Keweenaw Brewing Company Spotlight: Houghton, Michigan

In 2004, two friends who had worked together at an oil company in Denver looked at the remote beauty of Michigan’s Copper Country and decided to do something completely different. They opened a brewery.

Paul Boissevain and Richard Grey founded Keweenaw Brewing Company in Houghton, and what started as a bet on a small college town in the western Upper Peninsula has grown into the largest brewery in the UP. Their taproom at 408 Shelden Avenue in downtown Houghton has become a gathering place for Michigan Tech students, locals, and visitors who stumble across it and never forget it.

The beer menu is rooted in the history of the region. Six core ales anchor the lineup, including Pick Axe Blonde, Red Jacket Amber, Lift Bridge Brown, Widow Maker Black, Olde Ore Dock Scottish Ale, and November Gale Pale Ale. Each name is a nod to the copper mining heritage that defines this corner of Michigan. Rotating taps round out the ten lines, and the house-brewed birch beer, root beer, and ginger beer give everyone at the table something to enjoy.

The taproom itself is 3,400 square feet of warmth, with two bars, a fireplace, and an outdoor deck overlooking the Keweenaw Waterway. U.S. News and World Report named Keweenaw Brewing one of the best breweries in the Midwest in 2015. TripAdvisor ranks it number four of 43 restaurants in Houghton.

Find out more at kbc.beer.

Michigan Small Business Spotlight is proud to feature Keweenaw Brewing Company as a cornerstone of Upper Peninsula entrepreneurship.