Taking a break from setting up the gleaming new tanks and tap lines are members of the Voyageur Brewing Company “Dream Team.” (L-R) Co-owner Bruce Walters, Brew Master Jason Baumgarth and Anders Johansen and Eric McCormick of Turnkey Brewery & Restaurant Consulting of Portland, Oregon.
All summer, through fall and as temperatures dropped, the community has been watching the transformation of an old warehouse in downtown Grand Marais. What was once extra storage for a car dealership and then an appliance store is becoming an exciting new business owned by Mike Prom, Cara Sporn and Bruce Walters. If all goes well the doors to the Voyageur Brewing Company will be open to the public at the end of January.
The Cook County News- Herald was treated to a sneak peek at the building as the complicated brewery operation was being set up, starting in what will be the brew house tap room. In the first glimpse of the space—even with sawdust-covered floors and tarps throughout—it is apparent how nice the space will be for special events.
Reclaimed wood and materials have been tastefully worked into the design, giving the taproom a unique Northwoods personality. The big glass doors that once were the entrance to Almost Home Appliances are still there, offering a view into the working area of the brewery. The wainscoting on the taproom walls has been reclaimed from an old barn in Hovland. The Voyageur Brewing Company logo adorns a wall covered with wood from an old Fitger’s beer barrel, complete with bits of metal trim.
Tables are being built with Douglas fir, circa 1800s to complement a magnificent bar made from a white pine slab from Hedstrom Lumber. There will be comfortable seating around a stunning stone fireplace and in front of large glass windows looking across Highway 61 to the Lake Superior.
Beer aficionados and historians will be impressed by the historic canoe hanging in the entryway. Brewing company co-owner Mike Prom explained that the canoe, given to Voyageur Brewing Company by former owners of Chik Wauk Lodge on the Gunflint Trail, Ralph and Bea Griffis is the 36-foot, square stern canoe that transported the Hamm’s Beer bear in the famed “Land of Sky Blue Waters” television commercials filmed on the Gunflint Trail in the 1960s.
The pre-opening tour included a visit with the men and machines working to get the beer flowing. Hired to help with brewery set up are Eric McCormick and Anders Johansen of Turnkey Brewery & Restaurant Consulting of Portland, Oregon. “The epicenter of craft beer,” quipped McCormick. “At least that is what we like to tell ourselves.”
Paul Sporn has been serving as general contractor. He said McCormick is tying it all together, adding with a grin, “Correctly!”
Johansen is the master brewer said McCormick. Johansen has developed beers at Deschutes Brewery in Oregon, one of the most well-known microbreweries in the United States. Johansen has also helped design beers for the Pyramid Brewery in Kalama, Washington and Ninkasi Brewery in Eugene, Oregon among others and has become an expert at getting brewery operations up and running.
Sporn said, “He’s a traveling brewer.”
Mike Prom said Johansen’s expertise has been invaluable. He said, “Every time I talk to him, I learn something.”
The brewers are happy to show a visitor around, giving a look at the shelves filled with grains, the grinder, the mash tank and all of the huge, gleaming stainless steel tanks, such as the one in the cooler room that can hold up to 40 barrels of beer.
As the tour wrapped up and he got back to filling lines with coolant, co-owner Bruce Walters said, “At this point, it’s cleaning and preparing.”
“It’s a pretty major endeavor,” said Jason Baumgarth, who comes to Voyageur Brewing Company from Carmody’s Pub in Duluth. The company anticipates that first-year production will exceed 1,000 barrels of beer, crafted locally using local ingredients—and Lake Superior water.
Plans call for three “flagship” beers, likely an Indian Pale Ale (IPA), Belgian wheat and a stout or porter, as well as some seasonal offerings.
Baumgarth is working on recipe development. “And once we start brewing, he has the professional palate,” said Prom.
The end-of-January opening gives the brewing company time to make some test batches. “So if the beer is not good enough, we have time,” said Sporn, adding, “But we’re told it will be great right out of the gate.”
There has been a bit of sampling already, said Prom, as Baumgarth has experimented with recipes in his home brew system. “They were great,” said Prom.
Asked if it would be difficult to begin brewing on the new system, Baumgarth said no.
“Essentially I use home brewing as sort of a rough draft. That allows me to get a sense of the flavors. We’ll translate that onto the big system. It will be different but it’s a more efficient system,” he said.
With a smile he added, “But every brew house has a different personality. You wouldn’t think steel has personality, but it does.”
It seems that everything about Voyageur Brewing Company does.
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