Fort Myers is going to have a new microbrewery starting this weekend. This is a first for Lee County.  Owner Robert Whyte opened up shop with his wife Jennifer Gratz.

He said craft beer is a booming industry all over the country and it is about time Fort Myers joined in.

“In Florida, really Tampa is exploding is and the east coast is also doing well,” Whyte said. “My wife and I live in Fort Myers and we frequent World of Beer and we noticed that there is a big interest in craft beer here. And I have experience from the west coast brewing at and running a brewery with a friend of mine. So, we decided ‘hey, we live here, we need craft beer in Fort Myers-- let’s open a brewery,’” he said.

Whyte used to make home brews when he lived in Southern California in the ‘90s. He started brewing again around 2005 and has won multiple awards.

He and his wife saved up and built the brewery themselves. Whyte hopes to distribute his beer throughout Florida in the near future.

The Fort Myers Brewery Company in Gateway is hosting its grand opening this Saturday from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. They will serve up four different locally brewed beers.