MUSKEGON, MI -- A piece of Muskegon history has been resurrected after nearly 90 years of laying dormant. The Muskegon Brewing Company brand is back, not far from its original birthplace overlooking Muskegon Lake. The historic brewing company is pouring eight new ales at Muskegon’s newest development, Adelaide Pointe.
This is the first time since pre-Prohibition the brand has been active. Muskegon Brewing Company, founded in 1876, was set to reopen after the 18th amendment was overturned, but a fire closed operations. Shortly after, Grand Rapids Brewing Company began bottling at the facility instead.
Then Goebel Brewing bottled beer there until 1957. RELATED: Historic images of Muskegon Brewing Company established in 1876 When developers Emily and Ryan Leestma embarked on creating the $250 million Adelaide Pointe , they wanted to capture Muskegon’s waterfront economy. Muskegon Lake was missing a spot for boaters to pull in and grab a bite and a beer, said Emily Leestma, owner of IBEX Hospitality.
The couple has mastered waterfront hospitality since taking over Bear Lake Tavern in North Muskegon. The old, white brewing factory is directly behind the development in plain sight. It just made sense to pay homage to the site’s history, Emily Leestma said.
“The Muskegon Brewing Company, back in the day, wasn’t just a brewery, either,” she said. “It was really a stopover for people. I wrapped that all into our vision of having great hospitality and a great stopover point on the waterfront.
” Displayed at the hostess stand is a black metal Muskegon Brewing Company sign, with cracks streaking through it, donated by a local. The story goes, the person found it in their basement after it was used to patch their roof, Leestma said. Leestma brought in Michael Brower, co-founder and chief brand officer at Pigeon Hill, to incorporate Muskegon’s other hometown brewery.
Brower was familiar with Muskegon Brewing Company’s history from family ties to the founders, Otto and Gustav Meekse and Gottlieb Ninnemann. His grandmother was neighbors with the Meekse family, he said. A history buff at heart, Brower collected stories and artifacts from the early days of Muskegon Brewing Company, including handwritten recipes.
Before founding Pigeon Hill, he considered reviving the brand himself, but it wasn’t the right time, he said. Ten years later, Muskegon Brewing is back on tap. Patrons sit at the patio over the marina and Muskegon Lake at Muskegon Brewing Company at Adelaide Pointe in Muskegon, Mich.
Photo provided by Muskegon Brewing Company/ Lakeshore Museum Center Pigeon Hill brewers created eight new brews, including a namesake easy drinker Adelaide Ale, the Hazy Harbor for Ryan and Sail Saison for Emily. Muskegon Brewing Company officially opened its doors the first week of July. The best seller so far has been the Blueberry Haze, Leestma said.
The restaurant gives nearly a 360-degree view of the lake and Adelaide Pointe. The full bar and kitchen can serve almost 300 people inside and out on the deck. RELATED: Muskegon Lake development ‘game changer’ for Michigan’s mass timber future It’s the first mass timber restaurant in the state, according to Michigan State University .
Mass timber is a wood construction product comprised of multiple solid wood panels nailed or glued together. In addition to strength and stability, mass timber has been hailed as a carbon-negative construction option. Given that “restaurants are inherently wasteful,” it was important to Emily Leestma, formerly a neuroscientist researcher, to incorporate environmental offsets and long-term sustainability into their project.
The 55 luxury condos being constructed are also mass timber, another first for Michigan. Researchers at Michigan State University described Adelaide Pointe’s mass timber projects as “setting a high bar for what’s possible.” It’s fitting that the view from Muskegon Brewing Company looks out toward Pigeon Hill sand dune, with Brewery Hill to its rear.
Marrying new technology with nine decades of legacy, the new Muskegon Brewing Company lands right in the middle of Muskegon’s history, while hopefully being part of its economic future. Historic photos of Muskegon Brewing Company on the menu of the resurrected establishment at Adelaide Pointe in Muskegon, Mich. on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Joel Bissell | MLive.com.
