Grizzly Peak to Celebrate 20th Anniversary with New Beer, Block Party

Longtime Grizzly Peak head brewer Duncan Williams doing his thing.

Time flies when you're brewing beer. One of Ann Arbor's two original brewpubs, Grizzly Peak Brewing Co., celebrates 20 years on Washington Street this year. To mark the occasion, head brewer Duncan Williams will collaborate on a commemorative beer with several Grizzly Peak brewer alumni.

Next Thursday, June 25, Duncan will be joined by Ron Jeffries (Jolly Pumpkin), Stacey Roth (Griffin Claw), Sean Brennan (Original Gravity), and Nathan Hukill (Bitter Old Fecker) to brew a seven-barrel batch of XX Pale Ale, an extra strength version of the pub staple GP Pale Ale. It will be unveiled August 22 at an anniversary block party event in honor of Grizzly Peak's two decades of slaking Ann Arbor's thirst.

Grizzly Peak opened in 1995, originally the brainchild of California transplant Barry Seifer, who named the brewpub after a scenic boulevard in his native Berkeley. You can read more about Seifer's efforts to legalize brewpubs in Michigan and Grizzly Peak's early history in my book, Ann Arbor Beer: A Hoppy History of Tree Town Brewing.