Ask Paul Boissevain what you will find if you open his refrigerator at home and you might be surprised to hear the answer: A pick axe, a miner, a widow maker and even a lift bridge.
No, Boissevain doesn't have the world's largest fridge holding the strangest array of items, but rather a normal ice chest hosting what is quickly becoming the Upper Peninsula's favorite brand of beer.
"These are the kind of beers you can sit back and drink all day," says Boissevain, one of the co-founders of the Keweenaw Brewing Company. "A lot of beers you don't want to do that with. They're not session beers. You have a can or two and then you're done. With our beers, you can sit at the beach with your friends and family and casually drink them all day. That's how good they are."
The Pick Axe Blonde. The Red Jacket Amber. The Widow Maker Black. The Lift Bridge Brown. These beers--which are available all year round in cans, kegs and on tap at many establishments--are flying off the shelves across the Upper Peninsula as well as parts of the lower peninsula and Wisconsin. Last year, the Houghton-based brewery, known simply as KBC to savvy beer connoisseurs, saw a huge jump in interest in their product. They went from selling approximately 25,000 cases of suds the year prior to 40,000 cases.
"We're starting to think big and think growth now," Boissevain says. "We're hitting just about every (beer) show we can think of this year."
KBC isn't doing anything fancy. They don't wow you with crazy names or exotic flavors. Instead, the beer that pours out of their cans is smooth, tasty and a treat. That's been the goal of Boissevain since he first started brewing and pouring beers in Houghton with his partner, Dick Gray, in 2004.
The KBC is strictly a microbrewery. Even at their taproom on the main drag in downtown Houghton, no food is served.
"From the start we didn't want to compete with other businesses," says Boissevain. "There are some businesses that do view us as competition, but we never intended to be. We just wanted to make great beer."
Boissevain and Gray were oil men. They were successful. They enjoyed their careers.
But when the time to retire came around, the two men who had spent so many days working together and who had shared so many beers got to talking: What would be their dream jobs in retirement?
They were sitting, at the time, at their favorite bar in Denver when the possibility of brewing beer came up. That bar, it so happened, was their favorite watering hole because of the hand-crafted beverages it offered.
A few years later, it was their own brew house they were sitting in, pouring ales for Houghton locals. Within three months, they were canning their product and extending their reach well beyond the Keweenaw Peninsula. In 2004, the KBC produced 460 barrels of brew, followed up by 1,020 barrels in 2005, 1,290 in 2006 and 2,290 in 2007. In 2008, the company saw a jump up to 3,240 barrels of beer and 3,790 last year.
While plenty of that beer was served in their rustic, barnwood-interior taproom, most was packed into cans and shipped. Approximately 85 percent of the company's business, currently, is done in the Upper Peninsula. Another 10 percent is in Wisconsin while the remaining brew is shipped below the bridge. And those down state are definitely sitting up and taking note. KBC was recently mentioned in an article in Detroit's Metro Times.
They have several distributors, including one in West Branch., that services much of the area north of Saginaw. Slowly, KBC brews are finding their way onto shelves on stores every size, shape and in any location.
They're even trying to get into the golf clubs and marinas around the Upper Peninsula and beyond.
While cans are their staple, the brewery's signature hops-infused drinks can be found at many pubs. That's how Adam Rose, an Ishpeming resident, first found them.
"My favorite KBC is Widow Maker Black," says Rose. "It has a slight stout flavor similar to Guinness without being as strong."
Others agreed that the taste and smoothness made them fans of the beer.
"I enjoy the taste a lot," notes Tim Tomlinson of Skandia. Tomlinson says his favorite KBC brews are split between Lift Bridge and Pick Axe. "It depends on what mood I'm in as to which one I would have at the time."
Tomlinson, who ranked KBC second only behind Michigan-based Bells Brewery in his personal favorites, is an avid fan of beer. He says he drinks nightly and always looks for Keweenaw Brewing Company while out with his friends and prefers it on draft.
The Widow Maker, Pick Axe, Red Jacket and Lift Bridge are all available in cans and are distributed far and wide. To get some of KBC's specialty beers, you'll have to go to the tap house, though. You'll find flavors like the soon-to-be-renamed 36 Schilling Scotch Ale (the new name will be announced on the KBC Facebook page), or the Tip-UP ESB, the Coal Porter, Empress Hefeweizen, BLIZZARD Brown, Canal Malted Cider, Lake Effect Lager, Backcountry Pale and Stump Grinder Oatmeal Stout.
No matter how the company is growing, they're not looking to escape the Upper Peninsula or, more specifically, the Keweenaw. When they decided to expand their operations, they didn't have to look far to find a home for their warehouse and wholesale brewing. South Range, a small town just outside of Houghton, now holds their offices and canning facilities, as well as a massive refrigeration unit, boiler and kettles.
"It's a cool place to live," says Gray, who originally hails from Midland and attended Michigan Technological University. "My wife and I both went to Tech. Our two kids went to Tech. And my brother-in-law went to Tech."
Those ties to the university were what brought them back to the area for their retirement. It didn't take much convincing to bring Boissevain to the area, either.
"I was living in Boulder, Colorado before I moved here," he says. "Everything I loved about living there I can do here. The outdoors, being outside -- that's what I loved about that area, and I can do it all here."
To continue to support the college, Gray and Boissevain only hire Tech students to work their dozen or so part-time jobs between their two facilities.
Those employee numbers could be growing in the future if the number of brew orders keep pouring in.
"This is the greatest job anyone could want," Boissevain says. "Why would we want to do anything else or live anywhere else? It's perfect."
If you haven't been able to find KBC's brews in your local store or pub, don't fret. You can find a list of its Michigan distributors here and Wisconsin distributors here. Make a copy and hand it out to the stores and taverns in your area and tell them you want the same beer those Yoopers have been imbibing for years.
Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of the U.P. Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula.