Elder Piper Beer & Cider has been named among the best new breweries in the country by USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards.
The ranking, released on Wednesday, March 4, whittled down hundreds of entries to the final 10. According to USA Today, the list honors the best new breweries across the country that have opened since the beginning of 2023. A panel of beer experts nominated their top picks, and readers then voted for their favorites.
Elder Piper landed at number three, and was the only Michigan brewery to make the list.
“We’re really excited,” said owner Eeva Redmond. “I think, for me, we came back to Petoskey because we wanted to have world class beer in a small town community that we love. And small towns should have great beer. And we’re really proud that our community showed up and voted. To be number three in the country … we’re a small town doing something big. That’s exciting.”
Elder Piper, located at 923 Baxter St., opened in 2024 after Eeva and her husband, Trace, returned to her hometown, bringing years of experience in the craft brewing industry.
“Elder Piper is a year and a half old. We’ll celebrate our second anniversary in June, and we have had such a strong start,” Redmond said. “We knew coming home to Petoskey that we would have a strong community, but to be third in the country at this point in our business, we just have such a strong start and we have our community to thank for that.”
According to USA Today: “As the name implies, Elder Piper Beer & Cider offers a double-punch of craft brews and refreshing ciders just a few steps away from the Lake Michigan shoreline. For a more complex twist on the traditional cider, guests can spring for a pour of barrel-aged Cold Snap, while beer options include hazy IPAs, milk stouts and barrel-aged honey lagers, just to name a few.”
“When we opened, we had four things on tap. We had three beers and a cider. Now we have 24 different things on tap,” Redmond said. “We have ciders, we have just tons of different styles of beers, we have non-alcoholic options. And all of them express a taste of life up here in Northern Michigan. We use local malt, we use local apples for our ciders. For us, it’s all about celebrating and expressing Up North and the fun that is fermentation.”
The brewery also serves as a community gathering place for all sorts of events.
“We host a lot of different community groups and events, from Broom Piles with our local curling club to monthly trivia and a yoga class on Sunday mornings,” Redmond said. “We have a wide array of community partners and programs that make this a fun spot.”
Since opening, Elder Piper has won several industry awards and received a mention in Hop Culture Magazine as one of the best breweries to visit in Michigan. They were also recognized by the Great Lakes International Cider Competition.
Redmond said they have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
“We have a lot in store for 2026,” she said. “This award really represents the strong start we’ve made but we have so much more to grow. We have beer in barrels for some excellent barrel-aged beers coming along beautifully. We have cans in house to start putting our beer in cans that people can take to the beach, to their cottages. We hope have to all sorts of different new beers coming very soon. We are excited for all of the opportunities we have to grow and really dig deeper roots here in Petoskey.”
The USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards for Best New Brewery
1. Hearth Brewing (Harrison, Ohio)
2. Deep Fried Beers / Night School (Athens, New York)
3. Elder Piper Beer & Cider (Petoskey, Michigan)
4. Lombardi Brewing Company (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
5. Future Days Beer Company (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
6. Terranaut Beer (Bend, Oregon)
7. Blue Jay Brewing Co. (St. Louis, Missouri)
8. Buena Connection Brewing Company (Buena, New Jersey)
9. The Test Brewery (Brooklyn, New York)
10. Atomic Clock Brewing Co. (Durham, North Carolina)
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey’s Elder Piper named one of best new breweries by USA Today
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
