Fort Myers Brewing Company, Southwest Florida\u2019s first and largest craft brewery, is bringing back its annual Grouper Fest for three consecutive weekends from Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 28. The festival transforms the brewery into a full-scale summer celebration with exclusive beer releases, live music, food trucks, games, contests, and limited-edition merchandise.<\/p>\n
The festival officially kicks off with the \u201cFirst Pour\u201d at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 12, debuting the 2026 Grouper lineup of six festival-exclusive beers brewed specifically for Grouper Fest, including the highly anticipated new Lil\u2019 Grouper, a Session Hazy IPA.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrouper Fest has become one of our favorite traditions because it\u2019s everything Fort Myers Brewing is about: incredible beer, live music, community, and not taking yourself too seriously,\u201d said co-founder Jen Whyte. \u201cEvery weekend has its own personality this year, from exclusive merch drops and specialty beer rotations to some fun games and contests that people are going to be talking about long after the festival ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s festival also introduces new interactive experiences, including the Grouper Fest Pint Glass Challenge, a drinking game where participants catch a grouper by targeting their sips to score points and win prizes, and a beer-filled hula hoop competition during the Grand Finale Weekend.<\/p>\n
The 2026 Grouper Beer Lineup (available exclusively during Grouper Fest)<\/p>\n
Mosaic Grouper (Hazy IPA): Bold aromas of mango and melon<\/p>\n
Red Grouper (Red IPA): Caramel malt and piney hops, West Coast-style<\/p>\n
Black Grouper (Black IPA): Roasted malt balanced with Simcoe and Mosaic hops<\/p>\n
Goliath Grouper (Double IPA): Passionfruit, white grape, and strawberry<\/p>\n
Crispy Grouper (Rice Lager): Crisp and refreshing with Jasmine rice<\/p>\n
Lil\u2019 Grouper (NEW) (Session Hazy IPA): Low ABV, hop-forward, with peach, passionfruit, and citrus<\/p>\n
Each weekend features its own theme: First Pour Weekend (June 12-14) with the opening merch and koozie release, Father\u2019s Day Weekend (June 19-21) with a second merch drop, and the Grand Finale Weekend (June 26-28) with specialty beers rotating every two hours on Saturday, the final merch release, and the festival\u2019s signature hula hoop challenge.<\/p>\n
Grouper Fest consistently draws thousands of guests from across Southwest Florida and has become one of the region\u2019s signature summer events. A full weekend-by-weekend schedule with food trucks, live music, and event times is below.<\/p>\n
Grouperfest 2026 Kicks Off at Fort Myers Brewing<\/p>\n
Weekend 1 features the first merch and koozie release of the festival<\/p>\n
FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2013 June 8, 2026 \u2013 Fort Myers Brewing Company opens Grouperfest 2026 on Friday, June 12 with the festival\u2019s first merchandise and koozie release. Last year\u2019s opening weekend sold out of merch entirely, and the brewery is encouraging guests to arrive early. Three days of live music, food trucks, and specialty pours follow.<\/p>\n
Weekend 1 Schedule<\/p>\n
\u2022 Friday, June 12 \u2013 Doors open at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Detour Diner, Price Panzarottis<\/p>\n
Live Music: Dead Man\u2019s Hand (Smokin\u2019 Aces)<\/p>\n
Featured: First merch and koozie release of Grouperfest 2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saturday, June 13 \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Beau\u2019s BBQ, South Pizza Co., Detour Diner<\/p>\n
Live Music: Rockstead at 2 p.m., Gator Nate and The WHOMPERS at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sunday, June 14 \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Food Truck: King\u2019s Tacos & Burritos<\/p>\n
Live Music: Austin James Duo at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
_______________________________________<\/p>\n
Weekend 2 Schedule<\/p>\n
\u2022 Friday, June 19 \u2013 Doors open at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: King\u2019s Tacos & Burritos, Wicked Streatery<\/p>\n
Live Music: Got You Covered, Southwest Florida\u2019s premier Alt, Emo, Pop Rock, and Classic Rock cover band<\/p>\n
Featured: Second merchandise release of Grouperfest 2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saturday, June 20 \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Yo Samara\u2019s, South Pizza Co., Wicked Streatery<\/p>\n
Live Music: Sara L. at 2 p.m., The Moonstone Riders at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sunday, June 21 \u2013 Father\u2019s Day \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Food Truck: The Meat Cottage<\/p>\n
Live Music: Bobby James at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Featured: Father\u2019s Day session \u2014 bring dad to Lee County\u2019s first production craft brewery<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n
Grand Finale Weekend Schedule<\/p>\n
\u2022 Friday, June 26 \u2013 Doors open at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Detour Diner, Wicked Streatery<\/p>\n
Live Music: Edison Schetter and The Rum Runners at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
Featured: Final merchandise drop of Grouperfest 2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saturday, June 27 \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Specialty Beers: Rotating every two hours throughout the day<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Ro & Co Barbecue, King\u2019s Tacos & Burritos, South Pizza Co., Wicked Streatery<\/p>\n
Live Music: Charlie Pace at 12 p.m., DJ Bigs at 3 p.m., ROCK REPUBLIC at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sunday, June 28 \u2013 Doors open at NOON<\/p>\n
Theme: Help kick the kegs and close out Grouperfest 2026<\/p>\n
Food Trucks: Blades of Glory and more<\/p>\n
Live Music: Ben Allen Band at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
Event Details<\/p>\n
Location: Fort Myers Brewing Company, 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive, Suite 28, Fort Myers<\/p>\n
Admission: Free entry; beer and food available for purchase<\/p>\n
Website: fmbrew.com<\/a><\/p>\n About Fort Myers Brewing Company<\/p>\n Established in March 2013, Fort Myers Brewing Company became the first microbrewery to open in Lee County and has since grown into one of the largest craft breweries in Florida. Founded by husband-and-wife team Rob and Jen Whyte, the brewery operates from a 22,000-square-foot facility with a four-vessel, 30-barrel system producing 15,000 barrels of beer annually. Fort Myers Brewing distributes to more than 1,600 bars, restaurants, and retail locations across the state.<\/p>\n The taproom, located at 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive, Suite 28, Fort Myers, is open seven days a week and features food trucks daily, live music, and family- and pet-friendly events year-round. For more information, visit FMBrew.com<\/a> or follow @FMBrew on social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Myers Brewing Company, Southwest Florida\u2019s first and largest craft brewery, is bringing back its annual Grouper Fest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-285741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}