2023 Summer Beer Festival will feature more than 750 Michigan craft beers: 25 to try
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. Dubbed "an outdoor celebration of Michigan beer," it's one of the best times for craft beer enthusiasts to try new and refreshing beers from various breweries across the state, all in one location.
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, all of which will go over well in the warm summer heat.
More craft beer: Some Michigan beers you can only find on Mackinac Island
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
Albion Malleable Brewing Co. − Sneak Attack Vacation Bière de Garde
Arctic Circle Brewing Co. − Hawaiian Sour Cakes Sour Ale
Baffin Brewing Co. − Splash Sour Series: Rainbow Sherbet
Barrel + Beam − Rye Club Saison (collaboration with Farm Club)
Batch Brewing Co. − Swellegant Pilsner
Battle Alley Brewing Co. − Sunshine Swig IPA
Broad Leaf Local Beer − Sour Lake: Yuzu, Lemon, Tangerine
Dearborn Brewing Co. − Kolsch Comfort
Drafting Table Brewing Co. − Bourbon Barrel-Aged Perkunas Baltic Porter
Draught Horse Brewing Co. − Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout
Earthen Ales − Czech Dark Lager
HOMES Brewery − Doozie Buckley Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout (collaboration with Transient Artisan Ales)
Kickstand Brewing Co. − Long Strange Trip Belgian Tripel
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. − Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel Aged Eisbock
Loaded Dice Brewery − Six Sided Lager Project: Kolsch
Ludington Bay Brewing Co. − Orange Cream Ale
North Center Brewing Co. − Hazy Fool IPA
Ogma Brewing Co. − Doom Claw IPA
Reed City Brewing Co. − Blueberry Patches Wheat Ale
Royal Oak Brewery − Devil's Blood Black Lager
SuperNatural Brewing and Spirits − I Am A Jelly Donut Berliner Weisse
The Distant Whistle Brewhouse − Nectaron SMaSH IPA
Third Nature Brewing Co. − Cukes of Hazzard Cucumber Hefeweizen
Unexpected Craft Brewing Co. − Strawberry Peanut Butter Chocolate Stencel Stout
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 most weeks and give you insider scoops on Michigan craft beer.
If you go: 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. Purchase tickets here.
No state does it better: Michigan is the No. 1 state in America for beer lovers, study says
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, especially those that don't distribute their beer across the state.
More information: See the brochure here.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Summer Beer Festival 2023: 25 beers to try
