Alpha Michigan Brewing Company

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Alpha Michigan Brewing Company's logo

The Alpha Michigan Brewing Company (AMBC) is a nanobrewery in the village of Alpha in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

History[]

The Alpha Michigan Brewing Company opened in May 2018.[1][2][3] It was founded by Mary and Mike Bjork, from Alpha, and Julie and Stu Creel, from nearby Crystal Falls.[4] The establishment describes Alpha as "the smallest village in America with a brewery".[5] In 2019, the brewery ran out of beer after above-normal sales during the US Independence Day holiday.[3]

The brewery's beer names are all related to Alpha, its former Porter school, nearby Mastodon Township, or Iron County, the county of Alpha and Mastodon Township.[1] Its business is also heavily locally focused. Its barley, oats, and some of its hops come from local farms, at least one of which is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) away, and as of 2018, it donates US$1 of each beer sold to local initiatives and organizations.[4] For example, during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the brewery donated US$200 plus 20% of their Saturday beer sales to three nearby St. Vincent de Paul locations.[6]

Location[]

The brewery is at 303 E. Center St. in a former bus garage that is attached to Alpha's long-closed .[4] The school building is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places as part of the Alpha Public Buildings Historic Complex, all on a single block.[7] The Porter School was last used as a school in 1967 and was sold by the village in 2005.[8]

The interior of the taproom was partially constructed from secondhand materials gathered from around the village. Its bar was previously used for a buffet at the Alpha Inn and at the Alpha Veterans of Foreign Wars, changing hands when the locations closed, and a pew from the shuttered St. Edwards Catholic Church in Alpha is part of the brewery's available seats.[4]

See also[]

Endnotes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Naspretto, Alicia (June 4, 2018). "Alpha Brewing Company now open". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV.
  2. ^ Callahan, Dan (May 25, 2018). "Grand opening of a small town brewery in Iron County". ABC10UP. Ishpeming, Michigan: WBUP-TV.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Jawor, Alyssa (July 9, 2019). "Alpha Michigan Brewing Company runs out of beer". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Proudfit, Theresa (August 27, 2018). "'We brew with a purpose': Alpha Michigan Brewing Company keeps the community in its beers". . Iron Mountain, Michigan.
  5. ^ "Alpha Michigan Brewing Company". Alpha Michigan Brewing Company. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Jawor, Alyssa (May 13, 2020). "Alpha Michigan Brewing Co. to donate some beer proceeds to area St. Vincent de Paul pantries". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV.
  7. ^ "Alpha Public Buildings Historic Complex". Historic Sites Online. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  8. ^ "History". Mastodon Township. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2012.

External links[]

Coordinates: 46°02′49.4″N 88°22′37.8″W / 46.047056°N 88.377167°W / 46.047056; -88.377167

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