The List – Winners from the U.P. Fall Beer Festival (2021)

Welcome back Michigan Brewers Guild beer festivals! The U.P. Fall Beer Festival took place on Saturday, September 11, 2021, and was the first Michigan Brewers Guild festival in over a year!

The festival was sold out and the weather was nearly perfect. Around 80 breweries made an appearance with a few last minute cancellations. The spurts of rain and a few brewery no shows didn’t dampen spirits at Mattson Lower Harbor Park in Marquette, MI. It was great to be back amongst industry friends and enthusiasts to enjoy Michigan beer!

RELATED – The List – 20 Beers You Want to Try at the U.P. Fall Beer Fest (2021)

It was quick to notice the “hands off” approach most breweries took when it came to pouring into the sample glasses. Breweries said they were given a directive to not touch sample glasses. Ultimately, this change of putting the sample glass down, exchanging a token (yes, these were still used), and then wait for a beer to be poured into the sample glass from another vessel, did not slow the process down at all. Lines moved quickly and plenty of beers were enjoyed!

With hundreds of beers available, we know it is impossible for all of them to be tasted and enjoyed! Out of what was enjoyed, here are the winners from the 2021 U.P. Fall Beer Festival. Beers are listed in alphabetical order by brewery name.

Operation Stein Grabber

Copper Hop Brewing Co | St. Clair Shores | Oktoberfest | 5.2%

Fall beer festivals are a great time to try Oktoberfest-type beers, especially during September not October. I always enjoy medium bodied beers that are crisp yet malty. Copper Hop Brewing Co‘s Operation Stein Grabber checked all the boxes for me and, so far, is one of my favorites for the 2021 season. Swing on down to the taproom and social district in St. Clair Shores as fast as you can to grab your stein before it is gone!

Ambition Alley

East Channel Brewing Co. | Munising | Blonde Ale with Coffee | 6.5%

Out of all the Marquette area brews I enjoyed during this trip to the Upper Peninsula, East Channel Brewing Co was my favorite! Ambition Alley was a solid Blonde Ale with coffee. It was light and easy to drink with a solid dash of coffee coming through on the back end. I’m hoping to enjoy more East Channel brews in the future and cannot wait to return to the U.P. to enjoy it fresh because it’s better on draft!

Apple Fritter

Pigeon Hill Brewing Co | Muskegon | Brown Ale | Unknown ABV

When I read “Apple Fritter: Inspired by Apple Fritter Donuts” my mouth watered. Pigeon Hill Brewing Co has an established reputation of sweet beers in their beer portfolio, so I had high hopes this would be another delicious sipper. Apple Fritter turned out to be a crowd favorite with it being unavailable not even two hours into the general admission portion of the festival. This beer had tons of apple notes and just enough spices to give you fall vibes. Hopefully this beer makes it into cans before winter comes!

Plump Pumpkin

Reed City Brewing Company | Reed City | Pumpkin Ale | 6.3%

A fall beer festival without a pumpkin beer in the list of winners is straight up blasphemy! I didn’t think anything could even come close to Pigeon Hill’s Apple Fritter until I gave Reed City Brewing Company‘s Plump Pumpkin a go! Pumpkin beers aren’t for everyone but I thought Plump Pumpkin was approachable and not too in your face. Light pumpkin notes and tons of clove and cinnamon give this beer the top spot for pumpkin beers at the festival.

Massive Eruption

Watermark Brewing Co | Stevensville | Imperial Pastry Stout | 14%

Watermark Brewing Co‘s tent area caught my attention over on the “By the Water” section on the south side of the festival perimeter. Besides their tent, they rolled out a red carpet and had those with samples take a stab at a claw machine called The Talon. After taking a sip of Massive Eruption, I didn’t have time for games any more. I was entranced by the beer. Watermark wasn’t messing around with this Imperial Pastry Stout that was limited distribution throughout the state. It was sweet, rich, and smooth with notes of vanilla and cherry.

Grape Escape

White Flame Brewing Co. | Hudsonville | American Lager with Grapes | 6%

White Flame Brewing Co‘s concoction was the one sample I savored the most. Grape Escape was one of the most unique beers I had ever enjoyed. I held on and thoroughly enjoyed each sip. The grape addition into their Light American Lager, Biller Lite, gave the craft macro nod beer a creative spin that was amazing! While I wanted to go back and drain the keg all for myself, I told as many people about this beer as I could instead because I wanted them to know what White Flame was cooking up!

Which beer was your favorite from the festival?

Cheers!