SGI Brewfest keeps breaking records in 7th year | Around the Brew Bend

Last week, we shared the St. George Island Brewfest's post announcing how much money had been raised for the Franklin County Humane Society from their April 20 event and exclaimed, "WHOA! $70,000 to ONE charity, from ONE beer festival? OUT-FREAKING-STANDING!"

To which a man named Josh Hodson commented jokingly not long after, "Is that not normal?"

We laughed, as did several others — Josh is, after all, the husband of SGI Brewfest President Amy Hodson — but then we got to thinking, "$70,000 is a LOT of money to donate from one event. IS that normal?"

And the answer is, in the beerfest fundraising realm, it really isn't!

How did they do it? 9,000 pounds of ice

So we just wanted to take a closer look in this week's column just HOW this little Island beer fest — which caps its attendance at 1,200 people every year to ensure an intimate, no-long-lines beer festival experience — is able to pull off such a HUGE donation to such a worthy cause like the FCHS.

You have to start at the top with Amy and the SGI Brewfest Committee team she has assembled. They are ALL volunteers, and they work — believe it or not — year-round to pull this event off.

And they broke all kinds of records this year for the 7th Annual: Most breweries ever attending (60+). Most different types of beers, ciders, meads and hard seltzers available than ever before (Over 200).

Most dogs adopted at once (nine).

And most money raised ($70,000 plus a $1,500 donation to the Cadet Core program at Franklin County School). The school sent volunteers to the event to constantly refill ice — 9,000 pounds of which was donated by Waterstreet Seafood — and keep each breweries' beer ice cold. That was another "Amy call" that wowed a lot of the breweries that attended.

In fact, several breweries that we personally spoke to afterward praised the festival's attentiveness to such an important thing that can sometimes make or break a big beer event like this! Tons of ice is key, people!

Committee and volunteers

But if you ask Amy to shoulder much of the credit for the event, she'll slide that praise off to her peeps instead.

"We have the BEST committee for this event! All of our committee members and volunteers work their tails off to ensure this event is a success each year,"

Amy said, before running down the list of those who play key roles:

"Our Brewery Coordinator, Larry McIntosh, works so hard every year to keep our event fresh with new breweries, and our sponsorship and volunteer coordinator, Sheryl Clouse is a rock star in securing sponsorships and gathering volunteers.

"Our treasurer, Cheryl Jewell, keeps track of our funds, helps to keep us on budget, and works with Bob Landiss to order our fabulous swag each year. Pat Kelly and LaDonna Ingram, manage the VIP tent and ensure a positive experience for all.

"Cutler Edwards helps with communications, and he helped secure both a great BBQ food truck this year and put together our best VIP spread we've ever had.

"And we have an amazing group of volunteers without which this event could not function - from set up to tear down, from traffic and parking control, from selling merchandise and manning the gates, to running ice and assisting breweries with pouring beer — the tasks are endless and we could not be successful without our army of animal loving volunteers that make it all possible. It takes a village and our village absolutely rocks!"

Amazing food and brews

They pulled off another winner this year — and we would know; we were there! The weather was immaculate. The food trucks were outstanding. The VIP tent was next level with open air access — yet, still had shade for days.

Not to mention the food was the best it's ever been with boiled shrimp, red beans and rice, BBQ sandwiches and pasta. And the beer — don't even get us going about the beer! It was the best lineup we can ever remember in 5 years of going to this event (we missed the first two).

And congrats to Tallahassee's own Deep Brewing for winning both the "Best Brewery" and "Best Beer" awards in 2024. That was another first: an outright clean sweep by one brewery of both awards!

When the dust settled last week and we caught up with Amy, she once again felt blessed by how it all came together and how many compliments she got on the event once it was over. From the VIP swag, to the abundance of clean drinking water to keep folks hydrated, to the brewery layout, to the glass choice, to the amazing band (shoutout Far2Fresh!), to the manageable crowd at all times.

"In the seven years we've hosted this event since 2016, we've always believed in smart growth. We never want our breweries to feel overwhelmed or our attendees to have to wait in long lines," she said. "We think we have the perfect sized event and don't see a reason to increase the number of tickets too much because we feel it could dilute the experience."

Big plans for Franklin County Humane Society

And that experience resulted in a whopper of a check this year for the Franklin County Humane Society, whose director Karen Martin accepted the $70,000 check from the SGI Brewfest Committee on Wednesday this week. We asked Karen what this type of donation meant to FCHS and if there were any big plans for the funds this year after the facility just underwent some major (and much-needed) renovations and upgrades last year.

"The Brewfest is by far our largest fundraiser each year.  As such, it allows us to give life saving medical care, housing, food and shelter to the animals in our care. Without it, we would be hard pressed to offer the level of care that we do," Karen told us.

"We have been doing much needed upgrades on our building for the last year and a half.  Last year we focused on the dog kennels, outdoor pens and play areas. This year the monies raised at the Brewfest are earmarked for upgrades in the cat room, treatment room, office and the rest of the building. Our building was built in 1990 and has seen no major improvements until last year and it is due in large part to the money raised at the SGI Brewfest."

Planning ahead for next year

So there ya have it: Drink beer and do good — that's what it's all about! We have enjoyed helping the SGI Brewfest these last few years raise awareness about their event — almost as much as we've enjoyed attending it. It's one of the most unique beer fests in all of Florida — a Beerfest, on the water, in the middle of paradise — and we're lucky we have it right here in our backyard.

And they've already announced the date for next year — April 26 — with tickets going on sale on Black Friday: Nov. 29. This year's was a 7th straight sellout, and we have no doubt they're headed for another one next year!

Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: SGI Brewfest breaks record with donation to Humane Society