UP Fall Beer Festival 2026

One last celebration of summer as we look forward to fall at the U.P. Fall Beer Festival in Marquette.

U.P. Fall Beer Festival 2026

A light drizzle had begun to fall as we waited in line with the other Michigan Brewers Guild enthusiasts for the gates to open at the 17th annual U.P. Fall Beer Festival. Jay Clancey (owner of Kognisjon Bryggeri), with his sunhat in hand, stopped to say hello. 

“I don’t think I need this,” he said. We laughed, and someone said, “The minute you take that back to your car, the sun will come out again.” Moments later, as Jay walked back from dropping off his hat, the rain stopped as predicted. For the rest of the afternoon, whenever someone commented on the lovely weather, we were sure to point out that this was all because Jay had returned his sunhat to his truck. 

The magic that is U.P. Fall Beer Festival weekend was in full effect. The weather was once again picture-perfect. But, hell, who am I kidding? Even during the slip-and-slide monsoon of 2016, we still had a grand time at this beerfest. I probably sound like a broken record, but this festival is one of the best in Michigan. In large part, the vibe of this place seems to make the beer that much tastier and the time with friends that much more memorable.

The Beers

The stars of every beer fest are the beer and their creators. There were plenty of options available, including non-alcoholic beverages. Here are a few that we enjoyed.

Florian East Lagers & Ales brought a couple of dandy beers up from Hamtramck. The Haylight Saison was perfectly crisp with a hint of spice. On the big brew side, they had their barrel-aged Deviator, which is a doppelbock aged in Buffalo Trace barrels. I typically shy away from barrel-aged beers because they can get a little too whiskey for my taste, but this one was mellow with a chocolate-toffee taste.

This was my first time experiencing the beers from Noble Twist Taphouse (Saugatuck), and I’m hooked. Their Helles lager was a phenomenal easy drinker. I can see why they won silver at the World Beer Cup. Since I was on a roll, I gave their Franconian kellerbier a run, and it was dynamite.

The Maple Chaga from Superior Culture (Marquette) was a tasty brown ale with notes of coffee. For those looking for a non-alcoholic beverage, Brenda thought their kombucha was delightful.

For a hot second, I thought the best Oktoberfest beer at the fest would go to Kognisjon, but I have to agree with Maddie (new member of the brew crew at Stormcloud Brewing) that Copper Hop Brewing (St. Clair Shores) took the crown with their Operation Stein Grabber. It had just the perfect balance of malt and hops, which made it a dream to drink. 

On the funky side of things was Four Keys Brewing’s (Blissfield) Disco Dragon. A kettle-sour made with dragonfruit and blackberries, it was hot pink, fruity-fresh, and dry. A perfect beer for a sunny day.

The firkin tapping tradition was carried out by none other than the guild’s marketing and events manager, Dave Cicotte. Chas Thompson bravely held the spile as Dave hammered it home to tap into ByGeorge Brewing’s (Munising) Yooperdorf. A sticke (German for “secret”) altbier, the Yooperdorf was a wee-strong and full-bodied beer.

The People

As much as we love the beers at the U.P. Fall Beer Festival, it is meeting up with friends and seeing all the happy people who make the day. Here are some highlights.

Metal Maniacs

Hacky Sack Champs

Enthusiastic Enthusiasts

The Music

Superior Pipes and Drums

A tradition with the U.P. Fall Beer Festival is having the Superior Pipes and Drums lead us onto the festival grounds. You can’t help but feel a little special as the bagpipes wail, the drums pound, and a Scottish dancer leads the way.

Dan Trudell Band

At 1 pm, the sounds of the Dan Trudell Band filled the air. Dan is a wizard on the Hammond B3 organ. Together with his band, they played a solid set of breezy jazz to get the afternoon off to a snappy start.

Ramble Tamble

Surf instrumentalists Ramble Tamble were on fire as they closed out the beer festival. They played their original tsunami surf rock as well as some sweet covers, including something I never expected to hear from a surf rock band, “Walk Like An Egyptian,” by The Bangles. This band was so much fun, it could be illegal.

Pictures

We’ve got more photos from the U.P. Fall Beer Festival in Marquette in our gallery.