Stephen C. Johnson: Detroit Beer

Literati is excited to join author and owner of Motor City Brew Tours, Stephen C. Johnson, for a discussion of Detroit Beer: A History of Brewing in the Motor City. This event will take place next door in the tap room at Arbor Brewing Company, with the bar open for business!

While in recent years Detroit’s craft beer scene has exploded with activity and innovation, brewing has a long history in the Motor City. Small brewers popped up during the mid-1800s to support nearby saloons. Many breweries survived the dry years by producing “near beer,” or non-alcoholic beer, which was quickly abandoned after Prohibition. Consolidation marked the following decades until only Stroh Brewery Company remained. Local brewing returned triumphantly with dozens of breweries opening their doors since the 1990s, including Motor City Brewing Works, Atwater Brewery and Kuhnhenn Brewing Company.

Stephen Johnson is the owner and founder of Motor City Brew Tours, a tour company that provides guided tours to Michigan breweries. He is also an adjunct professor of marketing at Macomb Community College and has worked in both sales and marketing for over twenty years. Stephen earned a bachelor’s in business from Western Michigan University and a master’s of business administration from Walsh College of Business. A Michigan native, Stephen loves to share his knowledge and history of Detroit the beer scene.