Oktoberfest Dinner & Brew Cruise on MI Princess

With their 2nd annual downtown pub crawl out of the way, Rockford Brewing celebrated their 1-year anniversary in style.

Thanksgiving Eve is a special night for Rockford Brewing Company. It was just a year ago when the brewery first released their handcrafted beers in downtown Rockford during the brewery’s inaugural “Pub Crawl”. Over 30 kegs of Rockford Brewing beer poured into mugs throughout downtown that night, it was a hit to say the least.

Rockford Brewing Company celebrated their first ever Harvest Festival with a beer tent and many festivities including not one but three different Michigan-Hopped, Michigan Malt Harvest Ales. The event coincided with the Fall counterpart “Coq to The Fly” 14.7 mile group bicycle ride from Brewery Vivant to RBC following last Spring’s “Fly to the Coq” ride to Vivant earlier this year. A Merchandise blowout sale featured discounts including T-Shirts, Hoodies, Hats, and other accessories.

Rockford Brewing Company has just announced their fall beer tent, which will take place Saturday, September 28, from 1-11pm during Rockford’s first Harvest Festival weekend. This is also the same day as their group bike event with Brewery Vivant (Coq to the Fly) for those looking to have a day full of activities! Bikers are expected to arrive at RBC starting around 2pm, just in time to enjoy the beer tent and free live music!

Rockford’s “Sweet Chocolat: A Decadent Downtown Chocolate Stroll” was a sold-out success this year, bringing together local shops and bars with specials and promotions and of course, lots of chocolate. Whether it be brownies, fudge, bacon, or beer downtown Rockford has all tastes covered. And yes, I did say bacon - one of the featured shops was offering up chocolate-covered bacon to the masses participating in the stroll.

The newly open Rockford Brewing Company has a lot going for with a great location, solid beers, and the already established Poindexter’s Speciality Marketplace located next door providing a selection of sandwiches and sides. I first visited the location back in April while the building was still undergoing renovations in preparation for the upcoming brewery. I was immediately impressed by the great location in downtown Rockford adjacent to the White Pine Trail and overlooking the scenic Rogue River Dam.

Debuting 6 taps for a pub crawl on the busiest bar night of the year is both a stroke of genius and a little insane, but Rockford Brewing Co. was able to pull it off with style. My friends and I met up with RBC’s own Seth Rivard at an information booth / open house at the brewery showcasing great progress toward the December 20th Grand Opening date. Pint glasses, T-shirts, growlers, and various merchandise were available along with flyers showcasing the beers and a map of participating pubs for the crawl.

The past week I met up with Rockford Brewing Company's Brian Dews, Seth Rivard, and Jeff Sheehan who are very busily and eagerly working at readying the brewery for a hopeful July opening.