Rapai - Brewed in Michigan

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BREWED IN MICHIGAN

Brewed in Michigan is certainly the most comprehensive study yet of the crucible that is Michigan craft brewing. Bill Rapais book incisively captures the collaborative passion and philosophy we brewers share, as well as the diversity of our no-longer-fledgling craft beer movement. He lends real insight into the big question: Why Michigan beer?

Ted Badgerow, founder of The Real Ale Company and head brewer/owner of the Ypsi Alehouse

Kudos to Mr. Rapai for capturing the history and individual stories of the craft beer industry in Michigan. Equally impressive is his recognition of the important but lesser-known pioneers like Ben Edwards and Tom Burns.

John Linardos, founder of Motor City Brewing Works

Brewed in Michigan is an outstanding example of all the good that comes from beer. Beyond the tours of breweries selected from around the state and the entrepreneurial personalities behind them is a story of industry rebirth and community redevelopment. Beer enthusiasts throughout Michigan and beyond will enjoy this quick, easy read about Michigans newest and most successful industry. This is a pure Michigan story that will also be of great interest to researchers, community leaders, and politicians wishing to tap into what makes Michigan the great beer state.

Rex Halfpenny, publisher of Michigan Beer Guide

2017 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission. Manufactured in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-0-8143-4210-7 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-8143-4211-4 (ebook)

Library of Congress Cataloging Number: 2017939700

Painted Turtle is an imprint of Wayne State University Press

Wayne State University Press

Leonard N. Simons Building

4809 Woodward Avenue

Detroit, Michigan 48201-1309

Visit us online at wsupress.wayne.edu

FOR THE LOVELY JOANN

WANNA GET A BEER TONIGHT?

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The inspiration for this book comes from my youngest brother Steve, who is more commonly known as Munchkin. Munchkin is a guy who would happily crawl from Plymouth to Grand Rapids just to have a Backwoods Bastard in the Founders taproom.

A few years ago, I traveled extensively throughout Michigan while researching a book on invasive species in the Great Lakes. I like beer, and everywhere I went I made a point of stopping by the local brewery for a glass, viewing it as an opportunity to torment Munchkin. I would take a photo of the beer and send it to him by text.

Hey, its what brothers do.

But one day shortly after completing the invasive species book, I got a surprising reply from Munchkin. Instead of the usual angry eye roll expressed in words, he sent a suggestion: Your next book should be on Michigan beer.

Little did I know that, at the same time, Wayne State University Press was looking for an author to write a book about Michigan beer that would be a rough sequel to Brewed in Detroit, a history of brewing in southeastern Michigan written by former Stroh Brewing Company executive Peter H. Blum.

Kismet. Thank you, Munchkin! I guess I owe you more than a photo of a beer.

In the eighteen months I spent researching this book, I met a lot of people who were willing to share their knowledge and thoughts about why Michigan makes great beer. Two of them are Rex Halfpenny and Bill Wamby. They helped me understand the finer points of beer and always let me know in no uncertain terms if I was wandering off in the wrong direction. A special thank-you also goes to Jack Archiable, the brewstorian and jack-of-all-trades at Shorts Brewing Company for sharing his sense of humor, knowledge, and perspective.

Thank you also to Kathy Wildfong and the staff at Wayne State University Press for their enthusiastic support for this project.

Thanks, of course, to Maggie and Julia for putting up with their dads dinnertime beer stories even though they were underage. Ladies, if you take anything from your fathers adventure, I hope you have learned that beer and other forms of alcohol are to be treated with respect.

Of course, the biggest thank-you goes to The Lovely Joann, who has now allowed me to write three books. Each project has given me great satisfactioneven if it did not necessarily enrich the family bank account. Joann, everything good in this book is because of you.

Finally, an extra special thank-you to my liver. For eighteen months I have abused you, and yet you continued to come to work every day and never once complained. Im so proud of you!

LIFE AFTER STROHS

BEER.

Its a simple four-letter word, and yet its so evocative, so powerful, so magnetic. Consider what some of the greatest thinkers of all time have said about beer:

For many, beer is a passion. We go out of our way to find high-quality brands or experiment with unfamiliar styles. We think about it, discuss its qualities, study it as if we are researching a dissertation, and generally obsess over it. But why? Why should we invest so much of ourselves into a beverage?

Well, for starters, beer makes us feel good. The simple act of touching a glass of beer to our lips releases endorphinschemicals that produce feelings of pleasure in our brains. When consumed in moderation, beer is a healthy drink. It contains antioxidants that are good for our bodies. It contains large amounts of vitamin B, and because it contains polyphenols, as red wine does, it even helps to lower our risk of heart disease.

Probably most of all, we love beer because its a social beverage. We associate it with good times. We drink it when we are having fun with friends or even just chatting with a stranger at the bar. We drink it at the ballpark on a sunny day, celebrate a special occasion with it, and even court a potential mate with it.

Beer, it seems, nourishes us both physically and spiritually.

No beverageother than water, obviouslyhas done more for Michigan than beer. Every ingredient that goes into beerwater, grain, hops, and yeastis produced in Michigan. Coffee may power a state of hard-working people, but coffee is not produced here. And beer doesnt make us jittery.

Of course, Michigan is not the only state that has beer. But Michigan is the only state that has Michigan beer. Michigan beer doesnt have its own style, but there certainly is a Michigan beer pride that separates us from every other midwestern state.

Cardboard boxes are stacked in one corner of the brewhouse at Griffin Claw in Birmingham, waiting to be filled with cans to be shipped to the distributor.

Initially that pride grew out of Detroit, the home of the Stroh Brewery, which was at one time the third-largest brewery in the United States. But that pride took a major hit on Friday, May 31, 1985, when Stroh management closed its flagship brewery and 135 years of tradition came to an end. Even people who believed Strohs was only a step above unfiltered Detroit River water shed a tear at the news.