I pored over list of 767 beers at Michigan Beer Festival. Cheers
Happy Summer Beer Festival week, to all who celebrate!
The 24th annual Michigan Brewers Guild event takes place from 5-9 p.m. Friday and 1-6 p.m. Saturday in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park, the lone beer festival in the calendar year to take place over two days.
The big theme this year? Variety. Given that 116 breweries plan to sling beer at the event, presenting 767 different brews across 83 different styles, that may not be a surprise. But there’s more to it: Many breweries aren’t just serving beer at the event. Some have hard seltzers, canned cocktails and nonalcoholic options, too.
I pored over the lengthy beer list so you don’t have to. While you can expect some last-minute tweaks and new offerings between now and Friday, here are the beers that I’m most interested in trying. (No, I’m not driving, and you shouldn’t either if you plan to taste a bunch of beers. Please drink responsibly.)
2023 Summer Beer Festival beers to try
h Albion Malleable Brewing Co. − Sneak Attack Vacation Bière de Garde
h Arctic Circle Brewing Co. − Hawaiian Sour Cakes Sour Ale
h Baffin Brewing Co. − Splash Sour Series: Rainbow Sherbet
h Barrel + Beam − Rye Club Saison (collaboration with Farm Club) h Batch Brewing Co. − Swellegant Pilsner h Battle Alley Brewing Co. − Sunshine Swig IPA
h Broad Leaf Local Beer − Sour Lake: Yuzu, Lemon, Tangerine h Dearborn Brewing Co. − Kolsch Comfort h Drafting Table Brewing Co. − Bourbon Barrel-Aged Perkunas Baltic Porter
h Draught Horse Brewing Co. − Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout h Earthen Ales − Czech Dark Lager h HOMES Brewery − Doozie Buckley Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout (collaboration with Transient Artisan Ales)
h Kickstand Brewing Co. − Long Strange Trip Belgian Tripel
h Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. − Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel Aged Eisbock
h Loaded Dice Brewery − Six Sided Lager Project: Kolsch
h Ludington Bay Brewing Co. − Orange Cream Ale h North Center Brewing Co. − Hazy Fool IPA h Ogma Brewing Co. − Doom Claw IPA h Reed City Brewing Co. − Blueberry Patches Wheat Ale
h Royal Oak Brewery − Devil’s Blood Black Lager
h SuperNatural Brewing and Spirits − I Am A Jelly Donut Berliner Weisse
h The Distant Whistle Brewhouse − Nectaron SMaSH IPA
h Third Nature Brewing Co. − Cukes of Hazzard Cucumber Hefeweizen
h Unexpected Craft Brewing Co. − Strawberry Peanut Butter Chocolate Stencel Stout h Ypsi Alehouse − Tower Town Blonde Ale Looking for more recommendations? Subscribe to Eat Drink Freep, our weekly insider newsletter on all things food and drink in metro Detroit; I’ll offer beer recommendations and give you scoops on Michigan craft beer.
2023 Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Festival
When: 5-9 p.m. Friday, 1-6 p.m. Saturday. (MBG Enthusiast members can enter the festival one hour before general admission each day.)
Where: Riverside Park, Ypsilanti
Tickets: $50 in advance Friday ($60 day of); $55 in advance Saturday ($65 day of). Each ticket comes with 15 tokens for 3-ounce beer samples.
Why: The Michigan Brewers Guild hosts seasonal beer festivals every year, including the Winter Beer Festival in Grand Rapids (February), the Spring Beer Festival in Traverse City (May) and two Fall Beer Festivals, one in Marquette (September) and one in Detroit (October). These festivals offer the guild’s many member breweries a chance to expose their offerings to beer enthusiasts.
More information: