Since it’s been a while, I figured it was time to do another Throwback Thursday. This trip down memory lane takes us back to Kalamazoo (This will be a theme very often for Throwback Thursdays, Kalamazoo has lost a lot of breweries over the years), and Tibbs Brewing Company. Tibbs was located off of Burdick Avenue in Downtown Kalamazoo.

Tibbs Brewing Company was established in 2013 and served up quality beers to the Kalamazoo community before closing their doors on October 3rd, 2020. The company cited the COVID pandemic as the reason for their closure.

This was another brewery that I was absolutely shocked to see go out of business. They were a very small intimate place with limited seating options, but they were making big time beers out of their brewhouse. Every time that I visited Tibbs, it was a unique experience. We used to stop in here on every visit to Kalamazoo, along with a previous Throwback Thursday write-up, Olde Peninsula Brewpub. They were constantly rotating beers in and out, and always had something new, fresh and delicious on tap.

Tibbs operated on a 1 barrel (31 gallon) brew system. They were known for making very clean beers and they ran the gamete from Lager, Ales, Stouts, Porters, IPAs and so much more. The thing that they were probably most well known for though, was they were one of the first breweries in Michigan that were known to constantly have rotating Sours on tap. They made absolutely delicious American Style Sours, and I believe that this is the brewery that started Crystal’s love for any beer that is sour.

Some of the beers that I enjoyed over the years of visiting Tibbs Brewing Company included the Hell-Jen Belgian Tripel, Ben Jonesin- Coffee Porter, Sour Patch Tibbs- Sour, and For Richer or Porter-American Porter. But make no mistake about it, every beer that I had at Tibbs was always enjoyable. The beers were always served by interesting and unique people everytime we went to Tibbs.

Their slogan was a reference to the J-Kwon song from 2004, Tipsy, and that slogan was “Everybody get Tibbsy”. Sadly we can no longer get Tibbsy, but we will always have the fond memories of the 7 years that getting Tibbsy was definitely a thing. Cheers!


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Steve Siddall

Hello, My name is Steve Siddall and I am a certifiable craft beer dork. There is nothing that I love more than friends, family, and traveling all over the place on the search for the perfect beer. I eat, drink, sleep and live beer. Over the last 17 years I have visited well over 500 breweries in the great state of Michigan and beyond. Follow me on the Hold MI Beer Facebook group as I highlight the best in Michigan Craft Breweries.

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