Homegrown brewery to open in downtown Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An abandoned building downtown will soon be home to local craft beers.

The 63,000-square-foot building located on Royal Palm Avenue, on the edge of the River District, will be able to produce more than a 1,000 barrels of craft beer a year starting in the fall.

It will house Millennial Brewing Co. and co-founder Logan Roberts said his brewing company will be a space for true craft beer lovers.

“There will be a big walk-in cooler there so we can do actually lagers, we can age, we can cellar. We can do a lot of different things, a lot of different styles that people are looking for,” Roberts said. “We can brew a lot of beer here.”

Though the building isn’t much to look at now, with it’s uncovered concrete slabs and unassuming white exterior, city development officials say the brewery is needed to spark business.

“It’s kind of out there by itself but I think it’s going to be a destination,” said Don Paight of the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency. “It will add another dimension and bring more younger folks into downtown.”

Despite the name, co-founders Roberts and Kyle Cebull said they are not interested in creating a generational divide.

“The millennial mindset says ‘I can make something. I want to be a part of something. I want to feel community, I want to feel involved. I want to make a difference.’ Those are the ideals that make a millennial a millennial, not the age group,” Roberts said.

They hope to build partnerships with other downtown businesses and have their craft beers served in neighboring bars.

For more information visit www.millennialbrewing.com.