Naples Craft Beer Fest tops $1M for North Naples Rotary

North Naples Rotary Club hit a fundraising milestone this year for its 15th annual Naples Craft Beer Fest. 

“This year, the Rotary surpassed $1 million raised for charity. Most of it stays right here locally from this event,” said Jim Moore, the immediate past president of the local club. 

Money is raised from ticket sales, sponsorships and collectible merchandise sold at the event, which is always on the first Saturday in March. The festival has sold out for nine consecutive years. 

“The feedback we hear about the festival, one of the main things they like is that the lines aren’t too long,” Moore said. “It caps at 1,500 people. We don’t want it any more crowded than this. People seem to like it. I think we found the sweet spot.” 

Each year, the club shares a list of craft brews with the participating restaurants, which each chooses one to pair with a dish they create. This year, more than 15 local restaurants and nearly 35 craft breweries participated in the March 7 event at Bayfront Naples. 

“We encourage people to bring their best dishes, and we made a competition for the best food and beer pairing,” Moore said. “Thankfully, the restaurants are really taking it seriously. They really elevated their game and they’ve become very competitive.” 

The event’s Grand Champion trophy has the names of each year’s winner on it, and it goes to the winning establishment for the year. Next year, it comes back to the club so that the new winner’s name can be engraved. 

“It’s kind of like the Stanley Cup,” Moore said. “It keeps moving around, but they also get a plaque to keep to hang on their wall.” 

The judging panel this year for the beer-food pairings included Jay Schrednitz, executive chef and managing partner of Seventh South Waterfront; Casey Gordon, bar manager at The Local Restaurant; and Tim Aten, senior editor and columnist for The Naples Press and Gulfshore Business. 

The top trophy winners are Tavern On The Bay Sports Bar & Grill, which won first place for its pairing of a slow-cooked baby back rib with sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce paired with Everglades Ale Company's Everglades Fishing Co. Ale; Brookside Market featuring Pies On Pies with its second-place pairing of sourdough crust pepperoni pizza and sourdough blueberry cobbler paired with Florida Avenue Brewing Co.’s Dead Parrot Light Lager; and Dylan's Draft House was awarded third place for its pairing of its OG Smashburger with Golden Road Brewing’s Mango Cart Wheat Ale. 

Event attendees also voted for the festival’s fan favorites for beer-food pairings. Tied for first place for the People's Choice awards were Mission BBQ and Fire and Rice Paella. Mission BBQ brought a "BBQ Parfait" of its pulled pork topped with “Coldslaw” and barbecue sauce paired with Islamorada Beer Co.’s Sandbar Sunday American Wheat Ale; Fire and Rice changed it up a bit with its chicken-and-sausage jambalaya paired with Motorworks Brewing’s Intellectual Property Ale.  

The Hangout By Two Guys won second place in the People's Choice contest for its blueberry brie crostini paired with Ace Cider Co.'s Pineapple Craft Cider. The third-place award went to Brookside Market featuring Pies on Pies with their pairing of sourdough crust pepperoni pizza and blueberry cobbler paired with Florida Avenue Brewing’s Dead Parrot Light Lager. 

The 2027 event is planned for March 6. Sponsorships are available now at naplescraftbeerfest.com/sponsors.