Craft beer fans in the Upper Peninsula will have another brewery to patronize soon, with the
U.P. Brewing Company planning a winter opening in Marquette.
Right now, brewer and owner Kevin Clegg is experimenting with various brews in his home brewing setup, to find the right brews to offer customers in quantity when the microbrewery opens in December.
"We're actually in the process of starting up," Clegg says. "I am hoping for our opening up in December."
A location is one of the major things Clegg is working on getting into place before that can happen. The beer itself is no problem, as he has the experience to back that up with a stint at the World Brewing Academy.
So why start up a new brewery in Marquette? Clegg, originally from Kalamazoo, says he and his wife Emily have been planning this since they were at Northern Michigan University together. They left Michigan for a while for graduate school, then came back in 2010.
"It was always the plan to come back," Clegg says. "The plan is to operate a 10-barrel brewhouse which will also allow distribution."
The name Upper Peninsula Brewing Company may be familiar to students of local history, as it was also the name of
an 1880's brewery in Marquette. It closed down during the Prohibition era, and what remains of it today is the "castle" building on the corner of U.S. 41 and Meeske Avenue.
"We're actually not associated with the old one," says Clegg. "We wanted a name that was strongly associated with the U.P. and that would be easy for people to remember and find us with."
Right now, Clegg has four brews he plans to serve up; an IPA, an oatmeal stout, an English mild ale and an American wheat brew. They'll be complemented by seasonal offerings.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Kevin Clegg, Upper Peninsula Brewing Company
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