Bell’s Upper Hand Brewery to start production

Upper Hand is pouring! I can't wait to get off of work to try my first one.

 

I'll have to wait till I return home to the 'nab for Christmas to try it. Really looking forward to it though. Let us know your opinions after you try them.

It's cool that there will actually be a few more non-BMC draft options around in Esky. I think, as of the last time I was home, I Could count places with craft drafts beer on one hand.

 

It's still not abundant, but definitely getting better. Pacino's always has something cool on their taps, and the bars on Ludington all at least have Bell's. The casino usually has a good lineup these days as well. I don't know about the "Nort' Town" bars since I don't frequent them much anymore, but I wouldn't expect a lot. But I digress. I'll post my thoughts on the UH beers later this evening.

 

I had the opportunity to try two of their beers last night. Upper Hand Lager has not been released yet, but should be in the next few weeks.

Escanaba Black Beer - This was the first one I tried. Similar to KBC's Widowmaker in idea, better execution. It's a 4.5% black ale with very little roastiness. Low bitterness, chocolately but light-bodied. I'm guessing that this may have some oats in it as well for some increased mouthfeel but I could be wrong. I tasted this with some friends that are long time homebrewers and two of us are BJCP judges. I only mention that because one thing that stood out to us is that it had a similar characteristic to many of our homebrews. We're guessing it has to do with water profile. A tasty beer that's light enough to drink any time.

UPA (Upper Peninsula Ale) - A 5.1% American Pale Ale that I've been told has a ton of late-addition Mosaic hops that definitely come through. Mango, apricot, pineapple, etc. It had a moderate haze to it, not sure if there's wheat in this beer causing that, or if it's something else. In any case I thought this one was outstanding and will be drinking a ton of it in the future. It'll be interesting to see how the hop profile holds up when it's not as fresh.

 

UPA sounds great. I love it when APA's have that haze to them. Toppling Goliath has mastered that. The last few bombers of Psuedo Sue I picked up almost looked like carbonated orange juice. Can't wait to sample me some Upper Hand!

 

I was fortunate enough to attend the grand opening yesterday and also try the Upper Hand Lager. The brewery really turned out great. The tasting room is a little too rustic for me, but I understand why they went that direction. There's a ton of old breweriana in there though, which is right up my alley. The Upper Hand Lager is a solid beer as well, but might not appeal to much of the BA crowd as it's a 100% malt light lager.

They had some cool local appetizers too. Mini-pasties (of course), local cheeses, smoked whitefish spread, and whitefish caviar.

They're having a public open house on 12/6 if anyone wants to make a trip.

Local coverage of the grand opening:
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1121159#.VGKDIBZDTEI
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1120963#.VGKDHhZDTEI
http://abc10up.com/upper-hand-brewery-in-escanaba-celebrates-grand-opening/

 

Bottles of all three beers hit stores in Escanaba yesterday. They should be around the U.P. in the next week or two.

 

So they do have a tasting room? At one time they were not going to do it, I think even after the law was changed. If they do, it will be a UP stop for sure.

 

They always planned to do a tasting room (open by appointment only or special events for the most part), but never a bar/pub. I'm sure that part of it was the legal issue, but at the same time almost every single bar in Escanaba has their beer on tap anyway. Also their location isn't conducive to having a bar.

 

OK, that made it clear.

I have family near Iron Mountain, so I will have to fond a pub with Upper Hand around there next time.

 

Got a chance to try Upper Peninsula Ale and Escanaba Black Beer this past weekend:

UPA is an extremely solid APA. Mosaic hops offer those fruity, floral and slightly dank flavors and the toasted, caramel malt balances well in the taste. Definitely a bit light on body, but at 5.1%, that was expected.



Escanaba Black Beer is a decent black lager, just a tad too mild for my taste. An easy drinker, nonetheless.

 

Yah, sure, my vife's family is from Houghton and Paavola and all around dere, and dey call 'em "da troll's from down below."

 

Should have also mentioned that all three beers are very reasonably priced at $8.19 - $8.79 per 6-pack, depending on location.

 

Larry Bell and his Upper Hand Brewing brand just announced an expansion, tripling their capacity. The expansion will be breaking ground this summer. The expansion will allow the brand to expand distribution outside of the U.P, into neighboring states. Great news for northern WI.

They also announced 2 barrel aged beers on twitter an Old Ale and a Baltic Porter.

 

I had heard this a few weeks ago, but glad to see it in official form. The community has really embraced Upper Hand and Bell's. A side benefit is there sure have been some nice Bell's kegs shipped up here in the last six months, too.

 

Really wishing I had picked some up in Escanaba when we drove through on the way back from Mackinaw this past weekend. We wanted to stop by the actual brewery, but found out it's not actually open to the public as a taproom or anything, so we just ended up driving through.

 

Michigan state law, as I understand it, states that a brewery may only have one tap room that serves beer on site. Bell's already has their taproom in Kalamazoo, so no dice for Upper Hand.

 

So how is it that New Holland has been planning a tap room in GR? Or how is Arcadia in both Kalamazoo and Battle Creek?

 

There was legislation back in 2012 to get the law changed. Did it pass? I don't live in MI anymore so I'm not sure, do you know if it was signed into law? I do believe that the state of MI does make the distinction between a brewery and a brewpub. Do both of those breweries you mentioned brew and bottle/package at both sites? That might be a reason for the multiple locations too.

 

I think Bell's is large enough so that it is classed as a 'Brewery' and that's why the production facility in Galesburg does not have a tap room. However, Upper Hand Brewing is a different corporation (I don't know what the legal ownership arrangement is or whether ownership even matters since it's a different corp) but I think they could have a taproom at Upper Hand. However, I believe that a decision was made to hold off on doing that for now until production and distribution is all up and running. I'm think I've read that a taproom is coming in the future, and I'm going to guess that the space for it is reserved in the building already.