Midland Brewing Company

from MiBrew - Winter 2021

North Channel Brewing Co

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 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. Jon Becker | MiBrew Trail The original Midland Brewing Company was founded in the 1930s right after pro“ ing, vibrant city now had at least one brewery. “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.” Step one foot in the establishment and you’ll be hibition, with its Red Keg Beer. We have The brewery’s Lumber Jack Brawl Series honors local 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 built our brand around that fact and the historic Midland Red Keg Saloon. ” 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 Robert Hall Clothing Store, a nursery and a nightclub saloon in Midland County, could spare it from going “It’s perfectly balanced with a sweet, toasty malt surrounding many things that take place at Midland before being transformed into Midland Brewing out of business during the Great Depression. character and rich copper color,” he said. Brewing Company,” Bickham said. “It even houses Company in 2010, help bring history to life and people through the doors. The brewery opened decades later near the threemile marker of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail near The company’s Brut IPA distinguishes itself from a growing field of IPA’s with its lower alcohol per our barrel-aging facility that guests can see for themselves with the barrels that line the back wall.” Oh, and there are our historically great beers, said Averill, where the Red Keg Lumber Camp once sat volume of 4.6%. The launch of a Smoothie IPA series has gone a long Clark Bickham, the company’s marketing director. by the Tittabawassee River. “The majority of Brut-style IPA’s in the craft beer way in putting Midland Brewing Company on the “Our small group of entrepreneurs connects our “Since our founding in 2010, we’ve worked to carry industry sit between 7 to 9%, making our interpreta- map. It releases four smoothies each year, one for passion for brewing Michigan Craft Beer to Midland’s on the legacy of the original Midland Brewing Com- tion of the style a much more sessionable Brut IPA,” each of Michigan’s seasons. The next release, Safety early history. We believe telling the story of Midland’s pany,” Bickham said. “We even brought back the Red Bickham said. “Factoring in its clean, crisp mouth-feel Dance, is slotted for a tap release by the end of this roots is an important part of Midland Brewing Com- Keg Distillery Whiskey — while innovating our own and strong aromatics of citrus and tropical fruit, you month. Bickham said anticipation is growing for this pany. This small city was built on the grind and grit of signature brews like Copper Harbor Ale and develop- can comfortably crush a couple of these throughout new addition to its lineup of smoothies, which also lumberjacks and lumberjills.” ing new selections all of the time.” the day.” includes Thriller Blackberry and Kokomo Pina Colada. Midland Brewing Company’s own history dates back Copper Harbor Ale and the brewery’s Midland Brut The business received an infusion of capital and “It’s been another huge factor in how we separate to 1935, a time following the repealing of prohibition IPA can be found on store shelves throughout the vision when retired Dow Chemical Company ourselves from the rest of the breweries that Michthat saw dozens of breweries spring up throughout state. Named for a shipping port near the north- executive Dave Kepler became involved in 2015, igan is home to,” he said. “Winning a silver medal at Michigan. The brewery opened in an old creamery ern-most point of the Upper Peninsula, Bickham subsequently taking over as owner. According to the great American Beer Festival for our One Night in downtown, but not even its own signature beers like describes the Copper Harbor beer as supremely Bickham, Kepler was passionate about investing in Bangkok really drew attention from people around Red Keg Ale, named after the first lumber camp and smooth. the Midland community and saw that every grow- the state, and even some from out of state inquiring

about where they could find our beer. Smoothie IPA series has really taken off since we started brewing them.”

Safety Dance should be no exception. “It will encapsulate a holiday favorite of sweet potato casserole in a beer,” Bickham said. “Close to 1,000 pounds of sweet potato puree, an ungodly number of marshmallows and a generous amount of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg makes for a delicious brew.”

For all of the history contained within the walls of Midland Brewing Company, beer and food enthusiasts would be remiss if they didn’t experience the serenity of its outdoor beer garden during warm-weather months.

“We truly believe there is no better place to enjoy a beer and a meal,” he said. “The beer garden is so scenic. Its atmosphere puts guests in a state of total relaxation, especially when the foliage is in full bloom during the warmer months.” Michigan is a hotbed for brewpubs and craft beers, and the Midland Brewing Company seems well-positioned to be part of a movement that is showing no signs of slowing down. After all, the craft beer community takes its brews quite seriously. “There are so many recreational activities that people are able to enjoy here throughout the changing seasons,” Bickham explains. “A lot of them involve celebrating and ending with a cold beer. The craft beer community has developed quite a following. Drinkers will hunt down and collect specific beers. Things like ‘nobody else brews an IPA like this,’ or ‘they only brew this once a year, I need to get a couple of bottles’ are common thoughts and interactions. Nobody feels this way about soda or bottled water, but they sure do about beer in our state.” Under the state’s latest COVID-19 restrictions, there is no dine-in seating in the brewery or Red Keg. Takeout is available with new hours: Tuesday-Thursday, from 3 to 8 p.m., with plans to soon offer delivery service. Orders can be placed online at midlandbrewing.com or by phoning 989-259-7210. Midland Brewing is also offering prepared Thanksgiving meals that include smoked turkey breast, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, fresh herb stuffing, house-made cranberry sauce, as well as turkey gravy. It comes with a side dish of either bacon balsamic Brussel sprouts or dill carrots. Managing to stay open on some level during the ongoing pandemic has become the new norm. “We view this as another challenge our team has to find a way through, which we’ve been getting really good at since earlier this year, in March,” Bickham said. “The No. 1 priority of ours is the health of our crew and guests, plus the individuals and families that make Midland such a great place to call home. We will do what needs to be done to ensure that we are doing our part to keep those around us safe, even if it does happen to put a kink in our plans here and there.”