The second annual Michigan Brewers Guild Spring Beer Festival is set to take place this Saturday, May 13!
The outdoor beer festival will take place at Turtle Creek Stadium about 7 miles south of Traverse City. The stadium is home to the Traverse City Pit Spitters, a collegiate summer baseball league. Gates open for the festival at 1 pm. Michigan Brewers Guild Enthusiast members and VIPs getting in at noon. The beer festival runs until 6 pm.
Ken, Better on Draft’s founder, was on the scene last year and will be back this year to take in all the sights, sounds, and samples!
We sifted through the 465 unique beers from the 97 breweries that will be there on Saturday to come up with our list of 25 beers to check out. Check out the full list here and our special list below with tons of information, including where each brewery will be located according to the map above.
Lighter Beers
Barley Doodle Blonde
Barley Doodle Brewing Co | Ferndale |
5% | Blonde Ale
3 – EAST CONCOURSE
The most recent guests on the podcast were Brad and Kerri Dahlhofer. They are best known for B. Nektar, and have recently acquired brewing equipment and recipes from a former Ferndale brewery. You’ll have to listen to the 38th episode of the #MichiganBeer Series to see how they’ve gotten to Barley Doodle Brewing Co. If you’re looking for a timestamp, start around 47 minutes. You can also check them out in Traverse City to try their beer, including the Barley Doodle Blonde. If you’re a local to Ferndale, you may recognize this beer.
Maibock
Drafting Table Brewing Company X Earthen Ales | Wixom X Traverse City
6.6% | Maibock
5 – EAST FENCE (Drafting Table Tent # 77 + Earthen Ales Tent #55)
Last weekend Drafting Table had a Maifest where the Maibock, a collaboration with Earthen Ales, was released to the masses. On the northern side of the state, Earthen Ales put it on draft in their taproom this week. Make sure you grab it while it lasts at the fest!
Ay Papi Chulo
Loco Boys Brewing Company | Traverse City
4.4% | Mexican Lager
3 – EAST CONCOURSE
We gave Loco Boys Brewing Company a shout out in our Past, Present, and Future post at the beginning of 2023! We are excited for them to be open and at their first Michigan Brewers Guild festival, in their backyard. Stop by and check out their amazing beers, including Ay Papi Chulo!
Enough Said Helles
Two Roots Brewing Co | Auburn Hills
0.5% | Non-Alcoholic Lager
1 – THIRD BASE
For the designated drivers or for those looking to take a break from alcoholic brews during the fest, Two Roots Brewing Co will have a slew of brews to check out, including Enough Said Helles. Here’s to hoping more breweries in Michigan expand their selections into NA options, too!
LOL – Lovely Orange Lager
Unexpected Craft Brewing Company | Oak Park
4.7% | American Light Lager
2 – NORTH CONCOURSE
Each time I have a beer from Unexpected Craft Brewing Company, I’m blown away. Not saying that this is unexpected or anything. I’m just continually impressed with the brews that keep getting churned out in Oak Park. LOL – Lovely Orange Lager sounds like an excellent brew for an afternoon at the ballpark!
IPAs
Swing Juice
Big Lake Brewing | Holland
5.5% | American IPA
6 – THE TREES
Swing Juice is the perfect spring beer, especially if you’re hitting the links for 9 or 18. If you’re heading to Spring Beer Festival, it will be a nice one to stop by Big Lake Brewing‘s tent to make sure the hoppy and earthy notes are on par with your taste buds.
Pineapple Tree IPA
Dark Horse Brewing Company | Marshall
5% | American IPA
3 – EAST CONCOURSE
It’s always great to see an approved beer label from the TTB become a reality! We saw Pineapple Tree IPA pop through in July 2021. It has cemented itself as the second beer in the Tree Series and is a variant Crooked Tree IPA, a Dark Horse Brewing Company classic.
One Hitter Wonder
Rockford Brewing Company | Rockford
6% | American IPA
4 – FIRST BASE
We could not ignore the baseball pun with Rockford Brewing Company‘s beer, One Hitter Wonder. Sure, there might be a music pun in there too, but the more the merrier! This beer is an annual 4/20 beer release, so throw a pun for that holiday in there for good measure while you’re enjoying it on Saturday!
One String Puppet
Stormcloud Brewing Company | Frankfort
7.2% | New England IPA
7 – NORTH FENCE
A New England IPA with tropical notes?! Sign us up! Stormcloud Brewing Company‘s experimental NEIPA, One String Puppet, utilized new brewery techniques in house, along with a ton of new-to-the market ingredients. See what Frankfort’s brewery is up to with this one…
Mosiac Trellis
Thornapple Brewing Co | Grand Rapids
6.5% | New England IPA
6 – THE TREES
The new beer label for Thornapple Brewing‘s Mosiac Trellis was just featured in our most recent New Michigan Beer Labels post for May 2023! I was able to sample this beer at Winter Beer Fest and it was one of my favorites from the festival!
Fruity Beer
Go Go Juice
City Built Brewing Company | Grand Rapids
5% | Fruited Sour
5 – EAST FENCE
As we prepped this list, our mouths watered with this beer in mind. The beer description gave us childhood memories of slurping down pink lemonade:
“Fruited Lactose Sour • Raspberry Pinkish Lemonade • Ras-A-Lotta • Lem-A-Little • That Tart Refreshing Drink”
Hopefully, upon that first sip at the fest, you will too.
Bougie Peach Cobbler Stout
Five Shores Brewing | Beulah
Unknown ABV | Imperial Stout
8 – OUTFIELD ROAD
We know. We know. Imperial Stouts are typically “fruity beers.” BUT Five Shores Brewing‘s Bougie Peach Cobbler Stout could not be ignored and sounded like a must-try for the festival. We were unable to find much information about it, so we’ll have to see how fruity it really is on Saturday at the festival.
Shark Stone Saga Red
Niles Brewing Company | Niles
4% | Cherry Candy Ice Cream Inspired Beer
2 – NORTH CONCOURSE
Niles Brewing Company is very excited to be attending their first Michigan Brewers Guild festival, so they are bringing five new beers that are part of a saga – SHARK STONE SAGA. Out of the five, we thought the Red one or the one with cherries was most fitting for Traverse City. We’re sure they all are spectacular too!
Melon Farmer
Trail Point Brewing Company | Allendale
4.2% | Shandy
7 – NORTH FENCE
Melon Farmer is a melon heavy Shandy that breaks away from the typical expectations of what a Shandy “should taste like” in terms of flavor profiles and notes. Stop by Trail Point Brewing Company‘s tent to think outside the box!
Steal Your Peach
Rare Bird Brewpub | Traverse City
4.5% | Fruited Sour
3 – EAST CONCOURSE
Fruited Sours are growing on the Better on Draft team. A few people are starting to like them, while others have always enjoyed them. Honestly, a Peach Sour like Steal Your Peach from Rare Bird Brewpub sounds like a great beer to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon in May. Hopefully, the weather is nice for all to enjoy!
Porters
Port Stitches
Flat River Brewing Co | Greenville
6.3% | Porter
5 – EAST FENCE
In February of 2020, we recommended one of Flat River Brewing Co‘s beer for the Winter Beer Festival. We had a chance to talk with a few reps at the beer fest and they were amazing people with amazing beer. We’re always happy to recommend their brews on our lists for fests. As we highlight Porters, stop by and see what their Port Stitches Porter is all about.
Peanuts & Crackerjack: Peanut Butter Cup
The Mitten Brewing Company | Grand Rapids
6% | Porter
6 – THE TREES
A quick scroll through Untappd will show that The Mitten Brewing Company has been adding various variants to Peanuts & Crackerjack. It looks like Peanut Butter Cup, a version with a ton of chocolate and peanut butter will be making the trip up to Turtle Creek Stadium. “Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack…” at a ball park has a nice ring to it!
PB Porter
Reed City Brewing Company | Reed City
6.7% | Porter
5 – EAST FENCE
Reed City Brewing Company‘s PB Porter can be enjoyed on a warm spring day or a cool one. We’re hoping for good weather at the Spring Beer Festival, so give this classic peanut butter Porter a try!
Robusta Nut Coconut Chocolate Porter
Petoskey Brewing | Petoskey
5.5% | English Porter
4 – FIRST BASE
Petoskey Brewing‘s Robusta Nut is an OG in Porter world! It is also a fun spin on a traditional Porter with the addition of coconut AND chocolate! If you’re a fan of one or the other or better yet both, revisit this original fun Porter!
Narrow Gauge Porter
Whiskey Point Brewing Co | Beaver Island
4.1% | Porter
4 – FIRST BASE
Beaver Island’s own brewery, Whiskey Point Brewing, will be making the trek across the lake to the Spring Beer Festival. Narrow Gauge Porter is fifth Porter available at the festival is a nice way to round out your Porter experience AND try a brewery that is off the beaten path!
Which beer are you looking forward to?
Cheers!
0 Comments