Leah Witkoske, a brewer at Midland Brewing Company, peers down into a boil kettle as she brews a batch of beer Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Midland Brewing Company. (Katy Kildee/kkildee@ mdn.net)
Midland brewing company MIDLAND, MI Midland Brewing Company crafts recipe for success ESTABLISHMENT CONTINUES TO MAKE NAME FOR ITSELF Jon Becker | MiBrew Trail With a serious nod to Midland’s early history steeped in the lumber, beer and railroad industries, Midland Brewing Company is crafting a formula that has it well on its way to becoming a regional, if not statewide, attraction.
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ing, vibrant city now had at least one brewery.
The original Midland Brewing Company was founded in the 1930s right after prohibition, with its Red Keg Beer. We have built our brand around that fact and the historic Midland Red Keg Saloon.
Step one foot in the establishment and you’ll be immediately struck by all of the history prominently displayed throughout the brewery. Photographs and memorabilia of the local lumbering industry dot the brewery’s walls. Vintage logging tools and other equipment are displayed in the dining room. Photographs of the original building, once home to a Robert Hall Clothing Store, a nursery and a nightclub saloon in Midland County, could spare it from going before being transformed into Midland Brewing out of business during the Great Depression. Company in 2010, help bring history to life and The brewery opened decades later near the threepeople through the doors. mile marker of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail near Oh, and there are our historically great beers, said Averill, where the Red Keg Lumber Camp once sat Clark Bickham, the company’s marketing director. by the Tittabawassee River.
“Dave loved the idea that the original Midland Brewing Company was founded in the 1930s right after prohibition, with its Red Keg Beer,” he said. “We have built our brand around that fact and the historic Midland Red Keg Saloon.”
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“It’s perfectly balanced with a sweet, toasty malt character and rich copper color,” he said.
The company’s Brut IPA distinguishes itself from a growing field of IPA’s with its lower alcohol per volume of 4.6%.
The brewery’s Lumber Jack Brawl Series honors local lumberjack legends Silver Jack Driscoll and Fabian “Saginaw Joe” Fournier. Its popular Red Keg space is home to many public and private events throughout the year such as rehearsal dinners, weddings and receptions along with retirement and birthday parties. “The Red Keg has been the center of attention surrounding many things that take place at Midland Brewing Company,” Bickham said. “It even houses our barrel-aging facility that guests can see for themselves with the barrels that line the back wall.”
“Our small group of entrepreneurs connects our passion for brewing Michigan Craft Beer to Midland’s early history. We believe telling the story of Midland’s roots is an important part of Midland Brewing Company. This small city was built on the grind and grit of lumberjacks and lumberjills.”
“The majority of Brut-style IPA’s in the craft beer “Since our founding in 2010, we’ve worked to carry industry sit between 7 to 9%, making our interpretaon the legacy of the original Midland Brewing Com- tion of the style a much more sessionable Brut IPA,” pany,” Bickham said. “We even brought back the Red Bickham said. “Factoring in its clean, crisp mouth-feel Keg Distillery Whiskey — while innovating our own and strong aromatics of citrus and tropical fruit, you signature brews like Copper Harbor Ale and develop- can comfortably crush a couple of these throughout ing new selections all of the time.” the day.”
The launch of a Smoothie IPA series has gone a long way in putting Midland Brewing Company on the map. It releases four smoothies each year, one for each of Michigan’s seasons. The next release, Safety Dance, is slotted for a tap release by the end of this month. Bickham said anticipation is growing for this new addition to its lineup of smoothies, which also includes Thriller Blackberry and Kokomo Pina Colada.
Midland Brewing Company’s own history dates back to 1935, a time following the repealing of prohibition that saw dozens of breweries spring up throughout Michigan. The brewery opened in an old creamery downtown, but not even its own signature beers like Red Keg Ale, named after the first lumber camp and
Copper Harbor Ale and the brewery’s Midland Brut IPA can be found on store shelves throughout the state. Named for a shipping port near the northern-most point of the Upper Peninsula, Bickham describes the Copper Harbor beer as supremely smooth.
“It’s been another huge factor in how we separate ourselves from the rest of the breweries that Michigan is home to,” he said. “Winning a silver medal at the great American Beer Festival for our One Night in Bangkok really drew attention from people around the state, and even some from out of state inquiring
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The business received an infusion of capital and vision when retired Dow Chemical Company executive Dave Kepler became involved in 2015, subsequently taking over as owner. According to Bickham, Kepler was passionate about investing in the Midland community and saw that every grow-
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