Bell’s Upper Hand Brewery to start production

That makes sense. Turns out that legislation I mentioned above was signed into law in 2014 and now there are 3 tiers, based on how many barrels a brewery has capacity to brew annually, that categorize how and where a brewery can have taps and distribute (Self distribution for less than 1,000 barrels per year) . I would love for a tap room to open at Upper Hand, as my wife and I are originally from Esky and both our families still live there. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it happens down the road sometime.

 

I heard that they do have a space for brewery functions, but no plans to make it a tap room open to the public.

Edit - I think they want Galesburg to just concentrate on production.

 

I was talking about Upper Hand possibly having a taproom in the future, but it sounds like you're talking about Galesburg. I agree that location probably will never have one with the Eccentric Café being so close by.

 

I swung by Upper Hand when I was in Escanaba for work a few weeks ago. It is in a really inconvenient location out by the airport, but I'm sure they could make it work.

 

There is a tasting room at Upper Hand for private events. They have a lot of cool U.P.-based breweriana in there, which is pretty damn cool. I can't imagine them having a tap room there, especially when almost every bar/store in town carries their beer.

@cl3 - Our local homebrew club meets there twice a year. Hit me up the next time you're in Esky and hopefully the dates will line up for you to visit.

 

How far is the airport from town? 2-3 miles? I see that there is such a thing as the Delta County Airport Renaissance Zone, hence the location

 

I live a block off of Main Street, and it's 3 miles from my house. There was a lot of red tape originally about Bell's being able to actually buy the property in the Ren Zone rather than lease it. Fortunately everyone worked together and got it done.

 

Thanks for the info. It seems lie a good idea all around.

 

Do they only release two of their beers in bottles? Where is the best place to grab their beers on tap? I will be up in the UP all over next week and want to maximize my Upper Hand.

 

They have 3 beers in bottles:
UPA (pale ale)
Escanaba Black Beer
Upper Hand Lager

It depends on where you are in the UP as to where to find it. There are a few yoopers here on BA that can point you in the right direction if you give us an idea of where you'll be. For the most part Upper Hand is pretty ubiquitous. Be sure to track down some Blackrocks beer while you are in the U.P. too.

 

Yes it's pretty much everywhere. Let me know what cities you'll be in and I'll provide as much insight as possible.

 

We will be staying in Paradise, Champion, Escanaba, Munising, Marquette. Pretty much anywhere but Houghton.

 

I'll let someone local advise on the taps, but for bottles/cans/growlers, here is my advice:

• Escanaba: Sav-Mor Grocery has an amazing craft selection
• Munising: probably the Family Fare Grocery store. The Pictured Rocks Brewing Co. does growler fills near the grocery store at Shooters Lounge.
• Marquette: Econo Foods and White's for bottled/canned beer. Be sure to check out Blackrocks and Ore Dock Brewing while you are in town. Blackrocks brews some of the best beer in MI, IMHO
• Paradise: Make the drive to Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub. for growler fills.
• Champion: Nope. Make the drive to Marquette.
  

 

What @cl3 said. Plus in Escanaba hit up Hereford&Hops and Crispigna's. If anyone is going to have one of the Upper Hand limited releases on tap, they will. Almost any bar in Escanaba is going to have at least one of the regulars on tap. Be sure to avoid Ernie's "Irish Pub" though, as they are notorious for dirty lines.

For Upper Hand on tap in Marquette I'd say Wild Rover, Portside, Das Steinhaus. Also, eat at Lagniappe. Do it.

 

So Upper Hand is putting out some limited releases? What are you seeing, and what kind of frequency?

 

So far there have been two keg-only releases, which came out at the same time. UPX, which was basically a bigger version of UPA, and Yooper Ale, which was an oat pale ale. UPX was tasty but I didn't get to try the other one.

They also have a bunch of oak barrels with a baltic porter and old ale sitting in them, waiting to get put into my face.

 

So glad I stumbled on this thread. I'll be heading up north at the end of July, and we're going to drive through the UP from Mackinaw City to Tahquamenon Falls, back over to the Soo, then back to Mackinac. At some point I'll have to pull over and pick up some Upper Hand.

Thanks, Yooper BA's!

 

I got to try the Yooper Ale at our homebrew club meeting last night, and damn was it tasty! It's a 4% oat pale ale using local oats and bittered with local Nugget, with a small Citra dry hop. The oats give it great body for a 4% beer. It's too bad that this one is keg only.

Also, a pic of the tasting room, which is open by appointment only. A couple actually showed up right before our meeting started looking for dinner. I'm sure this stuff happens all of the time.
https://www.facebook.com/3613886669...06.1073741829.361388666905/10152846563376906/

 

Oat Ale was one of my favorites at the Cafe. It seems to have been promoted to a production beer at UH, haven't seen it in a while at the cafe.

 

Just hitting stores today (at least in Escanaba) is Upper Hand's newest release, 906 Ale. This is also the first beer to boast the new logo/caps. I'm drinking one right now and it's quite tasty!

http://www.upperhandbrewery.com/906-ale-announcement/