(LANSING, Mich) – Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Upper Peninsula Fall Beer Festival, originally scheduled for Saturday, September 12 in Marquette and hosted by the Michigan Brewers Guild, is being cancelled. This is the third of five festivals that the Guild has had to cancel this year, the others include the Spring Festival in Traverse City and the Summer Festival in Ypsilanti.
“We are disappointed that we will once again be unable to gather and celebrate local beer with friends and family, but it is for their safety and that of our communities that we made this decision,” says Scott Graham, Guild Executive Director. “We look forward to next year's U.P. Fall Beer Festival on September 11, 2021.”
This continues to be a difficult time for everyone and your ongoing support of local breweries means more now than ever. Don't forget that July is Michigan Beer Month - so whether you enjoy a pint at your local brewery in a safe and socially distanced manner, grab a growler to go, or pick up a six-pack from your local shop, we hope you'll join us in raising a glass of Michigan beer in July.
Also, please be sure to check out the “Support Your Local Michigan Brewery” video series as well as the “Michigan’s Great Beer State Podcast” with The Beervangelist Fred Bueltmann (author of A Rising Tide – Stories from the Michigan Brewers Guild) and Scott Graham, for interviews with leaders in the state’s brewing industry. The digital version of the Guild’s 2020 annual magazine, “Michigan. The Great Beer State,” is also online (and available at member breweries statewide).
Formed in 1997, the Michigan Brewers Guild represents nearly 300 member breweries (a number that increases on a monthly basis). The Guild is a passionate beer community that believes in quality artisanship, bold character, fun, responsibility and pushing the boundaries. The mission of the Guild is to promote and protect the Michigan beer industry with an overarching goal to help locally brewed beer attain 20% of all beer sales in the state by 2025.
Michigan’s brewing industry contributes more than 21,000 full-time jobs and $872 million in labor income, with a total economic impact of over $2.5 billion. In terms of overall number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks #6 in the nation—supporting its title as “The Great Beer State.”