Fort Myers brewery teams up with local farm

FORT MYERS, Fla.- For nearly three years, Fort Myers Brewing Company has crafted various tasty beers on tap. Now, the brewery’s leftovers have become a local farm’s feast.

“We’ve been really lucky, the community has really embraced us. Our taste room is really busy,” said owner Rob Whyte.

It all starts with different types of grains, and from the consumer perspective, it ends with a cold glass of beer. For the Fort Myers brewery, the more they make, the more scraps they have.

“We’ve got stuff that’s not trash, but our leftover stuff from the brewing process is a perfect cattle-feed, so we partner with a local Circle C Farm.”

The brewery teamed the local range-free, no GMO farm. By now, the cattle know when the food arrives.

“I think it is like dessert because they go crazy when they show up with the truck,” said Whyte.

The animals stampede toward the fence line to get first pick.

“They start mooing, they start running around, the donkey gets very excited as well,” said Nicole Kozak, owner of Circle C Farm.

Because of the brewing process, the spent grains are low in starch, lower in sugar, but high in protein which is great for the grass-fed giants and their smaller friends.

“If we did want to feed grains, that it would be a cost for us. If Fort Myers Brewing Company wanted to dispose of that, they’d have to pay to have it disposed of. So from that standpoint, it’s a win-win,” said Kozak.

There is no alcohol in the grains, that’s all extracted, but the feed does have a strong and pungent odor.