Ore Dock Brewing Company

The Ore Dock Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Marquette, Michigan, that opened in May 2012. Named for a nearby local landmark, the brewery is known for being a "Marquette focal point and tourist destination," in the words of historian Russell Magnaghi.[1]

Ore Dock Brewing Company
IndustryBrewery
FoundedMay 2012 (2012-05)
FoundersWeston and Andrea Pernsteiner
Headquarters
Marquette, Michigan
Websiteoredockbrewing.com
refer to caption
Ore Dock's first-floor bar with its railroad spike tap handles (2016)
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The upper community space has sandstone walls and a long wooden bar (2016)
A dark bottle of beer
Reclamation IPA, Ore Dock's flagship beer

History

Weston and Andrea Pernsteiner founded the Ore Dock Brewing Company. The two were inspired by Fitger's Brewhouse Brewery and Grille in Duluth, Minnesota, and its historic yet refinished location.[2] After moving to Marquette for Weston's new job, the couple found a suitable downtown location for their own brewery at 114 West Spring Street.[2] It opened in May 2012.[3] They took its name from the nearby ore dock once used to load iron ore pellets onto lake freighters.[4] Having little homebrewing experience, they hired Nick VanCourt as their head brewer.[2]

It began bottling its beer in 2013,[5] and sold it outside of Marquette County beginning in 2013. At this time, the brewery had enough capacity to brew 2,500 barrels per year—having expanded shortly before that from 850 barrels.[1][6] In 2018, Ore Dock sold 1,631 barrels of beer within Michigan, making it the forty-first largest brewer in the state. This total was down from 1,754 in 2017,[7] but up from 1,566 in 2016.[8]

Beer and seltzer

Ore Dock's beer is based on traditional Belgian and American styles. As of 2015, their most popular beers were the Reclamation IPA and Dream Weaver, a Belgian ale with citrus and chamomile.[1] Reclamation, which news sources have described as Ore Dock's flagship beer,[9] is named for recycled material that was reused in constructing the brewery.[1][10] The beer, described by Ore Dock's head brewer as a "mid-coast" IPA for being "not as hop-forward as its west coast counterparts, nor is it as malty as what you often find out east," won the 2014 Beverage Tasting Institute World Beer Championships Gold Medal.[11][12] They are also known for Berserker, a hazy IPA; Beach Bum, a wheat ale;[2] and a porter described by the Midland Daily News as a "wonderful belly warmer".[13]

In 2019, Ore Dock began selling hard seltzer, becoming the first Upper Peninsula of Michigan brewery to offer the product.[14]

Location

The brewery is located in a former automobile repair shop and the second floor of an adjoining building, which functions as a community and event space.[9][15] Described by a Star Tribune journalist as "a loft space full of reclaimed barn wood,"[16] the spaces include material from the auto garage that inhabited the spaces before the brewery moved in.[1] The upstairs community space, charged with putting on events that emphasize visual arts and musical acts, hosts fundraisers, lectures, weddings, private parties, and musical acts.[9][17][18][19]

In 2022, the brewing purchased an adjoining building at 214 South Front Street with the intent to demolish part of it and create a beer garden in its place. They also announced their intent to increase their size and brewing capacity.[20] In September 2022, the state of Michigan provided $3.9 million to support the project through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Revitalization and Placemaking program.[21]

Recognition

In 2013, Ore Dock was ranked by MLive as one of the best new breweries in the state of Michigan.[22] One year later, it was the only brewery from the Upper Peninsula mentioned by Thrillist in a ranking of every state by its beer.[23] It was recommended in The New York Times travel section in 2017,[24] and Yelp named it the best brewery in Michigan in 2022.[25]

See also

Endnotes
  1. Magnaghi (2015), p. 96.
  2. Sherman, Amy (April 1, 2022). "Brewing up a business and a family at Ore Dock in Marquette". Huron Daily Tribune. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  3. "Where Craft Beer & Community Meet". Ore Dock Brewing Company. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. Counts, Jeff (2014). "Upper Peninsula". Explorer's Guide Michigan (3 ed.). The Countryman Press. ISBN 978-1581576955.
  5. "Ore Dock plans to distribute its ales in bottles". Mining Journal. June 22, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  6. Cabell, Brian (October 5, 2015). "Ore Dock Expansion, L'Attitude Delay, New ABC 10 Newscast, Online Newspapers, Shakespeare, and Phil's 550". Word on the Street. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  7. Mack, Julie (September 19, 2019). "Michigan's top 50 beer brewers, based on 2018 in-state sales". MLive. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  8. Mack, Julie (July 12, 2018). "Michigan's top 50 beer brewers, based on 2017 in-state sales". MLive. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  9. Klug, Fritz (September 13, 2013). "Michigan's Best Brewery: Ore Dock Brewing Co. offers community space, reintroduction to Belgian and American-style beer". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  10. Orttenburger, Marie (May 1, 2014). "Ore Dock Strives to Reinvigorate Marquette History". Mitten Brew. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015.
  11. "Brewery Awarded Gold Medals at 2014 World Beer Championships". Marquette Downtown Development Authority. January 25, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Ore Dock Brewing Co. brings home gold". Ishpeming, MI: WBUP-TV. December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. Clark, Dave (November 4, 2022). "Prost! Ore Dock Porter and an election that won't stress you out!". Midland Daily News. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  14. Sherman, Amy (September 6, 2019). "Why we won't apologize for drinking these Michigan-made hard seltzers". MLive. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  15. Hough, Lucy (November 8, 2012). "Ore Dock Brewery Brings Marquette Together". Awesome Mitten. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021.
  16. Shefchik, Claire (March 2, 2017). "Midwest Traveler: A new era in Marquette, Mich". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  17. McMillan, Erica (October 1, 2015). "The Brewing Stylings of Nick VanCourt". Marquette Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  18. Cabell, Brian (February 17, 2016). "Wind Turbines in the UP, VAST Insurance in a Partnership, TV 6 on Facebook, Darwin and Beer, and a Street Party in the Snow". Word on the Street. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  19. Magnaghi (2015), pp. 96–97.
  20. LaCombe, Andrew (February 14, 2022). "Ore Dock Beer Garden Brownfield Plan gets Marquette City Commission approval". Upper Michigan's Source. Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  21. "$3.9M state grant to support building rehabilitation for new Ore Dock Brewing Co. space". Negaunee, Michigan: WLUC-TV. September 7, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  22. Gonzalez, John (September 24, 2013). "Michigan's Best Brewery: Our Top 10 list, plus the best newcomers, and more". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  23. Lynch, Matt; Robinson, Ben; Kryza, Andy (August 24, 2014). "Every State in the USA, Ranked By its Beer". Thrillist. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.
  24. Reddicliffe, Steve (July 27, 2017). "36 Hours in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  25. Rose, Katie (May 9, 2022). "Top brewery in every state in the U.S." Yelp Blog. Retrieved January 15, 2022.

References
  • Magnaghi, Russell (2015). Upper Peninsula Beer: A History of Brewing Above the Bridge. Charleston, SC: American Palate/The History Press. ISBN 978-1-62619-568-4.
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