Fall Beer Festival 2023 in Detroit this weekend: 5 brewers to visit, 25 beers to try
It happens every time. I go through the list of 100-plus breweries planning to attend the next Michigan Brewers Guild seasonal beer festival, marking down the beers I want to try ... and I come across a name I don't recognize.
"What is this brewery?" I ask myself. I check out their website and social media pages. A lot of times, it's a brewery that just opened or is expanding its presence. Other times, it's a brewery that's been around for years and I feel like I've been living under a rock.
Looking at the lineup for this year's festival, Saturday at Detroit's Eastern Market, this happened multiple times. It felt borderline embarrassing. As the resident craft beer writer at the Free Press, I should probably have more of a pulse on all the new breweries opening across the state. But there are more than 400 operating microbreweries in the state, and more are opening at a rapid pace, even as the broader craft beer market in the United States has gone stagnant.
Take metro Detroit, for instance. You've got Heights Brewing, which plans to open later this year in Farmington (delayed from its target September opening). There are also plans for a new brewery in Corktown, called Six Spoke Brewery, and in Troy, called Stumblebum Beer Co., opening in 2024.
All of this reminds me why I love attending beer festivals across Michigan. It's the greatest way to meet new brewers, try new beers and take note of new destinations to stop by the next time I'm traveling around the state.
In light of that, I've compiled 5 breweries to stop by at Saturday's Fall Beer Festival, plus 20 beers to look out for, based on the list provided by the Michigan Brewers Guild. Keep in mind, I haven't tried all of these, so I can't guarantee they're good. But based on what I know about the breweries, the styles and the flavor profiles, you likely won't be disappointed. And if you are? Slam it or pour it out and find the next beer to try. It's a beer festival! Make the experience your own. As always, though, please drink responsibly.
2023 Fall Beer Festival breweries to visit
Great White Buffalo Brewing Co. (Northville) — Opened in 2023 by brothers Eric and Ryan Sokoloski and business partner John Skrabal, Great White Buffalo took a former yogurt shop space in downtown Northville and turned it into a elegant brewpub with a wide variety of lagers and ales. Some of that variety will be on display Saturday; Great White Buffalo will sling an amber ale, a chocolate mint stout, a coconut coffee blonde and People's Champ American IPA at Fall Beer Festival.
Kognisjon Bryggeri (Marquette) — If you're familiar with the Upper Peninsula beer scene, you might remember Cognition Brewing Co. inside Ishpeming's historic Mather Inn. Well, owner Jay Clancey moved his brewing operation to a new location on Marquette's Third Street, using the Norwegian spelling of the brewery for a fresh start, earlier this year. Kognisjon will have six beers on tap Saturday, including the Cassephalopod Rocky Road Imperial Stout, Geist Boo Berry Cereal Sour (yes, really) and The Hollow Pumpkin Spiced Amber.
River Trade Brewing Co. (Constantine) — Remember what I said about coming across brewery names I didn't recognize? River Trade was admittedly one of them. It did open just last year, at the former Constantine Brewing Co. location on 145 Washington St., by co-owners Brandon and Ashley Magnus. Each of the four beers they'll feature Saturday have solid Untappd ratings: Well Known Ghosts American IPA, Anamorph New England IPA, Blackberry Sour and Sunloather Dark Lager.
Schoolcraft Brewery (Livonia) — More than 110 breweries will be at Fall Beer Fest, but none are like Schoolcraft, where every beer is brewed by students of Schoolcraft College's unique Brewing & Distillation Technology program. A friend of mine exchanged a can of the program's Hefeweizen earlier this year and it was delicious. While that won't be available Saturday, Schoolcraft will have its 275 Kolsch, College Pale Ale, Haggerty IPA and Schwarzbier on tap.
Someday Brewing (Grosse Pointe Woods) — One of metro Detroit's newest breweries, Someday gets its name from the fact that owner and head brewer Anthony Kilimas had been brewing beer since 2008 and would always say "someday" when people asked him when he'd open his own brewery. That day is finally here. Someday will have five beers available Saturday, including the Coffee at Midnight imperial stout, CzechMate pilsner, Oktoberfest, Stained Glass American IPA and Riwaka Haze New England IPA.
2023 Fall Beer Festival beers to try
Aberrant Ales — Open Fire Brown Ale
Arvon Brewing Co. — Berry Cobbler Sour
Baffin Brewing Co. — Pumpkin Cheesecake
Blackrocks Brewery — Mo-Cash Brut IPA
Brew Detroit — Depth IV Imperial Stout
Broad Leaf Beer Co. — Cult Pils
Cadillac Straits Brewing Co. — Archangel Belgian Tripel
City Built Brewing Co. and Batch Brewing Co. — Mi Gente West Coast IPA
Dearborn Brewing Co. — Kolsch Comfort
Draught Horse Brewery — Campfire Maple Brown Ale
Eternity Brewing Co. — Creamsicle Chet New England IPA
Grand Rapids Brewing Co. — Swartz Foam Dark Lager
Jamex Brewing Co. — La Ofrenda Mexican Chocolate Stout
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. — Blueberry Eisbock
Looking Glass Brewing Co. — 1 Tuff Cookie Oatmeal Stout
Ludington Bay Brewing Co. — Vanilla Jitterbean Cream Ale
North Center Brewing Co. — Nice Bloobs Blueberry Amber
One Well Brewing Co. — The F’n Pumpkin
Pavlov’s Brewing Co. — Peanut Butter Treat Stout
Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. — Harvest Ale
River’s Edge Brewing Co. — Chubby Benny Imperial Chocolate Stout
Royal Oak Brewery — Rebels In The Defense of Tradition Dortmunder Lager
Stormcloud Brewing Co. — BBA Batch 1000 Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Tenacity Brewing Co. — Sassy Lassie Scotch Ale
Transient Brewing Co. — Blueberry Cobbler Smolverine Sour
If you go: 2023 Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival
When: 1-6 p.m. Saturday. (MBG Enthusiast members can enter the festival one hour before general admission each day.)
Where: Eastern Market, Detroit
Tickets: $55 in advance ($65 day of, if available). Each ticket comes with 15 tokens for 3-ounce beer samples. Purchase tickets here.
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), the Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti (July) 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 FAQ here.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Fall Beer Festival 2023: Breweries, beers to try
