Michigan Brew Trail - Issue 6, Spring 2022

BEER · WINE · FOOD · SPIRITS NEW FOOD MENU COMING SPRING 2022

DRINK IN THE NORTH North Channel Brewing is located in the historic town of Manistee, Michigan with a view of the channel and drawbridge, making it the perfect spot to enjoy craft brews, tell stories, and watch a couple freighters cruise by.

Come try these beers and many more on our continuously updating tap list! @northchannelbrewing northchannelbrewing.com

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TAP LIST

The brews have a story to tell themselves. All inspired by the rich history of Manistee, our Manistee’s IPA, Irish Red, Sawmill Stout and more are sure to speak to your tastebuds.

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

On the Trail…

Tony Garant MiBrewTrail Here is a big CHEERS for making it through another Michigan winter! Let’s hope all those stouts, porters, and imperials kept you extra toasty. The snow on the trail is melting away making it a perfect time to adventure a little further throughout Michigan. We all love visiting the breweries and distilleries in our own backyard but there is something exciting about traveling a little bit further to the ones that you do not frequent as often.

Spring is a time us Michiganders like to stretch our legs a little bit more and get out to explore our great state. Also, come springtime there just seems to be more going on in your life that gets you up and moving. Maybe you’ll be attending a wedding on the west side

Did You Know?

or visiting family up north. Wherever this spring takes you be sure to circle a brewery or two on the way. Whether you’re shooting up I-75 or across I-96 there is a Michigan brew master who has crafted just what you are looking for. Grab a growler to go or stay for a meal, you’ll be happy you did.

Not sure which breweries to go to?

Well, you found yourself in the right place. There’s a handful featured throughout this publication that we highly recommend. However, if you need more options that better fit your travel plans check out www.mibrewtrail.com. You can also follow MiBrew Trail on Facebook and Instagram to further the fun!

See you on the trail!

Tony Garant tony.garant@hearst.com

New data from the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association show the U.S. beer industry supports 66,990 jobs in Michigan and contributes more than $9.9 billion to the state’s economy.

YOur Beer Map just got a whole lot better CHECK OUT THE NEW AND IMPROVED BEER MAP ON MIBREWTRAIL.COM CHOOSE YOUR TRAIL TO GREAT BEER! Volume 6 | Spring 2022

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in this issue ON THE COVER

6...................... Cadillac’s New Social District

Mibrew trail Publisher Ed Fritz

12................... Ore Dock in Marquette

Muskegon

28................... It’s a Great Time to be ................................... a Beer Enthusiast

Advertising Tony Garant Midland Contributors Jon Becker Auburn Amy Sherman Grand Rapids

FEATURES

Design & Layout

6.....................................Meet the Brewer: Sydney Cannarozzi 10...................................GRCC’s Brewing Program Paving Way for Lovers of the Craft 14...................................‘Real Honest Food’ Puts Two Guys Brewing on the Map 16...................................Michigan Brewery Expands in an Uncommon Way 18...................................Michigan’s First Gluten Free

Emalie Schuberg Big Rapids Cover art Mark Donnelly Spring Lake MiBrew Trail Magazine is designed and printed in Big Rapids, Michigan

Brewery Opens 22...................................Worship Beer at a New Buffalo House of Worship

For advertising rates and information call: 989-839-4226 or email: MiBrewTrail@hearst.com

24...................................Michigan Women Brewers: Inspired to Drink Better, She Became a Brewer 26...................................Holland Site of New Beverage Tasting Event 4 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

Did You Know?

MALTED BARLEY

Most common brewing grain followed by wheat, corn, rice, rye, and oats.

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MEET THE BREWER:

Sydney Cannarozzi

Author Amy Sherman, left, joined this group of amazing women brewers about ten years ago for a special brew day at Hudsonville Pike 51 Brewery. From left, Sherman, Sheryl Rose, Laura Houser, Amanda “Pants” Geiger, Tara Durkin, Bonnie Steinman, and Sydney Cannarozzi.

Amy Sherman MiBrew Trail When Sydney Cannarozzi was young, she told us that she “didn’t know that I was going to work in beer. But as a teenager, I always thought that working in beer would be a dream job.”

Cannarozzi has now been a professional brewer for over 10 years, but it hasn’t been exactly easy. “Women have to prove themselves ten times more than any man,” she said. “It seems like we have to explain ourselves all the time.”

Being a woman in the beer industry is still a bit of a rarity. According to a study by the national organization the Brewer’s Association in 2021, only 7 ½% of brewers are female, and only 2% of breweries are wholly owned by women. About 51% of breweries are owned by a male/female team. We don’t know the percentages of women brewers and owners in Michigan, as the MLCC doesn’t ask for demographics when people apply for a license, and the Michigan Brewers Guild has not yet done a successful survey on this topic.

Originally from Riverside, California, Cannarozzi moved to Michigan after meeting her now husband during a summer spent

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working in Colorado. Chris Fischer was a Michigan native, so the couple moved back here, where Cannarozzi promptly fell in love, not just with Fischer but with Michigan as well. “Lake Michigan just blew me away,” she said. “Everything was so green. The cost of living was great, I couldn’t believe how affordable it was.”

Cannarozzi delivered pizzas for two years, while she continued her homebrewing escapades. She got started early with fermenting.

“At 16 I was making prison wine in my closet,” she said with a laugh. “ I was making hooch in my closet. In a 5 gallon water jug. I used that so I could watch the fermentation, since it was a clear jug. And it just blew my mind.

I never read a book on brewing. I just started mixing juice, bread yeast, sugar and fruit. It was such a mess!”

Two good things came out of this closet hooch, Cannarozzi said. “We always had back up booze, and it sparked an interest in me a long, long time ago.”

As Cannarozzi approached the legal age of 21, she had a revelation. “A light bulb went off,” she said. “I was close to 21. I could actually work in the beer industry.” She started See Meet the Brewer on 31

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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Customers enjoying food, beverages and the ambience at downtown Cadillac’s Raven Social, a popular full-service restaurant and bar. Raven Social, with its unique performance stage, hosts live music, trivia and special events.

CADILLAC’S NEW SOCIAL DISTRICT ADDS FUEL TO THIS PRIME DESTINATION’S FIRE Jon Becker MiBrewTrail Cadillac, a year-round resort noted for its wealth of recreational and sporting activities, now has a new social district that gives people even more reason to plan a summer getaway to this Northern Michigan wonderland.

Whether it’s a day, weekend or weeklong trip, Cadillac is one of those places where’s there’s so much to do even the most organized vacationers will be hard-pressed to take in everything they’ve planned.

Mi Brew Trail, in our dogged pursuit to highlight beverage-happy locales worth spending time and money in, recently got in touch with Lindsey Westdorp. She’s the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau Marketing Manager. So what better person to pose a simple but important question for anyone thinking of spending their hard-earned money on an adventure.

Why Cadillac?

Three customers enjoy a cold one at Clam Lake Beer Company in downtown Cadillac’s new social district. Known as the Commons District, the initiative is energizing the community’s business district.

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“Ease of accessibility to recreation, affordable lodging and dining and a variety of options for outdoor fun,” she said.

The fun meter is definitely running on a

different level these days, thanks in no small part to the newly established social district in downtown Cadillac. This allows for outdoor alcohol consumption within the designated social boundaries of downtown. Fairly new establishments with a variety of adult beverages in and around Cadillac include Long Road Distillers, featuring handcrafted cocktails, the new Greenhouse space at Willow Market & Meats and the Cadillac Winery. This winery and tasting room has just announced exciting plans to expand its operation by building a new brewery/winery.

well,” Westdorp said. “Our geography makes for a great urban/rural balance. We are a quick 40 minutes from Traverse City and just 90 minutes from Grand Rapids. With the city built around two large lakes, Cadillac has over 10 miles of public shoreline pathways.”

The social district was established last summer but businesses really didn’t have the luxury of taking advantage of it because they “were preoccupied with just staying staffed and open,” Westdorp said. “So it’s really still brand new and we’re just rolling it out in the next month or two in time for the summer.

We think it should go over really well.”

Given the myriad options, planning a perfect summer day in Cadillac may be virtually impossible to narrow down, but Westdorp is willing to offer a few ideas:

Once visitors discover the natural beauty, including clear and clean Lakes Mitchell and Cadillac, they are likely to plan a return trip.

Some love the area so much they put down roots.

“Many end up with second homes here seasonally or are choosing to retire here as

The last couple of years have seen more day trippers make their way to Cadillac from nearby regions of the state, but “we have always attracted those looking for quality outdoor adventures and they most often come from Southern Michigan as well as northern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois,” Westdorp noted.

“A morning walk around the lake followed by a fat bike trail ride or paddling adventure, ending with a walkable trip through the entire social district with drinks, dinner and entertainment downtown.”

Not exactly your cup of tea? How about early morning fishing on one of Cadillac’s lakes or rivers before bringing a picnic lunch down See New Social District on 31

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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GRCC’S BREWING PROGRAM PAVING WAY FOR LOVERS OF THE CRAFT Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail Want to jumpstart a career in beer? Formal education might be just the ticket, whether you are looking to open your own brewery, or would like to get to know the ins and outs of working at one. Lucky for us here in Michigan, we have a few excellent programs available, where you can actually study the art and science of this lovely liquid, with a professional and decidedly academic approach.

“As the industry as a whole is maturing, the desire for education and the demand is there,” said Allison Hoekstra, assistant professor in the brewing program at Grand Rapids Community College. “The days of being a homebrewer, where you could just walk in and get a job, those days are kind of over.”

The program at GRCC was started in 2016 and puts a more formal, structured twist on beer education. Part of the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, the courses, upon completion, award students certification in brewing, packaging, and service operations.

The goal is to continue to develop the program so that someday it will offer an associate degree or another step along the path to a bachelor’s degree.

Hoekstra explained that as they developed the program, they were “looking at the skills that

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industry members want in candidates for hiring in the brewhouse. They want knowledge of the brewhouse, cellaring and packaging, and brewhouse operations. It’s a very specified education that you need to get, or you need someone to personally mentor you, these are things that are not really self-taught. You can learn concepts, but programs like ours give you a hands-on experience that you won’t get anywhere else.”

You’ll also graduate with your Serv-Safe Alcohol certification, and you’ll officially be a Certified Beer Server. According to Hoekstra, her students are also prepared to sit for the Certified Cicerone test, with just a little additional study and memorization. She explained that while there is no accrediting body for beer programs, these industry certifications are “our guiding resources” for the program at GRCC. Molly Daniels completed the program and is now a brewer at Railtown Brewing in Dutton.

She made the choice to attend GRCC after graduating from the University of Michigan with plans to go to law school.

“My personality just didn’t fit the heavy law I was pursuing,” she said. “I enjoyed the school part of it, but didn’t think that career would make me happy in the long term.”

After working as both a substitute teacher and out West teaching horseback riding, Daniels heard about the program through her dad, who was the vice president of Monroe

Community College. After a visit and a tour, she knew she had to do it and said it sounded “awesome.”

“My only interest before was that I just liked drinking beer,” Daniels said. “It’s a very mechanical technical job. It’s everything I enjoy doing.”

When Daniels started the program in 2016, she was one of only two women in her cohort. The program was originally designed for students to take all of their classes together with their cohort over the course of a year. Students would start and complete the program together.

This didn’t prove practical for many students, who usually still have to hold down a job while attending school, so GRCC has since changed it, and you can now take classes a la carte according to your own timeline.

Daniels is now an adjunct instructor at GRCC in the brewing program, in addition to working at Railtown.

“I’m feeling very successful, and now I’m even teaching in the program,” she said.

She currently teaches the beginning brewing class in the fall, and advanced brewing in the spring.

“I love education, and really value it,” she continued. “It’s a really good spot here at GRCC. I’m incredibly busy, but it’s really rewarding.”

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MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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Brewing up a business and a family at Ore Dock in Marquette ORE DOCK OWNER GOES FROM ENGINEERING TO BREWING UP A BUSINESS Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail Half of the ownership team at Ore Dock, which also encompasses her marriage to husband Weston, Andrea Pernsteiner often doesn’t even tell customers at first that she’s one of the owners of Ore Dock Brewing in Marquette.

“I never introduce myself as the owner of the brewery,” Pernsteiner said.

“They’ll ask me how long have you worked here? And I generally get a look of surprise on their face when I say I own it. The assumption usually from customers is that a man owns it.”

The numbers behind brewery ownership back the customers assumptions.

According to a study by the national Brewers Association in 2021, only 7 ½% of brewers are female, and only 2% of breweries are wholly owned by women. About 51% of breweries are owned by a male/female team. You can add Ore Dock to that list.

Pernsteiner was quick to point out that while customers may assume male ownership, she has always felt welcome in the brewing world. “I’ve never felt that being a woman has ever been limiting in this industry,” she said.”I’ve never really felt different from any other brewery owner.”

Perhaps her comfort in a male dominated industry comes from her background as an engineer. Prior to opening Ore Dock in 2012, both she and her husband worked as biomedical engineers in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Andrea is a Badger, having

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graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while Wes had a tie to the Upper Peninsula, having gotten his undergraduate degree from Michigan Tech in Houghton.

Her background has served her well at Ore Dock.

“I am an engineer, which is also not a woman centered business,” she explained. “I already could navigate the industry feel of being a minority.

Of not being seen as someone who is knowledgeable or able to problem solve in your chosen industry. But I enjoy a challenge, and I enjoy problem solving. That’s what an engineer does, and that is what owning a business is, solving problems.”

The couple fell in love with beer together, during their adventures throughout the midwest and eventually, Europe. They quickly realized that while they did love the liquid in their glass, they almost love the community around craft beer even more.

“Traveling we would try out the local breweries and beers of the community,” she said. “We’d always find someone at the bar who could tell us all the happenings of the town. The breweries were always a community meeting spot, surrounded by great craft beers.”

Not quite finding the craft beer scene in St. Paul and Minneapolis that they were looking for, the couple traveled farther out, and quickly fell in love with what was happening in Duluth, a charming city located on the western shores of Lake Superior. “We solidified our love of the craft beer world in Duluth,” she said.

Visiting Fitger’s Brewhouse Brewery and Grille in Duluth got them thinking about what their own brewpub might look like someday. “The brewery is also located in a restored building, located right off the lake. They always had live music. Any time we went to the North shore we always brought our growlers and made sure to stop.”

When Wes was offered a new job in Marquette, the couple decided to make the move to Michigan’s North shore. “At that point the Vierling existed, it was the oldest in town, but really it was more of a restaurant,” she said. The Vierling is nestled in a historic building on the shores of Lake Superior, overlooking the original ore dock that was built in 1911. They are known for their fresh whitefish, and for their hand crafted beers that are made in a very limited quantity. Once the couple settled in, “We started thinking about what a craft brewery could look like in Michigan,” she said.

This is one brewery origin story that doesn’t start with someone homebrewing, which is a bit of a surprise. Instead, the Pernsteiners had a deep love of beer, but an even deeper love of the community that surrounds a brewery.

Visits to Europe confirmed this idea. “It really resonated with us, the bringing together of communities that beer provides. Visiting historic breweries in Austria and Germany, where this has been happening for hundreds of years, helped us embrace that vision.”

Together, the couple found a historic building in downtown Marquette on Spring Street, and the work began. And I mean the real work, at least for An-

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

drea. She found out she was pregnant with her first child the day that they started to pull up the flooring in the brewery. “It’s been a journey, starting a brewery and starting a family,” she said.

The couple now have one brewery that is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and three kids, ages 9,7 and 5.

The atmosphere they’ve created at Ore Dock “is very family focused,” Andrea said. Lots of our employees have kids.

The brewerywas often where we would try to do events that were family friendly. Where we could all meet each other, meet the kids. The employees understand the importance of family, and are always very understanding of kids.” Andrea explained that it’s been really good for staff to realize that “everyone has a life outside of the brewery.”

Once the couple realized that they were going to open a brewery, they did try homebrewing. “We weren’t very good at it,” Andrea said with a laugh.

They hired Nick VanCourt as their original brewer at Ore Dock, which was a great fit. VanCourt has since moved on to his own brewery Barrel + Beam, also in Marquette. Jake Shea is the

Volume 6 | Spring 2022

current brewer. For the Pernsteiners, “It was about finding the people that we could go on this journey with, that cared about the product and the beer, as much as we cared about creating the community,” Andrea explained.

With VanCourt and Shea’s expertise, the brewery offers up a variety of beers, with a mix of Belgian, English and American styles on tap, plus a scattering of seltzers. All made with some of the freshest, cleanest water you can find on the planet, which luckily for Ore Dock, is right down the street. You’ll find special beers rotating on tap at the brewpub, and also in distribution in cans all over Michigan.

Look for Reclamation, a copper colored “mid-coast” IPA brewed with a British ale yeast. The hazy and juicy Berzerker hazy IPA has become a favorite, while the easy going Beach Bum wheat is perfect to grab and go on any U.P. adventure.

I asked her what people could expect during a visit to Ore Dock. In the summer season, “you can see the lake when you walk in, and see the ore dock. You’ll find friendly staff who will pour you a variety of beers and

seltzers, and a community gathering place, where you can meet friends, or meet someone new. We often have live music on weekends, and community events happening all the time.”

Coming up on Saturday April 9 is Ore Dock’s biggest party of the year, the Festival of the Angry Bear. On hiatus for the last few years, this shindig is “a spring awakening for Marquette, when we all come out of hibernation,” according to Andrea. “We are ready to break out and all be together.” The festival features a 5K run, and then one heck of a hootenanny out in the street, with food trucks, three stages featuring live music, and of course, plenty of beer, including a huge cache of barrel aged sours that Ore Dock has been aging all year. Come dressed as your favorite woodland party animal and you just might win a prize.

True to their dedication to being family friendly, this year the brewery will also be hosting a Baby Bear party on Thursday April 7. Kids are encouraged to wear costumes, and there will be a parade, balloon animals, a scavenger hunt and arts and crafts to do.

Andrea finally quit her day job designing pacemakers and defibrillators a few years ago, and now works at the brewery full time. She’s also gotten involved with the Michigan Brewers Guild, and currently serves as a director on the Guild’s board.

“Andrea has been a welcome addition to the Board,” said David Ringler, owner of Cedar Springs Brewing Company and the current Vice President for the Guild. “She’s brought some fresh energy and a really helpful perspective. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her better.”

One thing that has been a bit of a challenge for Andrea is staying connected to the downstate brewing community. “I do feel a little isolated with the scene down state,” she said. “Covid has made it a little easier, doing things over Zoom, and bonding over similar challenges. It’s allowed us to feel a little more comfortable reaching out.”

A visit last summer by fellow brewery owners Kris and Jason Spaulding and their kids was inspiring for Andrea, not just to discuss owning a business, but See Ore Dock on32

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 13

‘REAL HONEST FOOD’ PUTS TWO GUYS BREWING ON THE MAP

Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail Things still aren’t normal out there, and for one Michigan brewery, normal is now kind of subjective. For Two Guys Brewing in Wyoming, the last few years have seen major changes, multiple pivots, and lots of hard work. They’ve turned what could have been a disaster into a couple of great years for the brewery, with even more changes to come.

The brewery is known not just for their hand-crafted beers, they have also created quite a reputation for their incredible, fromscratch food as well. They’ve also garnered a reputation for being generous members of the Grand Rapids beer community, and true advocates for this industry.

“I’ve been brewing for 25 years,” owner Thomas Payne said. He owns the brewery with his wife Amy. “But I’ve been in restaurants for 38, so it just made sense that of

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course, our food was going to be good. We wanted to make sure that we are giving our neighborhood a downtown Grand Rapids experience without going downtown.”

the couple moved all their seating out of the way and quickly added multiple coolers to hold grab-and-go food, cans of beer, and their popular seltzer.

Two Guys Brewing originally opened in 2018, overtaking a former 7-Eleven in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming, becoming another brewery to join the Beer City lineup.

Two Guys was a lifelong dream of this dedicated couple, who started out homebrewing and then meticulously planned each and every stop of their brewery.

And when I say transformed, I mean it. I visited during the height of the pandemic, and the whole restaurant had been turned into one giant prep and packaging area. Tom had tables lined up and was quickly assembling dozens of charcuterie boards to be sold. Giant wheels of cheeses were scattered about, with stacks and stacks of aluminum disposable pans lining the walls. Amy was running about filling up the coolers by the door with quarts of creamy broccoli cheese soup, wet burritos, and chicken enchiladas.

Staff members were mixing up dressings and stirring sauces. It was pretty amazing to see the transformation from a regular running restaurant into something totally different.

The only thing they didn’t plan for? A worldwide pandemic.

For the Payne’s, this is when they got creative, and essentially ripped their whole business model apart to create something new, and exactly what was needed not just to survive, but to serve their beloved Wyoming community during its time of need. Transforming from in-person dining to a total take-out restaurant in just a few days,

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Michigan brewery expands in an uncommon way Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail

“We bought it a while back, right when the pandemic hit,” Langlois said. “We’d do demo on it when we could. Instead of bartending, people were jumping in and doing the work.”

When space gets tight for most breweries, they’ll put on an addition, or look for a brandnew location. For one of Michigan’s most popular breweries, you stick with what you know and just expand right on into the house next door.

There was more than enough stuff to do to keep everyone busy. The new location was taken pretty much down to the studs, with multiple walls removed to open up the space.

Warm wood lines the walls, with classic plaid accents, and guitars hanging around. A funky fireplace crackles away and upstairs you can lounge around. Come spring, a rooftop deck will open. There is an actual stage for music now.

Blackrocks Brewery recently renovated and opened a beautiful new spot, and once again, it’s literally like coming home.

Blackrocks pub is located on bustling Third Street in downtown Marquette, in a bright yellow house that has been called cute and charming. It certainly is. It is also, frankly, quite small, and Blackrocks has outgrown the space over the last 11 years. The brewery’s new expansion into the house next door will allow the brewery to maintain all the appeal of their unique pub while gaining enough space to host the many fans of Blackrock’s beer.

“It’s so good to have some room,” said Blackrocks co-owner Andy Langlois. He and David Manson opened the pub with just a tiny one-barrel nanosystem in 2010. “It’s more than double what we had.”

The duo got their start like every other brewer in Michigan, by homebrewing. As the pot would boil, Manson and Langlois would scheme and dream about someday opening their own place, thinking maybe it would be something

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they would tackle when they retired. When they both lost their jobs as sales reps for a pharmaceutical company, they took the plunge and opened Blackrocks, with a conservative growth model in mind.

As Langlois explained, the growth of Blackrocks has kind of reflected the growth in popularity of the Upper Peninsula in general. It’s become quite the travel destination over the last ten years, and Blackrocks is on many a visitor’s lists of must-see places in Marquette. And that incredible great lake that resides just a few blocks from Blackrocks? All that fresh, clean water that they have access to is one big reason why the beer here is so good.

The little yellow house still houses the experi-

mental brew system, but the main production moved to a large facility across the street a few years ago. Blackrock’s 20-barrel brew system allowed them to make about 9,000 barrels of beer in 2020, according to an estimate from the Brewer’s Association. This puts them in the top ten of independently owned breweries in Michigan.

The new space is a nice compliment to the original pub.

“It’s a house too,” Langlois said. “But there is no brewing equipment over here.”

The new space opened to guests on New Year’s Eve and is connected to the original pub by a covered walkway.

“Typically, there is something going on every night,” Langlois said. “We have trivia on Mondays, we usually have acoustic during the week, and bands on the weekends.”

“A lot of people have said that it feels like it’s been here forever,” Langlois said of the new spot.

“You can tell you are in a house. We put a walkway between the two places, so it really feels like a continuation. It is a game-changer for us.”

If you’ve been to Blackrocks, you know how tight the space is, and how packed it can get.

They’ve used every single inch inside, and got pretty creative with their outdoor seating, offering not just tables and chairs, but even swings for guests. A giant fire pit located in the back parking lot is a great place to hang out, See uncommon on 36

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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Michigan’s first gluten free brewery opens CAN’T DO GRAIN IN A GLASS? NOW YOU CAN AT BREWERY NYX Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail Have you felt left out of the Michigan craft beer scene because you had to go gluten-free?

Thanks to the efforts of a new West Michigan brewery that is brewing up greatness with alternative grains and creating true gluten-free beers from grain to glass, everyone can enjoy a pint of Michigan-made beer. The best thing about these brews from Brewery Nyx? Even if you’re not gluten-free, you’ll love them.

more time. The gluten-free beer? Most of those recipes took just one take to get right.

Van Bommel said that the very first batch of the lager and the stout are exactly what is on sale on shelves now.

The partners took custody of the building on Feb. 1, 2021, and quickly proceeded to not just gut the space, but completely dig up all the floors in order to lay the necessary plumbing for the brewhouse. I visited in mid-March and walked into what was essentially a giant pit, with piles of dirt everywhere, construction Brewery Nyx might be focused on making great equipment scattered around, and a small table at one end set up as an office/tasting area. gluten-free beers, but I’ll argue that they’re just This is a term I’m using generously. The point is flat-out making incredible beers. The fact that they are gluten-free won’t even cross your mind that they ripped this space to shreds, and then rebuilt everything, from underground up. when you taste one of these three bad boys.

They are full-flavored and full-bodied, and I “The brewhouse arrived mid-May,” Van Bommel would put them up against any other Michigan said. “So from cradle to grave, from getting into beer in a taste test. Currently, Nyx has a stout, a the building until we got our MLCC approval, lager, and double IPA out on shelves around the we were about 9 months.”

Grand Rapids area.

This is actually a surprisingly quick build for a brewery, especially during a pandemic.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said brewery While there were logistical delays in getting co-owner and head brewer Sebastian Van equipment delivered, they weren’t where many Bommel. would think they’d occur. From China to Los I caught up with him and the brewery’s progAngeles, to Chicago, it only took the brewing ress the very first day they had their beer out equipment three weeks to transit. And then, on the shelves in Grand Rapids in December. when it was so close to home, the equipment He owns the brewery with his business partner sat in Chicago for three more weeks.

Jessica Stricklen, who comes from a wine “It was kind of astonishing how much time that background, and has been gluten-free for 10 years. Van Bommel has over 18 years of brewing took,” Van Bommel said. experience and was most recently the head Brewery Nyx hired a moving company to brewery at Thornapple Brewing Company. help them unload the 10-barrel system, and The duo originally had a plan to open in the then Strickland and Van Bommel moved the summer of 2021 but building out the brewery equipment, including four fermenters, around until it felt right. They installed a reverse osmosis and getting ready for production took a bit

18 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

system, and a boiler “the size of a Jeep Grand Cherokee” according to Van Bommel.

“It took us the majority of the summer into the fall to get all the major pieces into place,” he explained.

With a finite budget, the pressure has been growing to get beers out on the shelves, and with the first release in December, Stricklen and Van Bommel finally felt like they were making progress. They’ve been steadily adding West Michigan retailers as more and more beer is brewed and made available. The initial release of retail beers was to Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids, and Brewery Nyx sold out the

whole run in just five hours.

For now, Brewery Nyx beers are only available retail. Eventually, they hope to open a tasting room at their production facility on the Southwest side of Grand Rapids.

The yield for a true gluten-free beer is a bit different from a regular, malt-based brew, and that is why beers from Brewery Nyx are more expensive.

“The pricing is different,” said Van Bommel.

Nyx beers come in between $17 and $24 for a four-pack. We discussed the variance in the See Gluten Free on 36

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

THERE’S MORE TO EXPLORE!

EXPLORE MACKINAC ISLAND NIGHT LIFE...

For many Mackinac Island visitors, the fun is just starting when the sun sets and the last ferry leaves the dock. That’s when the sounds of big band, folk, rock, country, jazz and blues fill the restaurants and pubs. The tunes mix with the relaxing notes of foghorns, waves, seagulls and horse hooves to create a symphony of Mackinac Island nightlife.

It’s time to let loose and indulge in the nightlife of Mackinac Island’s many restaurants and bars!

MACKINACISLAND.ORG Volume 6 | Spring 2022

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 19

MICHIGAN BREW TRAIL learn more from our local partners by scanning the QR codes

WELCOME TO THE TRAIL! As Michigan’s emerging craft beer scene continues to grow and evolve, the craft beer lovers of the state are growing in numbers and evolving too. And as we do, it’s not just our palate for craft beer that is changing, it is our desire to seek out the craft beer experience. With Michigan now ranking sixth in the number of breweries in the USA, there are plenty of great experiences to be had.

20 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS

More details about these and other events at MiBrewTrail.com/events

Beerfest at the Ballpark April 30 • 3:00 PM Jackson Field • Lansing

Spring Beer Festival

May 7 • 1:00 PM

Turtle Creek Stadium • Traverse City

Brews & Beats

May 7 • 12:00 PM Village Green • Pentwater

World Expo of Beer

May 20 • 5:00 PM

Harvey Kern Pavilion • Frankenmuth

Michigan Beer & Brat Festival

May 28 • 4:00 PM Crystal Mountain

Michigan Beer & Brat Festival

May 28 • 4:00 PM Crystal Mountain

Museum On Tap

June 3 • 7:00 PM Holland

Ella Sharp Museum Art, Beer, and Wine Festival

June 11 • 2:00 PM

Ella Sharp Museum • Jackson

Cadillac Craft Beer Festival

September 24 • 2:00 PM Cadillac Commons

Volume 6 | Spring 2022

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 21

WORSHIP BEER AT A NEW BUFFALO HOUSE OF WORSHIP Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail

to home, which is Valpraiso. After a trip to New Buffalo, they knew they had found their perfect spot right in Southwest Michigan.

Touted as the ‘world’s first’ Pizzeria Napoletana housed in a Civil War era building, Beer Church Brewing in New Buffalo brings a unique combination of food and history to the Michigan brewing scene. The name alone draws in visitors because who doesn’t want to drink beer in church?

“It’s like it’s straight out of central casting,” Lustina said of the former Methodist church, which held its last service in the building in 2014.

“We came up with the name first,” explained owner John Lustina. He owns the brewery with his life partner Jane Simon.

“We were at Lagunitas in Chicago, at their Beer Circus, which we thought was a simplistic, yet wonderful name,” Lustina said. “So we started asking ourselves, beer plus what would make a good name? And we came up with Beer Church.”

Simon, a former law professor at Notre Dame, who specialized in trademarks, quickly checked the availability, and to the couple’s surprise, it was still on the market.

“We found out the next day that it hadn’t been taken,” Lustina said.

Outdoor dining at Beer Church Brewing in New Buffalo centers around a massive fireplace. There are plans to expand the outdoor area with a second-level deck.

22 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

“The name necessitated the need for a church,” Lustina continued. “This was such an incredible brand name, we just had to go find a Beer Church.”

The search commenced, and the couple actually found a suitable church in Florida. But after much discussion, they decided to stick closer

Water’s Edge Methodist Church now has a home just a mile down the road.

The building was originally built in 1861, but there has been a church community on this site dating back to 1836. Located prominently on the main street into town, you can see the tall white steeple a mile away. It’s still topped by the original cross, which now is slightly crooked, due to its use over the years as both a weathervane and a lightning rod.

“It’s faithful to the original structure,” Lustina said.

“It should last easily for another hundred years or so.”

The couple underwent several years of renovations to the old building and had their own original vision for the place right from the start. While they wanted that original feel on the outside, they were going for something much more modern inside. Instead of dark and moody like many churches are, when you walk into Beer Church, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how light, white, and bright it is, with lovely pops of color from the art that scatters across the walls.

“It’s exactly what we had thought it would like in our heads,” Lustina said proudly. “I’m not brag-

ging, but it turned out exactly how we thought it would. It’s really one of those amazing times in life when it turned out just how you thought it would.”

“White, smooth, modern, kind of in the Bauhaus style,” Lustina said.

Enter through the doors that have panels of colorful stained glass, and you’ll be greeted by a wide-open space, that while reminiscent of a church, is now anything but. A long white bar glides along one side of the space, while a beautifully tiled wood fired oven anchors the back. And while it may feel very modern here, the couple made sure to keep several historical elements that add a note of warmth and familiarity to the space. The original lanterns cast a soft yellow glow over diners as they hang from the original ceiling, and the altar from 1945 is still in place. When they first opened, they even used some of the church pews for seating, but Lustina said “they were just too uncomfortable.”

Good call on that one, Beer Church.

Unseen by most guests but helping to support the entire structure are the original logs in the basement.

“Downstairs, you’ll see full trees that have just been laid across, with the bark on,” Lustina said.

“They’ve been reinforced, but why bother taking the bark off? It’s a little bit of the history.”

The modern feel extends to not just the art on See worship beer on 36

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

take the scenic route to happy hour

Come take your journey through the blue waters of Lake Michigan, hike the trails of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, then find your favorite happy hour in one of the best small brew towns in America. It’s all here in Traverse City — A Pre y Great Place!

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Volume 6 | Spring 2022

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 23

Michigan Women Brewers: INSPIRED TO DRINK BETTER, SHE BECAME A BREWER Amy Sherman MiBrewTrail Many Michigan brewers enter the industry as professionals after years of homebrewing, with a deep passion for the beers that they make and drink. For the head brewer at North Center Brewing, one reason she decided to make beer her career was because of her desire to help create a better drinking culture, which she is doing one pint at a time at this brewery located in Northville.

“This feels more like a chef job than a production brewery job,” said Dakota Amritt-Wall, the young head brewer at North Center Brewing in Northville, where she’s been given the freedom to create. She’s been at the brewery now for over seven years and is thrilled to have landed at not just such an “eclectic place” as she described it, but also a brewery that has helped her embrace a different relationship with alcohol.

“Craft beer is a way to appreciate,” said Amritt-Wall. “It’s not to just to get wasted off a 30 pack of say, Rolling Rock. With craft beer, one is all you need, it’s more of an art form. There’s a lot of history that goes into beer.” For her, “it started as a way to find a job that I could do without a college degree.”

Getting involved in the making of beer was also a way for her to change her relationship with alcohol into a positive experience. After hearing a talk by Jason Ley from the organization Better Drinking Culture, Amritt-Wall was inspired.

“He touched upon a lot of rough ideas that I’ve had, and to hear him speak about them all fleshed out, it was amazing,” she said.

She had been thinking about how American drinking culture is different from other countries, and she was very interested in what he had to say about drinking within the beer industry. “It was an education,” she explained.

She began asking herself what it meant to work in an industry surrounded by alcohol. She “I came from a family that struggled with alcodeveloped an “appreciation and respect for it, hol issues,” explained Amritt-Wall. which you can then take pride in.” She has been She started illicitly homebrewing in high school, particularly taken with learning about the histoand then after graduating began working as ry of beer and brewing, and especially women’s an EMS. Being so young, she kind of figured traditional role in brewing. And she has found a that no one would hire a 19-year-old girl into supportive space at North Center. the beer industry. She started as a bar back “I tell people all the time that I don’t drink,” on the weekends at North Center and then Amritt-Wall said. began brewing during the day. When the original head brewer stepped back, Amritt-Wall What I like about her approach is that while she stepped up. doesn’t drink pint after pint at a bar each night,

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she does love to taste and appreciate both her own beers and well-crafted beers made by others.

“It’s given me such an appreciation for it,” she said.

At North Center, the crew also has a positive approach to the drinking culture. Amritt-Wall explained how opening a brewery is incredibly stressful, for both staff and owners, and how they’ve made a conscious decision at North Center to make things different. “It’s the alcohol industry, and a small business mentality, and often, rapid success,” she said. “Add a sprinkle of systemic sexism. And then drinking heavily can (have these) bleed into each other. It doesn’t lead to a good working environment.”

North Central Brewing’s owner Kevin DeGrood explained that “the consumer has shown that they are ready for a better drinking culture, see the success of seltzers.”

He went on to say that the draft board at North Central is now full of lower ABV beers.

“While we have days where we enjoy ourselves, you need to be careful because it can snowball quickly,” he said. ”I definitely succumbed to that in our first year.”

“Kevin isn’t just my co-worker,” Amritt-Wall said.

“He’s my friend. I’ve been here since day one.

We have a lot of dialog back and forth, and every voice matters, and he’s open to new See women brewers on 38

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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HOLLAND SITE OF NEW BEVERAGE TASTING EVENT

Holland’s Museum on Tap Event, a fundraiser for the cultural institution, is set to take place June 3, 2022 at the Holland Armory. Guests, here shown enjoying the first event a few years ago, are treated to a delightful evening featuring beer, wine and cider tastings from local breweries and wineries. There is also an opportunity to check out the Holland on Tap History Exhibit, a fascinating peek at the city’s heritage.

Jon Becker MiBrewTrail Holland, a charming small town on the shores of Lake Michigan rich in history and natural beauty, now has another attraction that has caught people’s attention.

Holland Museum’s new “Museum on Tap” event, a fundraiser that supports the local museum’s programs and exhibits, is scheduled to take place June 3, from 7-9 p.m. at the Holland Armory, located at 16 W. 9th Street. In a city perhaps best known for its sandy beaches and breathtaking annual Tulip Time Festival, the largest of its kind in the country, this gala reflects leaders’ willingness to try new things.

“This event was brainstormed as a way to engage people with the Holland Museum in a fun and different way,” explained Katie Baker, the museum’s development & communications director.

“Who doesn’t love beer, wine and cider?

We feature a variety of beverages and a history display on Holland Brewing.”

While enjoying tasty treats, beer and wine from local breweries and wineries, patrons will have the opportunity to check out the Holland on Tap Exhibit.

This trip down memory lane examines Holland’s long brewing history and the strife that developed between brewers and citizens involved in the country’s Prohibition era, spanning from 19201933.

The fundraiser was tapped in January 2020, then interrupted and altered by COVID-19, “so we are just excited to be able to host an in-person event that is different for the Holland area,” Baker said.

auction and raffles to help raise funds for the museum.

“We hope people will come, enjoy beverage tastings, have a Knot Spot pretzel and check out the Holland on Tap history exhibit,” Baker said.

Baker credits a list of “wonderful sponsors” for making this event possible: Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, EV Construction, Coldwell Banker (Andrea Hemmelgarn), AD Bos Vending Services, Macatawa Bank, Opus Packaging, and Re-Max Lakeshore (Heather Davis).

Ticket holders are entitled to six 4 oz. pours. Levels include $30 member tickets, $40 general, $50 at the door, and $10 for a designated driver ticket that includes a soda.

Holland Museum is a local landmark located in a repurposed 1914 Post Office Building in historic downtown Holland.

It displays Holland history, Dutch art The event will feature Bell’s Grand and temporary exhibits. Its Museum on Armory Brewing, Kittywampus Soda Brewing (non-alcoholic), One Well Brew- Tap event is, as Baker noted, a new and ing, Pigeon Hill, Saugatuck Brewing Co., fun way to promote community enTanglewood Winery, and Three Blondes gagement that helps bring even more Brewing. There will also be a silent programming to this cultural institution.

26 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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It’s a great time to be a beer enthusiast in sw michigan Jon Becker MiBrewTrail

next step to now expand this program beyond Kalamazoo County,” explained Dana Wagner, Director of Marketing & Communications for Discover KalamaIf you’re Kalamazoo and you’ve built a reputation as a mecca for the craft beer zoo. “We hope this program expansion industry and its devoted fans, what do will ultimately bring more visitors you do next? Make it bigger and better, to the area and generate continued excitement with Give a Craft.” naturally, so even more people can explore and enjoy some of the best The beer trail passport program began Michigan has to offer in breweries— in 2015. It’s since gone digital and big and small. more recently brought on 16 more breweries throughout the 269 area Discover Kalamazoo, the county’s code. convention visitors’ bureau, is building on the popularity of its Give a Craft New additions to the Give a Craft® Beer Trail Passport program. It’s all part Passport program include: of a grand plan to expand beyond Barn Brewers Brewery Kalamazoo County to include more of Brewery Outré Southwest Michigan, home to some of Final Gravity Brewing- Decatur the finest microbreweries anywhere.

Grand River Brewery “We also help to market the 269 area code and have decided it was a great

28 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

Guardian Brewing Company Handmap Brewing

Liquid Note Murray Street Brewing Company Paw Paw Brewing Co River Saint Joe Farmstead Brewery Sister Lakes Brewing Company Tantrick Brewing Co Tapistry Brewing Co Territorial Brewing Company Three Blondes Brewing Warner Brew Haus “Since the Give a Craft pass started in 2015, we have been looking for ways to reinvigorate the program for its continued success,” Wagner said. “The pass focused on breweries within Kalamazoo County and allowed participants to check into breweries and work toward earning a Give a Craft t-shirt once they had a minimum of 8 check ins.”

The digital passport makes it easy (no app required) for both breweries and

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

beer enthusiasts to sign up.

Each brewer creates its own specials, including discounts on pints and appetizers, among other options. As a consumer, just visit a minimum of 8 participating breweries and collect a unique code at each location to check-in digitally on the mobile passport. This allows you to redeem discounts during your brewery visit.

The revamped program remains free of charge.

“The pass has always been free for both the breweries to join and for people to participate and earn their prize,” Wagner said. “The digital platform allows breweries to include special offers and discounts to Give a Craft participants. We can also track the success rate of the program.”

Thus far, the response has been nothing short of outstanding. Some 2,179 people have signed up for the Give a Craft Pass and there has been 4,043 total check-ins at the participating breweries, according to Wagner. Pass users have come from 34 states and 3 countries outside the United States.

“Kalamazoo is a craft beer destination,” Wagner said. “Southwest Michigan is a craft beer destination. What better way

Volume 6 | Spring 2022

to celebrate than with a beer trail? The Give a Craft Beer Trail is a fun way to experience the beer scene around the 269 area code.”

There are two prize tiers for consumer: Level 1: check into a minimum of 8 participating breweries to receive a Give a Craft t-shirt. Level 2: Check into 8 more participating breweries (total of 16) to receive a Give a Craft backpack cooler. *Limit of 1 t-shirt and 1 backpack cooler per completed passport. Limit of 1 digital passport per person per year.

Passports are valid each year through December 31. No purchase necessary to participate.

There are now a total of 29 locations to check in to with more to be added throughout this year.

You can check out the full list of participating breweries at www.giveacraft. beer Be sure to check back frequently because “there are even more breweries still signing up, so more will be added soon,” Wagner noted.

Kalamazoo and the rest of Southwest Michigan know a thing or two about hospitality. Check out the beer scene there on your next adventure. You won’t be disappointed.

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 29

said. “Gary was fantastic, he taught me a lot.

I give him a lot of credit. Beer making can be kind of easy, but there are alot of mistakes you can make, and he taught me discipline. I give him a lot of respect.”

From there, Cannarozzi moved on to managing the cellar at Our Brewing, and then took the leap to the big dog in town, Founders.

“I wanted a challenge,” she said. “I applied for a cellar position, as there were a lot more of those than brewing positions.”

Here, she blossomed. “The cellar position at Founders back then, we were responsible for everything on the cold side until packaging.

So that meant, sanitzing, cleaning tanks, working the centrifuge, and clarifying beer without a filter. I learned about dry hopping, fruit additions, and was there for all of their seltzer trials. I got to work in the 300 barrel brewhouse, 3 days a week,” where she brewed some of Founders experimental and small batch beers.

Meet the BRewer from 6 dropping off resumes to breweries along the Lake Michigan lakeshore, and ended up scoring a job at Our Brewing in Holland as a bartender. It was a foot in the brewery door, so to speak.

No shy wallflower, Cannarozzi knew of an opportunity when she saw one. “I would force my way into the production facility at Our all the time, I’d say teach me all the things.”

A few months later, she attended an event that would really change her life. And in the spirit of full foreclosure, I’ll let you know that I was there for that fateful day. In fact, there were several women in attendance that would become mentors for Cannarozzi as she entered the brewing industry.

Amanda “Pants” Geiger was brewing at Hudsonville Pike 51 Brewery at the time. “A regular at Pike had met her when she moved here from California,” Geiger said “And she told her about the Fermenta brew day.”

any and all fermented beverages and food industries. They offer educational events and seminars, and special scholarships to help promote education amongst its members.

That special day, a group of some of the top, and only, women brewers in West Michigan for a special collaborative brew in honor of Fermenta.

“Amanda Geiger, who was a brewer at Pike 51 at that time, hosted a women’s collaboration brew day,” said Laura Houser, brewer at Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids. She was in attendance that day, along with her partner Tara Durkin. Also in attendance was Sheryl Rose and Bonnie Steinman, who currently works at Bell’s. “It truly was a fantastic day. It brought in so many different women.

All of them chomping at the bit to hang out with other women and brew and talk about beer with only other women. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it was the first time most of us had been a part of anything like that.”

I popped into the party a little late, after the ladies had been brewing for a while, to catch Fermenta-A Women’s Craft Collective is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, founded in the story of this exciting gathering. I remem2014 by brewer Stacey Roth, Short’s Brewery ber walking through the door and being sales manager Pauline Knighton-Preuter and inundated with peals of delighted laughter.

“We laughed so much that day, my sides brewer Angie Jackson. Created as a way to encourage more women to become involved were sore,” Houser remembered. in the beer industry, the group focuses on “I was terrified,” said Cannarozzi. “I had never education, collaborative brewing, sharing met any of you. Someone had said that these of knowledge and mentorship. Currently, women wanted to make beer with me. That the group is open to any female involved in day was so much fun, that day I didn’t even

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know where I could go with my career, and that day gave me a lot of opportunities.”

“She was the first one to show up that morning,” Geiger said. “And she was straight up super sunshine energy, just ready to brew and learn everything she could.”

“I think Syd was like the third person to arrive that morning after Tara and I,” said Houser.

“She was just a baby, maybe 22 or 23. I remember how nervous and excited she was to brew and to meet all the other women.

And we all got along with her immediately.

She was so friendly and helpful, and had a great sense of humor.”

Cannarozzi also brought some presents to share that day. “I remember she even brought in bottles of her own homebrew to share with everyone, and it was phenomenal,” said Houser. “I knew then that if she could figure out a way to break into the industry, she would do great things.”

She started bouncing around to different breweries, stopping by on brew days to help and gain knowledge. “I built up a resume of these experiences,” she said. She ended up applying for, and getting, a full time job at Trail Point Brewing in Allendale. “I was the only person doing all the production. I’d work here during the week, and then go back and bartend at Our Brewing on the weekends.”

At Trail Point, Cannarozzi cam under the tutelage of Gary Evans and Jeff Knoblock. “Jeff has always been super supportive of me,” she

“The process on such a large scale was fascinating,” said Cannarozzi. Dry-hopping here might mean 1400 pounds of hops being dumped from a bulldozer dangling over the tanks.Some days it might mean just filling and emptying barrels all day long. “Founders was super strict about how things were done.

They really taught me everything I could possibly learn. It was just such a different scale of things.”

She was the only woman on her 28 person team at the time. Over on the brewing side, there were three women out of 15, one of who was, and is, Houser.

After taking a break in 2020, Cannarozzi had the opportunity to create an all-female brew team at Elk Brewing in Comstock Park. “It was the chance of a lifetime,” she said. “I like to be challenged, to force myself to learn new things. I went in blind.” Elk was in a state of disrepair at the time, had recipes that had to be pieced together, needed to be reorganized, and cleaned up. If Cannarozzi could do that, she could hire her female production staff, and have some creative freedom in the beers.

“I knew she was capable of cleaning it up and making good beer there, but I warned her that it was going to be an enormous and insane undertaking,” said Houser. It was, but Cannarozzi was up to the task.

Elk Brewing recently had to close their Comstock Park facility, which resulted in Cannarozzi losing her job. Their Wealthy Street taproom remains open, while the Comstock Park location will become strictly a production facility. “It was a good experience overall,” she said. “I will never lose all that knowledge. I

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

can bring all that with me.”

love that she’s come so far in this industry.”

Since losing her job, Cannarozzi has been feeling the love. “West Michgian is seriously the best community I have ever been a part of,” she said.”I’ll never find this kind of support anywhere else. I have a long list of friends I can call at any point to get answers, or help. I could say so many nice things about people in this industry.”

“Her sparkling personality just makes people want to be around her,” said Geiger. “She isn’t afraid to be herself and I think that openness has enabled her to absorb all and any info about brewing and cellaring.”

Cannarozzi reflected on the changes she’s seen in the industry since she started.

“It’s a lot different now,” she said. “I’ve met more women working in production in the last few years than I had in the first six. The brewing school at GRCC and Kalamazoo, there are a lot of women doing these programs. There is a lot of support now. Maybe we, as women, are not questioned as much as before. It’s much more positive.”

That one day changed everything for Cannarozzi. “Bless Manda’s heart for hosting because although it was an epic day, I’m sure it was a lot like herding drunk cats,” said Houser about that fateful Fermenta brew day. “Ever since that day we’ve been forever friends,” said Geiger. “She has learned so much since that day. She’s always willing to learn and I

“I know she’ll continue on to do more amazing things, because that’s just what Sydney does, no matter where she is or what she’s doing,” said Houser. “She’s intelligent, kind, humble, and I’m really proud to have her as a friend.”

Cannarozzi is currently looking for her next great opportunity in the brewing industry, and hopes to continue to make her mark on Michigan beer in the future, so if you are looking for a brewer, here she is. “I’m feeling good now,” she said.” I have so much support in the community. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of love given to me.”

House guessed right on that first day she met Cannarozzi when she guessed that she would do great things in the beer industry.

“Although I love to be right, I especially love being right about women doing great things,” she said.

Luke Waldo displays his bartending skills at Long Road Distillers, an award-winning purveyor of fine spirits in downtown Cadillac.

new social district from 8

Caberfae Peaks along with a vibrant downtown are must-experience stuff.

to the Cadillac Commons? There you can shop a farmer’s market or play in the splash pad. Later you can wind down by catching some live music in the evening at the Rotary Pavilion right on the shores of beautiful Lake Cadillac.

“All of these things make Cadillac a favorite for family trips, groups or just couples looking to get away for the weekend,” Westdorp said, adding that the city’s annual beer festival for 2002 returns after a two-year hiatus. It will take place Saturday, September 24. More details may be found at www.ccbeerfest.com

These are summer scenarios, but keep in mind that Cadillac is a great choice for a visit in each of Michigan’s four seasons.

Its lakes, rivers, trails, eight golf courses and

If you are interested in finding out more about Cadillac, contact its Area Visitors Bureau at (231) 775-0657 or visit www.cadillacmichigan.com

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GRCC BRewing from 10 If you decide to attend, you can expect to take classes on sensory analysis, taproom management, beer ingredients, and marketing.

One thing that sets GRCC apart from other programs is their onsite brewery, Fountain Hill Brewery, where students not only get to have the hands-on experience of making the beer, but also are the ones serving it, learning on the job how to talk about and share their creations.

“We are working to give our students a full, well-rounded knowledge coming out,” Daniels said. “With real industry experience in the classroom, the students get to see everything come full circle.”

a college degree yet, is a great way to maybe make attending school more possible. Money can be used for both degrees and certifications. She’d love to see more students taking advantage of this program.

“I’ve seen it with our students, their cost has gone down quite a bit,” she said. “But I feel like the brewing and culinary programs haven’t really taken advantage of this program.”

Daniels’s advice for someone thinking about going into brewing as a career?

Hoekstra agreed.

“You should pursue your interests, but it’s really hard to know what you like to do until you actually do it,” she said. “So, start homebrewing, to see if you enjoy the science and the math and the real physical labor of it,” prior to attending school, she suggested.

“Working through the program, there are new opportunities for our students,” she said. “Our interns, they have jobs before they even get to that part of the program. There is demand in the industry for them, there are opportunities for them. They are excited to be learning and have those hands-on opportunities.”

“You have to earn your place, and work your way up, like I did,” Daniels continued. She started out as a keg washer at Railtown, then moved to cellar manager, before becoming a brewer. “You aren’t going to start out as a head brewer. You grow with the place, and everything you put into it you get out.”

Interested in learning more about studying beer in a formal setting? In addition to GRCC, Schoolcraft College in Livonia offers both a certification and an associate degree program in brewing and distillation technology. Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University have teamed up to offer two tracks of study, one in brewing and one in operations. You can earn a certificate or associate degree from KVCC, and then continue your studies at WMU for your bachelor’s degree, with a focus on sustainability.

Key for both Daniels and Hoekstra is that they are both now in careers that they love.

Hoekstra also said the Michigan ReConnect program, which offers tuition assistance for people who are over 25 and have not gotten

32 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

“You have to make a living, but it’s not worth it to not love what you are doing every day,” Daniels said.”I’ve been so fortunate that I can make a living and love going to work every day.”

“I love it,” Hoekstra said. “It felt like a natural step in my career. I love watching students come in, try different styles of beer like a fruit lambic, and watch as their mind is blown. The internships offer an opportunity to be in a brewery getting real-life experience, and seeing how much in a year or a year and a half how far they can come in beginning a new career has been really rewarding.”

ore dock from 13 also to get to connect with another family doing the same thing. “Getting to see Kris’ journey through the Michigan beer scene, and now she’s on the (Brewers Association) national board, she’s really made a name for herself and for Brewery Vivant, I really admire her. I wish I could have spent more time with her, but they had their kids with them. And that’s what we do as owners, the parents shared a beer, and the kids had root beer, this is what we do”.

“I can say that I am very excited to have Andrea on the Michigan Brewers Guild board,” Kris Spaulding shared.

“Both to have an awesome female in that role as well as someone from the U.P. for more geographical diversity.

Her focus on hospitality and drive to keep innovating their product offerings are admirable.”

Andrea has certainly learned a lot over the last ten years. Her advice?

“Not just being in the brewing industry, but owning any business, you really need to be sure of yourself,” she said. “You are only one person.

Operate with integrity, and do your best. There are so many highs and lows, owning a business is such a roller coaster, but I try to look at every challenge as an opportunity. Women have a wonderful ability to ride that roller coaster, and recognize we can only do so much. Multitasking is a very women’s centric trait. We have that nature to navigate many things

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

at once.” This talent has served her well over the years, as she grew not just a brewery, but also her young family.

“You have to trust yourself, trust your gut, and try not to overthink things,” she said. “And in the end, have fun. It’s so fun, try to remind yourself that that is part of why you are doing this.”

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Two guys from 14

for them the ability to still draw a paycheck.”

The couple both had grocery store experience, so this type of move wasn’t totally new to them. They believed that while people wanted help with cooking, they still wanted to feel that they were providing homemade meals for them. So Two Guys did the prep work and had meals ready to go.

All those things that they came up with made it possible for almost everyone to retain their jobs. I have to say It was amazing to stop by for a visit more recently and to watch their space fill up with happy diners and drinkers enjoying the hand-crafted fare here in person, with a bustling, crew taking care of them.

“It was real honest food, but you just didn’t have to do the hard part,” Tom explained.

“You could still take it home and cook for yourself.”

This pivot is what put Two Guys on the map.

“We have regulars now who would not have come in here except for that,” Tom said. “So although COVID has been a pain in the ass, it’s also been a blessing.”

Two Guys gives so much credit to their hard-working crew and knew they had to find a solution to the new dining rules.

“Our staff are number one. They are the most important people in this building,” Amy said. “When COVID hit there was a lot of uncertainty.”

The Payne’s knew that their staff had mortgages to pay, and kids to feed.

“We had to figure out a way for them to still have a paycheck,” Amy said. “At the end of the day, Tom and I were up to all hours of the morning and at night making lists of things we could do, in ways that we could provide

34 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

Food is a very big deal at Two Guys, and Tom really prides himself on having a true, fromscratch kitchen.

“We make everything,” he said. “Literally everything.”

We are talking about all the soups, all the dressings, every sauce, and they even bake their own hamburger buns.

“We really wanted to showcase what we can do,” Tom said proudly. “We are very fluid in our food menu. We can spin on a moment’s notice.”

During my recent visit Two Guys had their special Mardi Gras-inspired menu running, and let me tell you, do not miss this. The Payne’s second favorite city in the world is New Orleans (Wyoming is first) and they travel there several times each year to eat and get inspired. When they first opened, they would do an authentic Cajun and Creole meal once a year for Mardi Gras. It then morphed into a week-long party, then a month-long event because of its popularity.

And now, I can reveal that according to Tom,

he’s pretty sure they are just going to run with this all the time since it’s been so well received.

“It’s probably not going to go away,” Tom said. “We love the Big Easy, and we think we give New Orleans, well, we do it right. We do justice to the food scene down there, up here in Wyoming Michigan.”

Lucky us! This food is totally top-notch, and truly authentic, something we have long been lacking in the West Michigan area.

Start off with the creamy, light as clouds crab beignets. These little gems fairly melt in your mouth, and with good reason. Tom explained that they are pretty much just fresh lump crab, rich mascarpone cheese, and just enough panko bread crumbs to tie it all together. They take a ride through some beer batter and a dip in the fryer. Served with Two Guys house remoulade sauce, they are totally delightful, and perfectly paired with one of their newer beers, the Powerslide. This all-Michigan pilsner is one of those beers that show off the talent of the brewer since there isn’t anything to hide behind. Simple, crisp, yet full-flavored, it features hops from Pure Michigan Hops in Coopersville.

came crammed with shaved ham, turkey, drunken mushrooms, sauteed shrimp, American and Swiss cheese, remoulade, tomatoes, and coleslaw.

“It’s a minimum ten napkin sandwich,” Tom said. “It’s meant to be dirty.”

Dirty it was, and delicious too. We also sampled the Creole cornbread, which comes smothered with a very authentic shrimp etouffee. Tom explained that they like to make their roux the traditional way, which means pretty dark, and full of flavor. You don’t see roux like this in West Michigan, but you do at Two Guys.

Another beer to try at the brewery includes their flagship Two Guys IPA: The Beer That Started It All. It’s a big, bold double IPA, that comes in at a hefty 9%, and is strong enough to stand up to the spicy richness of the food. Also popular at the brewery is their hand-crafted seltzer, whose base is neutral, and can come with almost any flavor you can imagine. The seltzer and its many iterations come with the witty name of Brian Seltzer and his Orchestra.

“I’m beyond proud of this beer,” Tom said.

“Easy drinker, but still very craft. Outside of what our norm is, this is not aggressively hopped, but the hops are still showcased.”

The Payne’s are known throughout the beer community for always being ready to lend a helping hand, whether it’s with advice on some brewing equipment, or sharing their plans to transform during the pandemic.

The pair brought out a new sandwich called the “Who Dat” which was inspired by a 2017 trip to New Orlean. This massive torpedo

“Tom and Amy are the most selfless, caring, welcoming people I’ve ever met in the beer world,” said Linus DePaoli, who owns nearby

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

3 Gatos Brewery. “They’ve been friends and have been helping us since the first time we talked about six months before we arrived here in the U.S.” DePaoli and his wife Renata came to West Michigan to open their brewery from Brazil, via a stint in Germany.

“They work with everyone in the GR beer community to build the market up for all of us,” DePaoli said. “Without them, I’m not sure where we would be today here at 3 Gatos.

Without them, our path would definitely have been a lot harder.”

The path hasn’t been quite easy for Two Guys, and for Tom and Amy. But their creativity, perseverance, and dedication to their craft have allowed this little underdog brewery to rise up to the top, and there is no sign of them slowing down any time soon.

“Laissez les bons temps rouler” Two Guys Brewing.

Visit the brewery: Two Guys Brewing 2356 Porter St Wyoming, MI 616-552-9690 TwoGuys-Brewing.com

Volume 6 | Spring 2022

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 35

uncommon from 16

ale that gets the inspired addition of lavender and a smidge of sweetness from local honey.

worship beer from 22

all the time. You have to use the dough that day or get rid of it.”

no matter the season. The new house is really going to allow people to have a bit of space to spread out.

They still don’t serve food at Blackrocks, but you are welcome to grab something from a local restaurant to enjoy. I’ll recommend some subs from Togo’s, which is located just up the street from the brewery. They bake their sub bread every morning, and freshly slice all their ingredients. Subs can come hot or cold, and there’s even a drive-thru window, for easy pick-up. Another option is to grab a pizza from nearby Vango’s, a place that is always busy with Northern Michigan Wildcats. I’m a personal fan of their Greek salad.

the walls, but also to their merchandise.

According to Lustina, this true authentic style of pizza had not been done in a brewery in Michigan before, and he’s pretty proud to be the first.

“Summers were good, and we had room.,” Langlois said. “But every winter we were lamenting being limited to such small square footage. It’s making a big difference.”

While you’ll find Blackrocks flagship beers all across the state, at the pub you’ll find something new on tap almost every single day, whether it’s seasonal releases or special oneoffs brewed on site. I never miss the chance to get a fresh pull of their classic IPA, 51K, or my new favorite, MYKISS, a robust IPA with just the right amount of hops. In spring, I anxiously await the release of Honey Lav, a wheat-based Gluten Free from 18 amount of ingredients used versus the resulting product.

“I’m hoping for about 100 cases,” Van Bommel said. “If I get anywhere near that, I’ll be happy.”

“We have a lot more raw material,” he added.

“A typical 5.5% ABV beer is somewhere in the vicinity of 600 pounds (of ingredients) for a 10-barrel system. I build a beer with 1,000 pounds.”

“There are a couple of breweries in the area that have attempted to do gluten-reduced beers,” Van Bommel said. “Gluten reduced is not the same thing. You can argue it back and forth all day long, I don’t care. Gluten-free is a very specific thing. There are people that are much more likely to trust a gluten-free product than they are a gluten-reduced.”

To be clear, while there is a huge market for gluten-free anything, Brewery Nyx is doing this for both personal reasons, and for the greater beer-drinking good.

“We are not in the market to profit off of this niche,” Van Bommel said. “If we were, we would be selling this beer for a lot more, to even remotely come to the type of profits that a regular brewery is getting. But we’re not. We want people to enjoy something that they had in their lives for a really long time and can’t anymore. Or have always been the odd duck out, because they’ve had celiacs or have been gluten intolerant.”

To be a dedicated gluten-free brewery means taking a different approach than those places that make gluten-reduced beers. A gluten-reduced beer is made the traditional way, with malted barley, and then an enzyme is added

36 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

It’s been quite the ride for Langlois and Manson and the whole crew at Blackrocks, and it looks like there is no slowing down anytime soon.

“11 years, it just flies by,” Langlois said. that essentially eats up the majority of the gluten. With Nyx, barley and wheat will never even see the inside of the brewery.

“The level of effort versus the cost incurred to use these non-barley cereals is high,” explained Van Bommel.

He uses grains like rice, corn, millet, amaranth and quinoa to make Nyx’s beers.

“For a lot of people, gluten-free brewing is just PFM,” Van Bommel said.

What might that be, you ask? It’s pure f***ing magic.

“The cost verse reward is a serious gamble,” he continued. “You either have to be lucky, which is what I choose, or you have to be really good. I think I got really lucky. I have some foundational understanding of what needs to happen and when, but the final product that has come out of this brewhouse with these ingredients is just awesome.”

We’ll concur with that. Whether you are gluten-free or not, the beers from Brewery Nyx are something special. These brews open up the Michigan craft beer scene truly to everyone.

“I’m just happy that we have beers on shelves, and in people’s stomachs,” said Van Bommel. “I want people to gather and experience those pieces that they couldn’t before.”

“Anytime there is art in the brewery, it feels like it’s always skeletons, or like the dead rising,” Lustina said. “Not everything has to be heavy metal art, although there is nothing wrong with that. I like heavy metal sometimes. But not many breweries had that modern art pop of prime colors, which I think sets us apart.”

T-shirts feature a Warhol-esque print of the church in a grid of bright screened colors and have proven to be incredibly popular. I mean, who doesn’t want to brag about drinking in church?

In addition to the aesthetics of the space, Beer Church wanted to set themselves apart in the food department as well. As you know, it seems like every brewery offers pizza, because beer and pizza just go together. So when I asked about their pizza at Beer Church, Lustina was quick to explain that this isn’t just any kind of pizza, this is the real, authentic deal, straight out of Naples.

Simon and Lustina traveled quite a bit together, usually on work trips, prior to opening their brewery.

“We didn’t realize that we were doing research and development,” Lustina said. “We amassed a first-hand knowledge of breweries. Interiors, menus, what we liked, what we didn’t like. And we really like pizza.”

The couple made friends with a chef in Italy, and “built up some trust with him,” explained Lustina.

“He agreed to give us his recipe for his dough that he brought over from Italy,” he said. “We’d gone to his place enough, asked enough questions, name dropped places. He knew that we were legitimate to want to authentically do this.”

But pizza is still just pizza, right? Not at Beer Church. This is authentic Napoletana style pizza, cooked in a wood burning oven brought over from Naples that reaches temps of 1000 degrees, and cooks the pizza in 90 seconds.

And that crust?

“It’s such a unique crust,” Lustina explained. “It’s got a slight crunch, inside is pillowy, almost like an injera bread, from Ethiopia. It’s kind of spongey at the core of it. It’s difficult to make.

You have to have the right ingredients, the right oven. And it’s really not done the right way in very many places at all. The moment you take a bite, you can tell ‘this is it’. You can just tell.”

“It’s a labor of love for sure,” Lustina said. “It’s a longer ferment than normal, all fresh dough,

Head brewer Nate Peck, came to the brewery with experience from Tapestry Brewing in Bridgeman, and a stint at Michigan Mobile Canning.

“He’s been absolutely phenomenal ,” Lustina said. “He does a really good job of going through all the different genres of beer. He really cares about unique ingredients and using fresh ingredients. There is definitely a ‘Nate Taste’ to our beer. You get used to that freshness, and now it’s hard for us to have a beer in a bar. We’re really spoiled here.”

If you need a gateway beer, try Crooked Cross Cream Ale, which was named after the cross on the top of the church.

“People love it,” Lustina said. “It’s such an easy drinker.”

I’ll be quaffing their most popular brew, Pontius Pilate IPA. “It’s our number one seller, it comes in at 7.4% ABV,” Lustina said. “It’s our signature beer.”

The couple couldn’t believe that this name was still available for a beer.

“We always make sure to get the trademark on everything, since Jane specializes in that part of the law,” Lustina said. “And the second most famous person in history? We were able to get his name trademarked.”

The brewery makes at least two to three batches of this beer a week, assuring that it is always fresh, and always on tap.

Up next for Beer Church is a large expansion to their outdoor dining, which already seats about 60 people. They’ll be adding a second level deck, with about 60 more seats, and a specially designed outdoor wood fired pizza oven, which will be able to handle about 10 pies at a time. They also just added a new 20 BBL fermenter, and 8 bright tanks, so they can keep up with the demand for their beer. In 2020, they produced close to 1000 barrels, and only serve on site in New Buffalo. They have no plans for distribution.

And that church they originally looked at in Key West, Florida? It’s still there and will become the southern outpost of Beer Church sometime in the near future.

If you are in Southwest Michigan, do join the congregation at Beer Church, as long as you believe in great beer and some pretty incredible pizzas. It’s a religion we all can get behind.

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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Volume 6 | Spring 2022

www.MiBrewTrail.com | 37

If you stop by North Central, Amritt-Wall recommends you try a few of her flagship beers, of which she is very proud. Taste the Shipwrecked IPA, which Amritt-Wall says is an IPA that people who don’t normally like IPA’s will like. Her ESB has taken a bit of work to educate the public on the fact that while the style is an English Special Bitter, it’s not really a bitter beer.

“It’s a beautifully balanced beer,” she said. “With great balance. It’s one we’ve had to try to describe, compensate for, and rebrand a bit.”

DeGrood seemed pretty proud of not just Dakota and her journey, but also North Central Brewing in general. women brewers from 24 ideas. Together we are kind of cultivating this philosophy. The people at the brewery have similar values, and it’s an ever-changing culture.

But it is part of our core culture. We are such a small brewery, so I’m kind of more than just a brewer.”

It sounds like the staff at North Center really works together as a family, holding each other accountable, so that they cannot just put out the best product possible, but also to create a positive environment for all.

“We’ve always had a mentality that the job and your coworkers come first,” she said. “If you are going to engage in something that might hinder your performance, or affect your coworkers, then we might take you aside. This is like family here, and we’ll call you out if we think you are having a problem.”

“We really are kind of an isle of misfit toys, but

38 | www.MiBrewTrail.com

we manage to function quite well,” said Amritt-Wall. “We really are an eclectic spot. We do everything from church fundraisers to LGBTQ events at the brewery.”

One of the things that excites this brewer the most is collaborative brews, beers that they make not just with other breweries, but also in honor of local community groups and fundraisers.

Amritt-Wall belonged to the local roller derby league prior to the pandemic and has started practicing again recently. She loves how the collaborative beer they made for the league really “bridged the gap between two different crowds. It’s interesting. It’s like a cultural exchange,” she said of this collaboration. The blackberry sour that she made was all about “expanding our fans, and about bridging gaps with our local community organizations.”

Through some clever marketing by putting a derby girl on the label, she had a hit that also helped support her sport.

“It sounds like Dakota covered the important stuff,” he said when I reached out to him to see if he had anything to add. “But we turn 7 next month, and I’m proud of how we’ve grown with our product, our diversity, and our presence in the industry. 2022 is off to an amazing start and I’m excited to see what the remainder of the year has to offer.”

Amritt-Wall is ready to continue brewing great beer and enjoying it responsibly. She wants to “encourage that support of the mentality that beer is worth respecting and not just abusing,” she said.

For her, it’s going to be a continuous journey and she hopes other young women will join her in the industry. For women who are interested in brewing as a career, she encourages them to self-study.

“If you think you have enough knowledge, just double it,” she said with a laugh. “Do self-research, read. I’m a do-it-yourself person, and there are ways you can homebrew in easy and affordable ways. And just that little bit of experi-

ence will give you an advantage.”

She went on to say that aspiring brewers should see if they can shadow at their local brewery on a brew day, and to absolutely have the confidence of a man when you go in to ask.

“The conversation has changed,” Amritt-Wall said about the role of women in the beer industry. “I’ve seen so many more women in positions. It’s kind of nice to see women who have found their way in. There is a lot more genuine interest in what different perspectives people might bring into the industry.”

And that unique view is what will help continue to change and develop the beer industry in the future.

“You throw a woman’s experience in there and there will be a different approach, and a different taste to the beer,” she said. “Diversity is a good thing, it brings with it different perspectives.”

“She’s been with me since day one,” said DeGrood about Amritt-Wall. “I’ve watched her grow as a brewer and a person. I’ve always been able to trust her and she has definitely carved her piece out of the Michigan brewing world.”

While the demographics in the beer industry are slowly changing, “It’s at least being talked about, and not just being swept under the rug,” Amritt-Wall said.

“People are more aware of women in the industry. I’m very proud of where we’ve gotten to.”

North Center Brewing 410 N Center St , Northville, MI 248-444-7967 Northcenterbrewing.com

MI Brew Trail |Spring 2022

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outdoor celebration of Michigan beer, Featuring hundreds of fresh, local beers from many AnAn outdoor celebration of Michigan beer, Featuring hundreds of fresh, local beers from many Food available for purchase. of Michigan’s finest breweries. of Michigan’s finest breweries. Food available for purchase.

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Includes 15 drink tokens, available as you enter festival.

No refunds. Tickets online only at MiBeer.com. Includes 15 drink tokens, available as you enter thethe festival.

Beer tokens required for beer samples.

Sample size is 3 oz.

Additional tokens available inside festival.

Beer tokens required for beer samples. Sample size is 3 oz. Additional tokens available inside festival.

Must be and 21 and over. is required. or shine.

Must be 21 over.

I.D.I.D. is required.

RainRain or shine.

BEER TOKEN POLICY: To comply with Michigan Liquor Control Commission rules, tokens must be BEER TOKEN POLICY: To comply with Michigan Liquor Control Commission rules, tokens must be exchanged for beer samples. Any attempt to obtain beer samples without the appropriate exchange of exchanged for beer samples. Any attempt to obtain beer samples without the appropriate exchange of tokens is a violation of MLCC rules and may result in removal from the festival. tokens is a violation of MLCC rules and may result in removal from the festival.

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Hear conversations Hear conversations and stories about andMichigan stories about breweries Michigan breweries

AN. G H EER. STATE .

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