Michigan’s craft beer boom is over, but these survivors aren’t tapped out

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While rising costs and post-pandemic consumer trends have caused many Michigan microbrewers to close for good, those that are staying open are doing so by adding beverages beyond beer and leaning heavily into their roles as community gathering places.

Craft beer today looks very different from the boom of the 2010s, when it seemed like a new brewery was opening every week, and all they needed was a new IPA to bring in customers.

The industry began to show signs of slowing before the COVID-19 pandemic thanks partly to competition from the emerging cannabis market. Last year, however, marked the first time in recent memory where the number of breweries began to shrink across the U.S.

Small brewers and economists are forecasting that there are still rough times ahead as the market adjusts, but Michigan’s most popular breweries maintain that craft beer is here to stay, just in a different form.

How Michigan microbreweries are changing with the times

In Grand Rapids, Vivant Brewery and Spirits’ evolution is encapsulated in its rebrand from Brewery Vivant, showcasing a commitment to more than just beer.

What began as a unique spot for beer lovers eventually grew into a community gathering place for everyone, so Vivant doubled down on emphasizing its other offerings, including food and other beverages.

“If you have a group of six that comes in, odds are someone at that table doesn’t really like beer, and if you don’t have other options, it’s just one more reason to choose a different place,” Vivant co-owner Jason Spaulding said.

As a small producer, Vivant got hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, Spaulding said. The business is now at about 20% of the sales volume that it had pre-pandemic.

Vivant’s taproom and restaurant, located inside of a former chapel, has plenty of atmosphere and character to draw in customers, but it suffers from the fact that people are leaving their homes less frequently post-COVID. Beyond just selling food and drink, Vivant hosts events such as artist markets and trivia nights to entice people to get out of the house.

“It used to be that just beer and food was the attraction,” he said. “Now it’s just the requirement, and then you’ve got to do other entertainment things.”

Customers have dinner and drinks at Vivant Brewery and Spirits in Grand Rapids.Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com

Griffin Claw Brewing Company of Birmingham, just outside of Detroit, also is beginning to claw back its dwindling beer volume over the past four years, managing partner Scott LePage said.

“Year-to-date, we’re up 3.5%, which if I was just flat I would call that a win,” he said. “This is the first time in four years that I’ve been able to look at the numbers and see them go up. Before that, it was just doom and gloom every month.”

The company’s beer sales volume also is supplemented by liquor, cocktails, wine, cider and a full food menu.

Part of what has helped Griffin Claw is its two taprooms in Birmingham and Rochester Hills, which allow customers to sample beers first rather than commit to buying a four-pack that they might not like.

“I remember craft beer during its heyday when you look at a label, you thought it was cool, you bring it home and it’s just a drain-pour,” LePage said. “Everybody was putting mediocre liquid to market and getting away with it. Now, people are paying attention to what they buy, and they’re vocal about it.”

Building on positive momentum, LePage is eyeing a third taproom, preferably somewhere in West Michigan like Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo. Construction could begin as early as 2026, he said.

Business for Ann Arbor’s HOMES Brewery has remained relatively flat since the beginning of the pandemic. While larger outfits have seen their distribution dwindle during that time, the small craft brewery has held fast by selling directly to a tight fan base out of its two taprooms, Head Brewer Nick Panchamé said.

“Certain styles and certain releases still do really well, and we’ll have people waiting in line for them, but it’s a smaller, more dedicated group now than it used to be,” he said.

When HOMES first opened in 2017, the company also acquired a winery and distilling license. Because the owner’s wife has celiac disease and can’t consume gluten, the brewery early on knew it wanted to have something for everybody, Panchamé said.

Graham Low talks with customers at HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor. The small brewery leans into its role as a restaurant that provides exceptional hospitality.Abra Richardson

HOMES also has a handful of specialty beverage brands in its portfolio. In 2020, the brewery rolled out Smooj, its own brand of hard smoothies, in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of hard seltzers and fruited beers at the time.

“There was a market for this that nobody was really taking advantage of, so we wanted to jump on it,” Panchamé said.

HOMES also owns CiNCH, a line of low-alcohol (2.5%) vodka spritzers made to target the sober-curious crowd or people who just want to drink less.

Beyond beverages, HOMES leans into its role as a restaurant by providing exceptional hospitality that keeps customers coming back, Panchamé said.

“I think there’s going to be brewery closures that continue to happen, but the people that are really paying attention to what the customer wants and the small details; that’s the difference maker in everything, but in beer specifically,” he said.

Sinkers and swimmers

Several Michigan establishments didn’t survive the changing industry and shut their doors in 2025.

Wyoming’s 3 Gatos Brewery closed in February after just four years in business. Owner Linus De Paoli said the brewery suffered from a lack of customers, and a “slowdown” in the craft beer and hospitality sector “hit us really hard.”

One month later, Saugatuck Brewing Company permanently closed its taprooms in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. The company stated it is a “challenging time” for the craft beer industry, and that it’s shifting its focus toward distribution.

The Grand Rapids taproom at 1504 Plainfield Ave. NE has had a troubled past few years. Originally opening in 2016 as Creston Brewery, the business permanently closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The front entrance of the now closed Creston Brewery is pictured. Rylan Capper | rcapper@mlive.com

Saugatuck Brewing Company purchased the location in April 2021 and attempted to revive the Creston Brewery brand.

Plenty of Michigan breweries, meanwhile, are staying around and growing in different ways. In March, Muskegon’s Rake Beer Project announced plans to reduce its fleet of fermenters to make way for distilling equipment and a deli.

Owner Josh Rake said that while his brewery hasn’t seen a loss in beer sales, he wants to be able to attract a broader crowd of people to the taproom.

Odd Side Ales of Grand Haven, which celebrated 15 years of business this year, is growing its physical footprint with a new café and taproom at 50 Park St. in Fruitport.

Amid flattening beer sales, Odd Side Ales has put more effort into the coffee side of its business, which began in 2019 with the purchase of the Coffee Grounds café in Grand Haven.

Craft beer by the numbers

After skyrocketing from 105 in 2010 to 400 in 2019, the number of craft breweries in Michigan began to plateau and now stands at about 420, according to Brewers Association statistics.

The past year also has seen fewer new brewery licenses issued in the state for the first time since the pandemic. Data from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission showed 403 microbrewer licenses issued in 2025, compared to 408 the year before.

While the number of licenses issued has risen every other year since 2020, not all of these license holders are explicitly breweries, as there are wineries and distilleries that have a micro brewer license as part of their operations, David Marvin, director of the MLCC’s executive services division said.

The MLCC defines a microbrewer as one that manufactures fewer than 60,000 barrels per year.

A similar trend is reflected in national figures. The Brewers Association’s 2025 midyear survey showed that the number of breweries operating across the U.S. is down 1%, going from 9,352 in June 2024 to 9,269 in June 2025. This marked the first time in over two decades that closures outpaced openings, said Matt Gacioch, staff economist for the Brewers Association.

The craft beer industry now is in a “maturing market,” coming off a boom that began in the 2010s, when growth wasn’t a question of “if” but rather “by how much,” Gacioch said.

“That was certainly an exciting time for the industry and when a lot of folks got into craft beer,” he said. “The situation we’re in today looks