The Michigan Brewers Guild will be hosting the 24th Annual Michigan Summer Beer Festival will be on July 21 and 22, 2023. The two-day festival will take place in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park in Depot Town. Friday’s hours are 5-9 pm and Saturday’s are 1-6 pm.

There will be over 100 Michigan breweries on site serving up more than 750 different beers. In addition to the beer, food and live music will be available.

We at Better on Draft Media looked through the Beer List for the festival and decided that these are the 25 beers you need to try.

---

Light Beers

El Jefe

Burzurk Brewing Company | Grand Haven | Hefeweizen | 4.8%

La Cerveza

Cheboygan Brewing Co | Cheboygan | Blonde Ale | 4%

Cheboygan Brewing Co will be bringing two Blonde beers to the festival – Blackberry Blonde and La Cerveza. La Cerveza is a limited release for this summer, so give it a try at the festival and then keep your eyes peeled for it in distribution!

Make sure you stop by to the Cheboygan Brewing Co tent because a handful of a Better on Draft and Brewz Brothaz crews will be pouring.

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 11 on the West Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Gen Pop

Dark Horse Brewing Company | Marshall | Czech / Bohemian Pilsner | 4.5%

When the Gen Pop beer label was published in the New Michigan Beer Labels post for July 2023, I received a lot of “ha ha’s” about it. According to Dark Horse Brewing Company, one of the brewers, Carlos, wanted to make a beer that the general population of people would want to enjoy day in and day out. Should be a good one to sip on at a summer beer festival!

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 4. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

RELATED:

American Lager

Ellison Brewery + Spirits | East Lansing | American Lager | 4.5%

Speaking of easy drinking beers, Ellison‘s American Lager also fits the bill as a good one to either sip on throughout the day or crush and move on to another beer of Ellison’s or another brewery’s beer.

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 11 on the West Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

RELATED: Ellison Brewery w/ Mark Logusz | #MichiganBeer Series 34

Northern Kolsch

The Royal Oak Brewery | Royal Oak | Kölsch | 4.2%

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 11 on the East Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

IPAs

WAB IPA

Barley Doodle Brewing Co | Ferndale | American IPA | Unknown ABV

Dying Art West Coast IPA

Batch Brewing Company | Detroit | IPA | 7%

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 3 on the North Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

So…I Heard You Like Nelson?

Murray Street Brewing Company | Mattawan | NEIPA | 5.6%

Lekkerboy Hazy IPA

Tecumseh Brewing Company | Tecumseh | NEIPA | 7%

You can find this beer in the “By the River Beer Area” in Tent 6. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Straight Dank

Two Roots Brewing Co | Auburn Hills | Non-Alcoholic IPA | 0.5%

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 11 on the East Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Sours

Hawaiian Sour Cakes

Arctic Circle Brewing Company | Chesterfield | Fruited Sour | 6%

Deven Sills is always killing it at Arctic Circle Brewing Company, so picking ONE of his beers to feature on a list like this is always a challenge. The Hawaiian version of Sour Cakes was brewed with Graham crackers and conditioned on guava and cheesecake flavoring. This one will be a treat and will probably go quick, so check our their tent on Friday and/or early on Saturday!

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 7. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

RELATED: Arctic Circle w/ Deven Sills & Eric Lehman Jr. | #MichiganBeer Series 40

Petals [Watermelon]

Ascension Brewing Company | Novi | Fruited Gose/Sour | 5.5%

Ascension Brewing Company will be bringing a handful of beers in the Petals series. Out of the offerings, Watermelon sounded like the best one to check out. Hot summer vibes at a barbecue with friends and family come to mind which will go well with the watermelon sour.

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 3 on the North Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

RELATED: Ascension Brewing w/ Adam Czap | #MichiganBeer Series 39

Good God, Lemon!

Albion Malleable Brewing Co | Albion | Fruited Sour | 5%

Margarita Gose

*North Center Brewing Company | Northville | Fruited Sour | 7.2%

Margarita Gose is the most unique beer that North Center Brewing Company is bringing to the festival. Kevin DeGrood, North Center’s owner, calls it “good for a hot summer day” which the forecast is calling for on both Friday and Saturday. The Kettle Sour has notes of lime and a hint of salt on the finish.

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in on the East side of Tent 1. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

* Thank you to North Center Brewing Company for being a sponsor of Better on Draft Media!

 

Ice Cream Man

Roak Brewing Co | Marshall | Sour | 5%

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 4. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Grab Bag

Orange Haze

Beards Brewery | Petoskey | Wheat Wine | 8.1%

You can find this beer in the “By the River Beer Area” in Tent 5. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Rye Club

Farm Club X barrel + beam | Traverse City + Marquette | Saison | 6.1%

You can find this beer at barrel + beam’s tent in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 3 on the South Side. Farm Club will not have a booth at the festival. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Disco Lemonade

Sherwood Brewing Company | Shelby Township | Cream Ale | 4.5%

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 9. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Smoking Chilies

Stiggs Brewery & Kitchen | Boyne City | Rauchbier / Smoked Beer | 6.2%

You can find this beer in the “By the River Beer Area” in Tent 5. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Tart Raspberry Kombucha Beer

Unity Vibration Kombucha | Ypsilanti | Hard Kombucha | 8.2%

Heavy Beers

Maniacal Berry Bet

Loaded Dice Brewery | Troy | Barrel Aged Barleywine | 15.1%

You can find this beer in the “Back Forty Beer Area” in Tent 7. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Peat the Porter

Mothfire Brewing Co | Ann Arbor | Imperial Porter | 10.2%

Sweet Potato Soufflé Marshmallow Rye Ale

Odd Side Ales | Grand Haven | Rye Beer | 11%

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 3 on the North Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

S’More Nights

Schaendorf Brewing Company | Allegan | Imperial Stout | 9%

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 2 on the West Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

Imperial Bourbon Barrel Doom Cakes

SuperNatural Brewing and Spirits | Livonia | Pastry Stout | 14%

You can find this beer in the “Central Beer Area” in Tent 2 on the East Side. Check out the Summer Beer Festival program here for a map.

---

Which beer are you looking forward to?

Cheers!