Michigan Brewers Guild Releases Film Chronicling the State’s $600M Beer Industry

To mark its 25^th anniversary, the Michigan Brewers Guild in Lansing has announced the release of the documentary “Great Beer State,” which draws from more than 60 interviews gathered over four years.

Building on the work from the 2019 book, “A Rising Tide – The Story of the Michigan Brewers Guild,” and “Michigan’s Great Beer State Podcast,” which was launched in 2020, the film was produced by Fred Buetlmann, known as “The Beervangelist,” and author of “A Rising Tide” and co-host of the guild’s podcast.

“Besides celebrating 25 years, this film shows stark differences between then and now, when it comes to locally-brewed beer and its contribution to community culture. From before the Michigan Brewers Guild in the mid-1980s, to the formation of the Guild in 1997, and up until the present day, there has been a cultural transformation,” says Bueltmann.

“The storyline is shared through stories and observations from dozens of brewery folks who have been a part of the brewing scene: past, present, and future.”

The documentary premiered at the Michigan Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti, hosted July 22 and 23, with a private viewing for brewery members on Friday evening and a VIP screening for Enthusiast Members on Saturday morning.

To view the film, the Guild is forming a series of free public screenings across the state at member breweries, Allied Member locations, and community friends of Michigan beer. The schedule will be posted on MiBeer.com and shared via the guild’s Facebook page. The page also provides a link to host the film.

The 25th Anniversary campaign will culminate in a Wrap Party on Oct. 22 following the Detroit Fall Beer Festival at Eastern Market, the actual 25^th anniversary of the Guild.

“The film is a fun and engaging look inside the Michigan beer community,” says Scott Graham, executive director for the Michigan Brewers Guild. “After 25 years local beer is truly part of our culture and fabric; it is part of what makes Michigan great.”

It was Oct. 22, 1997, when a collection of 49 people representing 30 operating breweries gathered at a pub in Saginaw to discuss how they could collectively promote Michigan-made beer. A consensus arose out of that meeting that a formal association of Michigan brewers should be organized and on Dec. 3, 1997, the Michigan Brewers Guild was officially formed.

Michigan’s brewing industry contributes more than $144 million in annual wages with a total economic contribution of more than $600 million each year.

Click here to watch the trailer.