I'm sure most BAs familiar with Southfield's Copper Canyon will not be shocked that they have finally closed their doors. While a lot will say "good riddance", this saddens me. Of course, the long, slow slide into horrible beer/food/atmosphere began years ago, long before they took a hard stance against the smoking ban. Rather than pissing on their grave, I can only hope they'll be remembered for their contributions to Michigan beer, as they were among the first craft breweries in this area when they were founded. Their Devil's Peak IPA was, for the longest time, one of the finest cheap and available IPAs one could find - everything about it was perfect, from the crisp malt body to the punch of grassy, spicy hops. That, and $7 growler fills! Years ago, though, during transition from one head brewer to the next, the beer changed wildly - they clearly began using a Belgian-derived yeast, despite the brewer's insistence to the contrary, and far less hops. As an aside, the brewer also took every opportunity in conversation to bad mouth nearly every large craft brewery in Michigan, for some reason. Sure, if you're consistently making shitty beer, you'd want to bring everyone else down to your level, too.
Not a surprise...But I never like to see breweries go out of business...With the Brewery business exploding, the ones that are not very good will not survive..This is the first of quite a few that will probably come..
Not sure which brewer you're referring to that bad mouthed other breweries. Todd Parker was there a few years until they canned him last year. He was a solid brewer that made due with what he had and made some well crafted brews. The owners were the ones that sucked monkey balls. I say good riddance to the whole place.
I used to travel in that area and stay overnight next door at the Hampton so that Copper Canyon became my regular dining table and watering hole. That's been at least 10 years, so I have memories of when the place was at its peak. It's sad to see it go, but I'll say that the odds are pretty good that, with the brewing equipment already in place, another brewery could go in there.
Of course, just like Fresh Beer in Jackson, that brewing equipment can be easily uprooted and shipped off to another state.
The new guy, at least, bad-mouthed Bells, saying they didn't make any good stouts, and that Saugatuck was making the best stouts in MI. Nothing against Saugatuck, they make some ok beer, but don't say Bells doesn't make any good stouts, as that's insanity. The place closing doesn't bother me in the least. It's a mile or so from my office, and yet, the only time I was happy to drink there was when they had guest taps (because they didn't have the money to brew beer).
I agree they went down the tubes after they got rid of Todd Parker. He made some good beer, given the constraints that they gave him. Their food was overpriced for the quality that they served.
