We are going to continue driving in and out of Wisconsin on our way to Kingsford, Michigan and 51st State Brewing Company. The brewery opened in 2018 and has been providing fresh beer for their community ever since.
The brewery got its name from a 1970’s proposal that would have had the Upper Peninsula, some of Northern Lower Michigan and some of the Northern counties in Wisconsin succeed from Michigan and create their own state. This proposal was created for a few reasons, cultural differences, geographic separation and the belief that the capitals of Lansing and Madison ignored the problems of the Superior region.
Once inside the brewery, there are quite a few tables dotted around the brewery for your drinking and dining experience. The bar area is a decent sized bar with approximately 10 to 15 seats available for beer tasting. There is also a cozy little outdoor area on the side of the building, just in case catching rays from the sun is something you enjoy while drinking your beer. The brewery is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so plan your trip accordingly.
51st State Brewing does have a kitchen on site. They specialize in Neapolitan wood fired pizzas, it was a shame we had eaten already because these pizzas smelled ridiculously good. In addition to the pizza, they do offer a few pizza related appetizers and some house made salads using fresh, local ingredients. We did get an appetizer of their cheesy planks just because the brewery smelled so good, and it was delicious, but there was no way we could have eaten a pizza on top of it. Another thing that they make here is homemade bagels, they have a bagel shop attached to the brewery.
According to their facebook page they do offer mimosas for the wine drinker in your group, I am not sure if they offer any other wine options. I didn’t see anything on their website, but I think it would be safe to assume that since they serve food that they would at least have a couple of soda options available for the people that don’t imbibe or for the children you might bring along on your visit.
Now we move onto the star of the show, the beer. They offer 6 flagship beers on their menu, State of Superior- Pale Ale, 3 Vagabonds- American Lager, Battie Millie- American Wheat, Woody Wagon- Scotch Ale, Ski Jump IPA, and CG 4A Glider- Porter. Other that these flagship beers, they offer a couple of taps that are rotating seasonal beers throughout the year.
On our visit, we decided to use our hop passport instead of getting our normal flight. So we ended up trying two of their beers, we tried their Porter which was one of their flagship beers, and my favorite of the two we tried, their Octoberfest. Their version is a festbier. It was a light golden color and was balanced very well with a malty backbone and slight hints of caramel and biscuit with a nice smooth finish. This one is a nice, clean lager with an ABV of 5.6%, so you could enjoy more than one if you feel the need to.
If you are looking to join the secession movement in the Upper Peninsula, drop by 51st State Brewing Company and grab yourself a couple of pints like our Founding Fathers used to in Philadelphia almost 250 years ago. Cheers!
#craftbeer #beer #drinklocal #upperpeninsula #yooperlife #michiganbeer #beerlovers
0 Comments