We pride ourselves in not just brewing beer……
but brewing GREAT beer!
Our brewery and winery creates ales, lagers, seltzers, wines and meads that are well balanced and true to style, as well as beers that push the limit and some wild and crazy “fringe” beers that will spark your curiosity.
Our 5 barrel brewing system is capable of brewing 156 gallons at a time. We also seven fermentors ranging in size from two to ten barrels. We lso have a one barrel pilot brweing system which is used for testing new recipes and brewing small batches of unique beers.
A hop forward session pale ale with a clear golden color and a white head. Moderate hop flavor with hints of citrus, pine and fruity undertones. The grainy malt character balances nicely with the dry hops.
An American lager that is refreshing, light-bodied and highly carbonated. This slightly malty, crisp finish lager has very little hop aroma.
Our almost-famous American wheat beer has muted tones of vanilla and blueberries with a slight, tart finish.
This porter starts off sweet but the dark malt flavor quickly dominates and persists to the end. Just a touch dry, with a hint of roast coffee. Subtle flavors of caramel, toffee, molasses with light hints of black currant and dark fruits.
A medium body strong scotch ale has a rich malty character. With notes of plum and raisins, this beer has a smooth alcohol warmth that balances its malty sweetness.
This classic hoppy, bitter beer has a slight malt flavor with balanced hops. Citrus and pine aromas along with tropical fruit flavors are prominent in this medium bodied beer.
115 Harding Avenue
Kingsford, MI 49802
906.828.2167
State of Superior, is the most likely name of the Upper Peninsula, had the U.P. succeeded from the state of Michigan. Throughout the years, reoccurrence of the idea of succession has been initiated numerous times, with the first stab being in 1858 and the last being in the mid-1970s. Some of these proposals were succession of the U.P. in its entirety and others included northern portions of the Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin.
As one of the only non-island U.S. state with two distinct land masses, residents of the Upper Peninsula were hundreds of miles away from their capital and even further away in lifestyle and ideals. Yoopers (as people from the U.P. are called) often felt that the unique needs of this area were being ignored and they were resentful of perceived tax drains and other slights from the lower portion of the state. Hence the decision to attempt to create the 51st state – Superior.
Had the U.P. become the 51st state, it would have been the smallest populated state (50% of Alaska’s population) in the Union. With Marquette being the capital, it also would have had the smallest capital of any state. The 51st state definitely would have been the “smallest kid on the block.”
Between the years 1916 – 1924, industrialist Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs traveled together on yearly “motor camping” trips. On these adventures, they would then call themselves the 4 Vagabonds. (A vagabond is a bum, vagrant or tramp or a person who wanders from place to place without a settled home).
In 1923, two years after the death of John Burroughs, the 3 Vagabonds traveled extensively throughout the U.P. on one of their infamous “motor camping” trips. While in the Upper Peninsula, Henry Ford located vast areas of uncharted land; land that was filled with timber; timber he needed to build the chassis of his Ford Model T’s.
Henry Ford and timber agent/business man, E.G. Kingsford struck a deal for this land and the Ford Motor Company opened a new plant in the U.P. The plant was built in a new town named, Kingsford.
Millie Mine Bat Cave is an abandoned vertical iron mine that is home to one of the largest hibernating/breeding bat colonies (up to 1 million bats) in North America. Big brown and little brown bats from all over the U.P., Wisconsin, Minnesota and parts of Canada come to Millie Bat Cave to hibernate.
This 360 foot mine shaft provides perch roosting and a hibernation chamber for bats. Most mine shafts don’t provide shelter for bats as their entrances have been closed up with rocks, earth and debris to reduce the hazards to humans. Although the blockage protects humans from falling into the mineshaft, unfortunately it also destroys the use of the underground space for over-wintering bats. Millie Bat Cave is a welcoming site for these tiny mammals. Millie Bat Cave is 1 of 30 sites in the U.P. designed to protect hibernating bats and it is the only one to be a bat interpretive site.
During World War II, America produced the most formidable glider force in the world. With about 14,000 GC-4A gliders built, more were built at the Ford Motor Company Plant in Kingsford, Michigan than anywhere else in North America. These gliders spear headed all major invasions of the war starting with the invasion of Normandy, France on July 10, 1943. American glider pilots fought in the European, Pacific, and China-Burma-India Theaters during the WWII. Most of these gliders were towed at a speed of 120 MPH behind a C-47 tow plane and released 600 feet above the ground. This gave the glider a gliding distance of about 15 miles and the pilot about 1.5 minutes to select a spot to land behind enemy lines.
“The intrepid pilots who flew the gliders were as unique as their motorless flying machines. Never before in history had any nation produced aviators whose duty it was to deliberately crash land and then go on to fight as combat infantrymen. They were no ordinary fighters. Their battlefields were behind enemy lines.”
“Every landing was a genuine do-or-die situation for these glider pilots. It was their responsibility to repeatedly risk their lives by landing heavily laden aircraft containing combat soldiers and equipment in unfamiliar fields deep within enemy held territory, often in total darkness. They were the only aviators in WWII who had no motors, no parachutes, and no second chances.”
General William C. Westmooreland, U.S. Army retired
NOTE: AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A GLIDER PILOT ONCE LANDED WAS 17 SECONDS AND EVERY GLIDER PILOT WAS AWARDED THE AIR MEDAL FOR EACH COMBAT FLIGHT THEY MADE.
In 1929, Henry Ford introduced the first Woodie Wagon. This wooden sided vehicle was considered unattractive and strictly utilitarian. Produced in small numbers as a means to transport guests and their luggage to train stations, the Woodie was never a very popular vehicle. This was a blessing in disguise, as the Woodie was never a profitable model for Ford.
The Woodie was difficult to produce as it was extremely labor intensive and needed to be hand assembled. To help streamline this process and to cut down on the traveling of raw materials needed to build the Woodie, Ford purchased 400,000 acres of land in Iron Mountain, Michigan, with help from a friend and timber agent, Edward George Kingsford. The huge track of forest he purchased, gave him nearly unlimited lumber for his wooden bodied vehicles, which were then constructed at a new Ford Plant, in a newly formed town of Kingsford.
Pine Mountain Ski Jump is one of the highest artificially created ski jumps in the world. Located in Iron Mountain, Michigan it is part of the Kiwanas Ski Club and an FIS (Federation of International Skiers) competition is held there yearly. The Ski Jumping Continental Cup, is the second level of international ski jumping in the world, ranking right below the World Cup.
Pine Mountain is known throughout the world as one of the best and most challenging ski jumping hills. This is partially due to the fact that the top of the jump is nearly 600 feet above all the surrounding landscape, giving the jumpers the same view that they would have if they were standing on top of a 60 story skyscraper!
Every February, Pine Mountain hosts top-rated foreign ski jumpers from around the world at The Continental Cup Ski Jumping Competition. Currently Pine Mountain holds the U.S. record for the longest ski jump in the world at 459 feet