The 8th Annual St. George Island Brewfest – a seaside celebration of craft beer that also serves as the largest fundraiser every year for the Franklin County Humane Society – came and went on Saturday, April 26th.

 

And in the process, the Forgotten Coast’s only annual beer festival broke several significant records.

 

For starters – and most importantly – a new single-Brewfest fundraising milestone for FCHS was set: SGI Brewfest Committee President Amy Hodson said this weekend that a record $90,000 was raised in 2025, breaking the 2024 record of $70,000 by a staggering $20,000.

 

“We had such a great crowd on that Saturday. Everyone had a blast,” said Hodson, who serves on a committee with 6 others, all of whom play a crucial role to its success each year. “From the attendees, brewery reps, sponsors, and volunteers, everyone was all smiles. We are over the moon at how successful this event has become at raising funds for FCHS. It’s a testament to our rock star committee that puts it on each year. Everyone on the committee plays a very important part, and they all give so much of their time to ensure the event is successful.”

 

The 2025 SGI Brewfest, which is held annually in the large parking area adjacent to the SGI Lighthouse Park, also set a new record for the number of breweries and brands that donated and poured their beer with 72 (breaking the 2024 record of 53). And the Brewfest also set a new attendance record with just over 1,200 attendees. 

 

Not too bad for a beer festival that started in the parking lot of Paddy’s Raw Bar in 2016 and has since grown into arguably one of Florida’s top craft beer events in the entire state. 

 

There’s even an FCHS adoption station inside the Brewfest, and Franklin County Humane Society Executive Director Karen Martin was happy to report that they had multiple dogs who found their “forever homes” during the event.

 

“We adopted six puppies at the event this year and received numerous phone calls the following week from people following up with pets they had seen there,” Martin said. “Everyone who attends the event enjoys coming to our tent to meet all our pets and it’s always fun that so many people intend to adopt when they come to the Brewfest each year.”

 

Last year’s $70,000 raised went a long way to major upgrades and renovations at FCHS. And Martin said this year’s astonishing amount will be able to fill even more needs. 

 

“In the past three years, we have renovated and upgraded our dog kennels, outdoor pens, adding additional outdoor housing and purchasing all new kitty condos for the cat room, treatment room, and isolation ward. This has been a huge and much needed improvement and we are so pleased to be able to offer the level of care and housing that it provides,” Martin said. “This year we have earmarked the Brewfest Money for a generator to power the entire building when we lose power during hurricanes and ice storms as we did this winter. In addition to the generator, we are in desperate need of new windows throughout the building. The building is 35 years old and we still have the original single pane windows that were installed when the building was built. Some windows are cracked, some have been replaced with plexiglass and all are leaky and less than energy efficient to say the least. We also plan to add more insulation, all in order to save money on electricity.”

 

The Brewfest’s record attendance obviously contributed to the fellow-record amount raised this year, but the Brewfest’s many sponsors played a huge role as well. And Hodson lauded her entire team for all they do to contribute to this event.

 

“We have the absolute best volunteer committee on the planet!” Hodson said. “Larry McIntosh is our brewery coordinator. He works for months talking with breweries and securing their commitment to the fest. I’m always amazed at what he is able to pull off every year. Sheryl Clouse is our sponsorship guru and kills it every year securing sponsorships for the event and she is a master at tidying up all the loose ends. Cheryl Jewell is our treasurer and works with me to select our merchandise and swag every year. She keeps us on budget even though I sometimes have expensive taste. LaDonna Ingram and Cutler Edwards manage the VIP tent experience to ensure all of our VIP guests and sponsors have a wonderful time. Bob Landiss works on the design and printing of all of our merchandise, and he’s always working hard to help us find the best merch at the best price. And truly, we couldn’t do this without our army of volunteers that show up every year to help us. It takes a village and our village is awesome.”

 

Martin could not agree more with that assessment.

 

“We are enormously grateful for the monies that are raised from the SGI Brewfest that benefit FCHS. This is the single-largest donation that we receive every year and because we can rely on it, we are able to continue with our capital improvements and put aside a good amount of money to address the medical needs of our animals and to help animals in the community via our spay neuter voucher program and rabies clinics,” Martin said. “When speaking with several of the Brewfest committee members a few days ago about the large number of breweries — 72 this year! — and the fact that this Brewfest is in the top three most successful in the state, we realized that the location is key. We feel like people are not only attending a great Brewfest but enjoying a day that feels like a vacation. We also feel like the breweries and attendees truly care about our shelter.”

 

And here’s a little breaking news about the 2026 SGI Brewfest: The date for next year’s event has already been set – April 18th, 2026.

 

Martin said that she, for one, can’t wait to see the heights the SGI Brewfest goes to next.

 

“None of this would be possible without the tireless work of the Brewfest committee and all the volunteers. They work so hard and we are amazed at their ability to work like a finely-tuned machine to get this event pulled together in such a grand way every year,” she added. “The numbers of breweries, sponsors, and the fact that it sells out year after year is a testament to the fine work of this amazing group of people.”