We have now come to the last of the breweries in Marquette, Michigan. Barrel + Beam is located a couple of miles West of Downtown Marquette (It was actually within walking distance of our hotel for the weekend). Barrel+Beam opened in January of 2018 and has been making high quality Farmhouse Ales ever since.
The brewery itself is a massive wide open space with fantastic woodwork all throughout. The bar is a nice long wooden bar with the capability of seating 15 to 20 people at it. There are tables spread throughout the building with plenty of room in between them, they didn’t cram as many tables as they possibly could into their space. They have an upstairs which also has quite a few tables around the second floor. There is also an outdoor area with picnic tables for you to enjoy their selection of Farmhouse Ales.
There is no kitchen at Barrel+Beam but they do offer pop-up kitchens occasionally, so check their socials to see if they are offering a pop-up during your visit. Northwoods test kitchen seems to be there quite regularly with innovative offerings featuring Michigan made ingredients. They were not there during our visit, but our visit was also early on a Saturday afternoon.
The beautiful space at Barrel+Beam would be a perfect place to host a wedding, and they do offer the option to rent the space out to host private events, with weddings being mentioned as a service they offer. Contact the brewery to schedule your next big event at Barrel+Beam. Just a heads up Barrel+Beam is closed on Mondays.
When it comes to those that don’t drink beer, in 2020 Barrel+Beam added Farmhouse Ciders to their repertoire (some of which are barrel-aged), and then in 2021 they started making Mead using local honey and various Michigan grown fruits and botanicals. Another option on the menu is they have a few different wines available to order.
Since the name of the place is Barrel+Beam, most of their beers age in wine barrels to produce refreshing, complex and distinct ales. Most of their Ales spend a year or longer aging in oak barrels. A majority of their ales contain some sort of Michigan grown fruit in them. This is another brewery where everything we tried was absolutely outstanding. The beers we tried on our visit were Tart- Farmhouse Ale, Blanc Du Nord- Witbier, Terroir- Saison. For most of their beers being barrel-aged 90% of their beers tend to be lighter in ABV than most barrel-aged beers, some are on the higher end of the ABV scale.
My favorite out of all the beers that we tried was their Sahti. The Sahti was very crisp and very refreshing with a slight tartness and a little hint of spiciness from the Rye and the Juniper that they use in it. This beer finishes dry, and since it clocks in at 6.7% ABV, it can sneak up on you very easily if you aren’t paying attention. I highly recommend giving this, or any of their beers a try when you visit the taproom.
Next time you are looking for world class Farmhouse Style Ales, stopping at Barrel+Beam in Marquette is an absolute must. If you can’t make it all the way there, they do sell their products in select bottle stores around the state of Michigan (I know for a fact that Livonia Liquor and Fine Wine carries their products by my house). Cheers!
#craftbeer #drinklocal #upperpeninsula #yooperlife #brewery #beerlovers #michiganbeer
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