I love downtown Fort Myers. It is absolutely adorable, and they have a surprisingly wide breadth of activities for basically anyone.
Lots of good shopping, lots of good restaurants (including the original Ford’s Garage which I really enjoyed) and a lot of places that are really focused on craft beer. Those are bars, though, and if you want real deal, only a few blocks away is Millennial Brewing.
For many years, Millenial was the closest brewery to downtown Fort Myers. It was opened by Kyle and Amber Cebull, Kyle being a former Marine and Southwest Florida resident since the age of six.
Millennial has a fairly huge warehouse space just off the main drag, not too far from downtown and from the IMAG science center. The facility used to be a carpet warehouse, which gives them plenty of space to hold a small brewing system, some barrels, a good selection of arcade games and pinball machines, and your stereotypical brewery trappings.
They are incredibly family friendly, going so far as to host family Sunday events for the kiddos. I would know, since if you watch the recap of my interview with both Millennial Brewing and Beach Talk Radio (available on the Beach Talk Radio website or YouTube page), you will notice the omnipresent hand of my daughter coming back for more money for the pinball machines.
It’s actually quite amusing.
Beer-wise, there is a lot going on, and their taps rug the gamut of styles. They’re not necessarily in a region of the state that favors any particular style, so they tend to range quite a bit.
During the interview I was handed a full pour of Clever Girl IPA (IPA, 7.3% ABV), one of their core beers. It’s a pretty good west coaster, maybe a bit more drinkable in the dankness but still bursting with strong alpha acids and citrus notes.
We also grabbed a flight of some of their other beers, including:
Anotha One (Light Ale, 4.75% ABV) – A surprisingly light and crisp beer, clearly brewed to attract the macro drinkers in the area not totally knowing everything a good craft beer can bring to the table. Very refreshing, and I can also see this as being a good starting point for adjuncts.
Cinnamon Toast (Brown Ale, 5.8% ABV) – First of all, long live the brown ale. Especially since they treated theirs with cinnamon and probably a touch of vanilla, giving a solid sweetness to the beer that the malt took and ran with. Solid and enjoyable.
Coffee and Contemplation (Porter, 7.5% ABV) – This is one of their most popular beers, and for good reason. There’s a strong coffee quality that the beer just absorbs and adores, mixing with a lightly cocoa-forward grain bill to create a perky, bold beer.
There was a lot more to try, I just never got the chance unfortunately. I was happy to have gone, and it is very easy to find reasons to go back with the whole family. Especially on Sundays, I am very excited to check that out as well.
After going downtown, of course.
Drink Florida Craft,
Dave
@floridabeerblog
floridabeerblog@gmail.com
Listen to the Florida Beer Podcast – Powered by Florida Beer Blog on Anchor, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Breaker, and more!
Order the official “Drink Florida Craft” shirt from Florida Beer Blog here.
Use code FLABEERGUY18 for 10% off!
Florida Beer Blog 