers
To say Fort Myers Brewing Co. did well at the 2024 Best Florida Beer Brewer’s Ball would be a huge understatement.
During the March 3 event in Tampa, the brewery took home a handful of honors, including the title of Florida's Best Large Brewery.
"We are thrilled to be recognized as Florida's Best Large Brewery," Rob Whyte, co-founder of the Gateway brewery, said in a news release. "It's a testament to the dedication and passion of our team, who consistently strive for excellence in every batch we produce."
The accolades didn’t stop there for Lee County's first craft brewery.
Gold medals went to its OYA Double IPA and Czech Around Pilsner in the Imperial IPA and Bohemian Pilsner categories, respectively.
Its Penny Lager was awarded silver in the American Style Amber Lager category, while the Chocolate Stout (chocolate and coffee beer category) and the signature High 5 IPA (American Pale Ale category) won bronze medals.
Fort Myers Brewing, which celebrated its 11th anniversary last month, has medaled at the Best Florida Beer Championships every year since Whyte opened the brewery at 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive in Fort Myers with his wife Jen in 2013.
This includes Best Large Brewery in Florida titles and 17 gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze medals.
But Fort Myers Brewing wasn’t the only local brewery to collect awards at this year’s competition.
Scotty's, Point Ybel also win
Scotty’s Bierwerks (901 Industrial Circle in Cape Coral) won gold in the imperial stout category for its Oatmeal Stout.
It also picked up a bronze medal in the German-style Pilsener category for its German Pilsener.
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Meanwhile, Point Ybel Brewing Co. (16120 San Carlos Blvd., Fort Myers) won gold in the English mild/bitter/brown/pale category for its Dodgy ESB.
Sponsored by Best Florida Beer, the Best Florida Beer Professional Championship is a sanctioned professional beer, mead and cider competition. This year’s event attracted 780 judged entries across 46 medal groups.
Go to bestfloridabeer.org for more.
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Brewing named Florida's Best Large Brewery at 2024 event
