Keweenaw Brewing Company preparing to celebrate 20 years of business

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – For 20 years, the Keweenaw Brewing Company (KBC) has been a staple in the Houghton County business landscape and beyond.

Whether for tourists in the summer or snowmobilers in the winter, it attracts frequent attention. The business is now planning for a type of celebration next week.

“Once it kind of slows down a little bit, with graduation, we want to have a big event here,” KBC General Manager Zoe Woodworth said. “We’re still planning it right now, but we want to make sure that we celebrate it with the community.”

The business was kicked off in 2004 by Dick Gray and his partner, Paul Boissevain. An MTU graduate, Gray worked with Boissevain in the oil industry before switching careers.

“I retired fairly young, and I thought it would be fun to open a microbrewery,” Gray said. “We visited here during the summer months on vacation throughout my career when I was out west. Just thought this would be a great place to open a brewery. It has a lot of brewery heritage, years and years gone by, primarily with Bosch Brewery.”

As of the start of this year, Boissevain has retired from the business, with Gray now its primary owner. KBC is now a family-owned business, says Gray, with his son and son-in-law now holding partial ownership. He wishes to say thank you to the community for all their years of patronage.

“Thank you. It’s been a wonderful twenty years,” Gray added. “Thank the whole U.P. The Houghton area, Marquette area, the Iron Mountain area, the whole U.P. They’re our family, and still today most of our product is sold in the U.P, and I’d like to keep it quaint. It’s a wonderful thing. Thanks to everyone.”

Even fellow staff, such as KBC Head Brewer Tom Duex, want to express their gratitude. He is a veteran staff member who will be with the business for 18 years this fall. Duex was originally a sub-contractor who helped construct the Houghton taproom and the South Range Brewery before being offered a job by KBC. He was given the chance to go to the Siebel Institute of Technology Chicago, where he received a formal brewing education before returning to the business.

“When I first was hired here, I could see the fire and the passion and the drive to want the company to be successful,” Duex said, speaking on community support for the business. “I was just doing my part to make sure that became a reality throughout the years, overcoming challenges and just doing the best that we can, working together.”

KBC asks people keep an eye on its social media pages for when next week’s celebration will be. Commemorative t-shirts are also available to celebrate the occasion. The business’s new lower deck will also be opening Friday in time for graduation.

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