Michigan does not suffer from a lack of breweries.  Living in the Lansing are, I am about a.5 hours away from more than a dozen great breweries.  Unfortunatly, not everyone is so lucky, especially our friends from north of the Mackinaw Bridge.  But just because they don’t have the concentration of great breweries we enjoy down here, does not mean that they are out of luck for getting great beers.  In fact they get to play host to one of the Michigan Brewers Guild’s four annual festivals.

On September 10th, in Marquette’s Mattson Lower Harbor Park MBG will be holding its 3rd annual U.P. Fall Beer Fest.  The festival starts at 1PM (noon for Guild Enthusiast members) and runs until 6pm.  Hopefully enough time to samplesome of the more than 200 different local beers that will be available.  So if you live up north and couldn’t make the trek down to any of the other festivals, or live under the bridge and want to make a journey northward, I recommend you check it out.

More information and full press release after the break

U.P. Fall Beer Fest Returns to Marquette’s Mattson Lower Harbor Park

Michigan Brewers Guild Hosts 3rd Annual Event – Saturday, September 10

 

(Lansing, Mich) – Nearly 30 Michigan craft breweries will gather at Mattson Lower Harbor Park on Saturday, September 10 for the 3rd Annual U.P. Fall Beer Festival where attendees will be able to sample from more than 200 different locally-crafted beers – along with food prepared by area restaurants and live, local entertainment.

This is one of four annual festivals presented by the Michigan Brewers Guild. Festival hours run from 1-6pm; Guild Enthusiast members are admitted one hour early – at Noon.

MBG Enthusiast membership is $35 per person, per year and may be purchased in advance online at www.michiganbrewersguild.businesscatalyst.com/membership.html or on site prior to the opening of the festival. Benefits include discounts at participating member breweries, a free t-shirt proclaiming your enthusiasm for Michigan Beer and VIP status at the four official festivals, with one hour early admission.

The Michigan Brewers Guild festivals are eco-friendly events, with cups, plates, cutlery and napkins all made of biodegradable materials. Festival attendees are asked to aid in the proper disposal of all refuse throughout the festival at one of the many recycling stations placed around the grounds, helping to reduce the overall waste sent to landfills to less than 10%. Volunteers will be on hand to assist at the recycling stations, making sure all the recyclables are properly sorted from the food items.

Tickets for the U.P. Fall Beer Fest are $30 in advance ($35 at the gate, if tickets are still available) and are available online at www.michiganbrewersguild.org, at participating member breweries and at select retail outlets. For a list of ticket outlets and other festival updates visit www.mbgmash.org. Each ticket includes 15 drink tokens, each redeemable for a 3-ounce sample of beer. Additional tokens are available inside the festival grounds, for 50 cents each.

The festival is held, rain or shine. Festival attendees must be 21 years of age or older and have valid ID to enter. Designated Drivers are encouraged and DD tickets will be available on line and at the gate for $5 each. Designated Drivers are not permitted to drink beer.

Michigan’s thriving brewing industry contributes over $24 million in wages with a total economic contribution of more than $133 million. In terms of overall number breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks #5 in the nation – thus supporting its claim as “The Great Beer State.”

The Michigan Brewers Guild exists to unify the Michigan brewing community; to increase sales of Michigan-brewed beer through promotions, marketing, public awareness and consumer education; and to monitor and assure a healthy beer industry within the state. For more information, including a list of Michigan microbreweries, log on to www.michiganbrewersguild.org.

 

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