The 13th Annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival is set to take place on Saturday, October 22, 2022. The festival is put on by the Michigan Brewers Guild, and it will take place in Eastern Market from 1 pm to 6 pm. Early entry is at noon for Enthusiast members.

Tickets are still available for the fest as of the publication of this post. You can purchase tickets here.

The Beer List was published well in advance giving people plenty of time to plan out their festival day. We at Better on Draft have also been looking through the list. Over 100 breweries will be on site pouring over 600 beers!

UPDATE: OCTOBER 22 with brewery logos and Festival locations using the map below from the Michigan Brewers Guild program.

Here are the 20 beers we think you should check out. Like the U.P. Fall Beer Festival list, we have ditched the #1-20 beer list style and organized it by style – lighter beers, IPAs, Pumpkin Beers, Trick or Treat, and heavy beers. Within each type of beer, beers are organized in alphabetical order by brewery name.

---

Lighter Beers

Chela Familiar

Batch Brewing Company | Detroit | TENT 5

Amber Lager | 4.3%

Happy to see Batch Brewing Company, a local-to-the-festival brewery making the scene! Chela Familiar is a Mexican Lager boasting a dry finish. Avoid having these lighter beers be palate cleaners, and enjoy everything they have to offer!

Beacher Meat

Brooks Brewing | Shelby Township + Ferndale | TENT 5

Sour | 5.5%

While not a lager, Brooks Brewing‘s Sour Ale is that will break things up in your tasting journey at the beer fest! The lime and ginger play well together. The orange peel zest pops in to keep things interesting.

Billie Eyelash Hazelnut Coffee Blonde

Perrin Brewing Co | Comstock Park | TENT 5

Blonde Ale | 6.4%

Perrin Brewing Co had help with this Blonde Ale. It was brewed in collaboration with Littlefoot Coffee Roasters, a woman-owned local business out of Grandville. It was also brewed in collaboration with Fermenta, a non-profit ” initiated by women, committed to education, networking, diversity, and empowerment within the fermented beverage and food industries.” With notes of chamomile, apricot, plum, and hazelnut, this brew should be a good one to try!

Coconut Kolsch

Unexpected Craft Brewing Company | Oak Park | TENT 4

Kölsch | 5%

We enjoyed having Eddie Stencel of Unexpected Craft Brewing Company attend Better on Draft’s 300th Celebration Party. We asked him what he was bringing to Detroit for the festival and this one sounded like such a trip! It almost made it into the Trick or Treat category, but it sounded light and refreshing, too!

IPAs

Juniper Rye

Earthen Ales | Traverse City | TENT 1

IPA – Rye | 7.2%

Everything I’ve been having out of Earthen Ales has been solid! Hailing from the southwest side of Traverse City, sometimes it’s important to try breweries flagships, and Juniper Rye is their solid, standard ‘Rye’ PA.

Morally Compromised

Ellison Brewing Co | East Lansing | TENT 5

New England IPA | xx%

Recently stopped by Ellison‘s taproom in East Lansing and gave this one a taste. It was citrusy, dank, and juicy. It was refreshing to drink, especially in the very crowded NEIPA category in Michigan. Swing over and try it!

Urban Warbear

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company | Ann Arbor | TENT 5

American IPA | 5.5%

Ann Arbor is home to Urban Warbear’s stomping grounds at Grizzly Peak Brewing Company. Hopefully it won’t wreck too much havoc in Eastern Market at the Detroit Fall Beer Fest!

4 hr 20 m Road Trip

Loaded Dice Brewery | Troy | TENT 5

West Coast IPA | 6.9%

Looks like Loaded Dice is up to its usual shenanigans with number play with this new West Coast IPA. Shout out to the Michigan travel knowledge, too! Make sure you stop by Loaded Dice to see what they are cookin’ up!

Pumpkin Beers

Git Gor’d Pumpkin Ale

Doster Brewing Co | Vicksburg | TENT 2

Pumpkin Beer | 5.9%

Welcome to Detroit, Doster Brewing Co! One of the newest breweries to Michigan will be making their Michigan Brewers Guild debut, so check them out to support the new nanobrewery! Bringing a Pumpkin Beer to a Fall Beer Festival in October is the move.

Barrel Aged Pumpkin Pie a la Mode

Draught Horse Brewery | New Hudson | TENT 3

English Barleywine | 13.8%

Barrel Aged. Pumpkin Pie. English Barleywine.

If you needed more information, Greg at Draught Horse Brewery told us that they used 18 lbs of marshmallow, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin candy corns in this one. What an amazing sounding pumpkin beer!

Headless Horseman Pumpkin Pie Ale

North Center Brewing Company* | Northville | TENT 4

Pumpkin Beer | 6.7%

Our team has been known to call this beer from North Center Brewing Company “quite delightful” over the years. If you haven’t tried it, it is your chance to see what we’ve been talking about. This beer resembles a spice-filled pumpkin pie. Check out my full beer review of it here and enjoy it at the fest!

Pumpkin Spice

Thumb Brewery | Caseville | TENT 2

Pumpkin Beer | 5.8%

Pumpkin Spice and everything nice, right?! Thumb Brewery has been a destination brewery up in Caseville. The brewery has been nothing but positive news for one of the lone breweries in Michigan’s “Thumb”. Celebrate fall with this Pumpkin Beer!

Trick or Treat

1719 Pineapple Golden Stout

Bier Distillery | Comstock Park | TENT 5

Tropical Stout | 6.8%

According to the beer notes on Untappd, 1719 is the year when the Dutch gave pineapple plants to the English. Bier Distillery played with pineapple in a Stout for the 2022 Beer City Brewers Guild Pro-AM Beer Festival! Luckily we’ll have a chance to sample it in Detroit, too!

Hornindal Raw Ale

Brewery Becker | Brighton | TENT 6 in SHED 5

Farmhouse Ale | 6%

Brewery Becker is the spot to try out historic worldly beers! They always make stellar beers that are gluten-reduced. This Norwegian raw Farmhouse Ale should be plenty of fun!

 

Vampire’s Ambroshia

MiddleCoast Brewing Company | Traverse City | TENT 3

Red Ale | 5.9%

Careful! MiddleCoast‘s Red Ale has a special ingredient that may make this brew a little more potent and visible than the others with beets! Trick or Treat indeed!

Devil’s Blood Black Lager

The Royal Oak Brewery | Royal Oak | BEYOND THE BAND

Schwarzbier | 5.6%

I’ve never been close enough to the Devil to know what about the blood color. The Royal Oak Brewery seems to know and is going to be showing it off with their Devil’s Blood Black Lager. Don’t let the dark color fool you. Schwarzbiers are much lighter than Porters and Stouts.

Heavy Beers

Salted Maple Old Fashioned Barrel Aged Train Wreck

Mountain Town Brewing Co | Mt. Pleasant | TENT 5

Barrel Aged Beer | 9.2%

What a mouthful of words and flavor combinations. Kyle from Mountain Town Brewing Co informed us that they aged Train Wreck in bourbon barrels from Iron Fish that held their Salted Maple Old Fashioned in.

General Zima Russian Imperial Stout

Great Baraboo Brewing Company | Clinton Township | BEYOND THE BAND

Imperial Stout | 8%

After reading Great Baraboo‘s beer’s description for this beer – “roasty with flavors of bittersweet chocolate and dark fruit and a rich creamy tan head with a smooth gentle alcohol warmth” – I was hooked. Fall Beer Festivals in Detroit can be cold, so this one might keep me warm.

Barrel Aged Arbuckle

Midland Brewing Co | Midland | TENT 1

Milk Stout | 5.8%

This beer may be lighter in ABV, but the layers and levels of complexity are heavy. Midland Brewing Co took their Arbuckle Coffee Stout and let it age in Traverse City Whiskey barrels for 8 months. Buckle up!

SISU Stout

Upper Hand Brewery | Escanaba | TENT 4

Imperial Stout | 10%

SISU is a Finnish concept regarding determination, strength of will, and perseverance! If you’re looking for a heavy beer that packs a punch and is relentlessly strong after each sip, adopt the Finnish concept and sip on a SISU Stout from Upper Hand Brewery!

---

*Indicates a sponsor of Better on Draft Media LLC. We appreciate their support!