European Beer Culture a Hit at New West Michigan Brewery

from MiBrew Trail - Issue 4, Fall 2021

Did this Kalamazoo College Make the First Student-Brewed Beer to Ever Earn a GABF Medal?

Jon Becker MiBrewTrail

One of the many elements that make Michigan’s exploding craft beer industry so fascinating --and such a wonderful experience for microbrew lovers who visit any one of its hundreds of breweries--is the eclectic makeup of its owners and operators. The state’s beer scene could be a study in diversity and varied cultures. People have come from as far west as California and as far east as Europe to set up shop in Michigan. They’ve given up job security, familiar surroundings and left family and friends to face down the fear of the unknown because they are guided by their hearts. And their hearts tell them that being part of a social phenomenon, a culture that brings people together over a pint and a bite, is too alluring to ignore. There’s a couple from Brazil by way of Germany that represent the very best of what Michigan’s beer community can be all about. Linus and Renata De Paoli, both former engineers for a Big 3 automaker, are introducing a variety of international food and beer at their new brewery in Wyoming, 3 Gatos Brewery. The married couple moved to the West Michigan City in late 2020 to open the brewery after buying and then revamping the Kitzingen Brewery. Born and raised in San Paulo, “We never in our wildest dreams think we would be running a brewery in West Michigan,” said Linus De Paoli. Now that they are, the De Paolis have implemented a decidedly European flavor to their business, both in the beers they brew and serve, to the food they prepare and serve. “Our experience so far is that people are curious and willing to try different things,” said De Paoli. “For us, European Beer Culture is about history

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The logo for 3 Gatos Brewery, a new established owned and operated by Linus and Renata De Paoli, in Wyoming. The couple drew its inspiration for its eye-catching logo from their 3 beloved cats that they adopted in their native Brazil a decade ago and are part of their family to this day. “The name came to us before we knew we were coming to West Michigan,” explained Linus De Paoli. “At the time we were thinking about doing a brewery in Europe. So it needed to be in a language that most Europeans understand. Hence Spanish but also Portugese as Gatos (cat) means the same in both languages.”