There are about 30 independent breweries between Traverse City and the Mackinac Bridge.
Inside one of them, MiddleCoast Brewing in Traverse City, you'll find a huge glass wall behind which are large brewing fermenters — giant stainless steel tanks where the beer is made. Mountains of beer are stacked on pallets by the walls.
Owner Joel Mulder said the game has changed since the brewing boom in the mid-2010s. Back then, he said you could succeed just by existing.
“And then that changed where you have to have good beer. And you'll survive. And that changed to where you have to go to have a good beer and a good message," Mulder said. "You're gonna have great beer, but if you aren't doing it right you're not going to survive.”
Now, you need a lot of flexibility — a willingness to change. Right before the pandemic, Mulder said they capitalized on the advent of alcoholic seltzers. It took some trials to get it right, but it helped them expand at a time when some brewers struggled.
“And now the seltzer industry has fallen flat," he said. "Frighteningly, as fast as it went up, it came down.”
Mulder and business partner Devin Larrance started out as distributors seven years ago before they opened their taproom. At the time they were just managers sending beer all over the east coast and Michigan. They took over the business last year.
Brewing is big business in Michigan. The state ranks 8th nationally in the number of breweries it has and 13th in economic impact, estimated at $1.8 billion dollars.
Mulder and Larrance have seen how the business has evolved over their decade of experience.
Breweries have moved to a more connected, community approach to business. Now, the industry is placing an importance on the story of the beer.
“For us, what we love is getting to share our beers and ciders in the context in which they're made, and will really give folks a taste of place experience," said Eeva Redmond, co-owner of Elder Piper Beer and Cider.
They've set a grand opening for June 7 but are currently open for weekends.
Redmond brings years of professional experience as a cicerone or beer sommelier in North Carolina. She grew up in Petoskey and says they will be tapping into local apples for their ciders, grown by her family.
“My family has a little orchard up in Bliss," she said. "And for the past three years, while we've been getting a brewery going, we've been pruning and tending this orchard and harvesting the apples and really learning and honing our skills as cider makers."
And the beer will be brewed locally, too.
In some ways, the business is kind of like a land of lost toys for beers — the stuff that isn’t a good fit for the grocery shelf.
“These are beers that need more storytelling to be exciting to folks,” Redmond said.
Back at Middle Coast Brewing in Traverse City, head brewer Devin Larrance echoes a lot of what Redmond said. People want that sense of place community. They want to know that it’s made locally.
“Find out what the locals want, what the locals like, you have to make your brewery fit the feel of the local populace,” Larrance said. "Once you do that you can expand and grow from there."
Mulder and Larrance have more changes coming to Middle Coast to keep up with the evolving industry. They’re planning a distillery and will produce their own bourbon and hope those spirited consumers keep coming in the door.
Check out the Brewers Association 2023 annual report here.
