Alpha Michigan Brewing Company

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

Alpha Michigan Brewing Company's logo

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 George F. Porter Public School.[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. The bar was previously used for a buffet at the Alpha Inn and at the Alpha Veterans of Foreign Wars, changing hands each time after the previous location 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. 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. Jawor, Alyssa (July 9, 2019). "Alpha Michigan Brewing Company runs out of beer". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV.
  4. Proudfit, Theresa (August 27, 2018). "'We brew with a purpose': Alpha Michigan Brewing Company keeps the community in its beers". The Daily News. 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.

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