A long time ago, sometime around 1995, a young family man, Kevin Peil, was given a special gift for Father's Day. That special gift was a home brewing kit. The first batch of beer was a labor of love - an Irish Red or something, it's hard to say. But whatever it was, it was wonderful!

Fast forward 10 years to 2005. Kevin found himself surrounded by good friends, many of whom turned out to also be home brewers. All home brewers talk about someday opening a brewery, and Kevin and his friends talked the same talk. After talking and talking about opening a brewery, one day they decided to do just that. So after a couple of years of planning and several drafts of a business plan, they pooled their money and set out to open a brewery. It took two years of hard work (and almost twice the amount of money they originally thought), but their dream finally became a reality - Tri City Brewing was born.

Tri City Brewing took its name from the three cities - Bay City, Saginaw, Midland located in the eastern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. These three cities are collective known as the Tri Cities which at one time was quite the hub for brewing! But that time had long past with the likes of Kolb Brothers, Bay City Brewing, Phoenix Brewing, Saginaw Brewing, and Midland Brewing all falling by the wayside.

So Tri City Brewing opened its doors in 2007 as mid-Michigan's first independent brewery in more than 50 years. Tri City Brewing released its first commercial beer, Phoenix Golden Ale, on January 17, 2007. Phoenix Golden Ale took its name from the last independent brewery that operated in Bay City, The Phoenix Brewing Company.

Tri City Brewing released its second beer to the public, Phelan Irish Red, on June 14, 2007. Phelan is the Gaelic word for "wolf", and a wolf appears on the label of this beer. Phelan was awarded a bronze medal at the World Expo of beer held in Frankenmuth earlier that year.

In April, 2007, Tri City Brewing entered into an agreement with The Great Lakes Loons minor league baseball team in Midland, Michigan, to have its beer available on draft at the stadium (Dow Diamond) throughout the Loons 2007 home season. Tri City Brewing had an exclusive contract with The Great Lakes Loons to be the only micro-beer on draft. Phoenix Golden Ale was sold at only one location in the stadium, yet it was the number three beer in sales that season at the stadium!

Tri City Brewing continued to expand its operation with the purchase and installation of a bottling line in the latter half of 2007. The bottling line consists of a 24-head Meyer filler and a World-Tandem labeler. The line is capable of producing 5 cases of beer per minute when running at full capacity. Tri City Brewing released Phoenix and Phelan in 12 oz bottles in December, 2007, and sold 750 cases that first month.

In February, 2008, Tri City Brewing expanded its relationship with The Great Lakes Loons baseball organization by agreeing to produce a beer exclusively for The Loons. The beer was to be called Loons Summer Ale and available at local bars and restaurants as well as throughout Dow Diamond.

Entering into its third year of operation, Tri City Brewing continues to expand its portfolio of beers. As the official microbrewery of The Great Lakes Loons baseball team, our beers are available through Dow Diamond on draft and in bottles. Ever drink a Russian Imperial Stout while enjoying a baseball game?? Well now you have the chance!

The rest of our history is still being written. So check back often, and we thank you very much for your support of mid-Michigan's finest microbrewery - Tri City Brewing!