Short's Brewing Company and Pure Michigan have released the Pure Michigan Fall IPA, a limited seasonal collaboration brewed exclusively with Michigan-sourced ingredients, the state's official travel and tourism brand announced. The beer is currently on tap at select bars and restaurants statewide and available through craft beer retailers across Michigan.
The Collaboration
The partnership between Short's Brewing and Pure Michigan is a returning seasonal program, with both parties positioning the IPA as a showcase for Michigan's craft brewing industry and its agricultural supply chain. The use of exclusively in-state ingredients reflects a broader trend among regional brewers to differentiate through provenance, tapping growers and processors within Michigan's 19 million acres of farmland and forest. No pricing or production volume figures were disclosed.
The release lands as Michigan's craft beer sector continues to rank among the most competitive in the Midwest. Michigan consistently places in the top ten nationally by number of licensed craft breweries, making seasonal collaborations with high-profile destination brands a meaningful channel for visibility — both for individual producers and for the state's agricultural suppliers who feed the supply chain.
Tourism Dollars Behind the Pour
The IPA is one element of a broader fall marketing push by Pure Michigan, now in its 20th year, that spans connected television placements on Amazon Prime and Netflix, out-of-home advertising, streaming audio, and a national content partnership with National Geographic. The campaign targets 12 regional markets — including Chicago, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee — as well as local Michigan metros. A full-page feature in Midwest Living's fall "The Color Issue" is currently on newsstands.
For the food and beverage supply chain, destination marketing campaigns of this scale carry real downstream value. When tourism authorities amplify agritourism and local-ingredient narratives — cider mills, farm stands, craft breweries — operators in those categories typically see measurable lifts in foot traffic and retail velocity during peak foliage season, historically a 6-to-8 week window in Michigan running mid-September through late October.
Kelly Wolgamott, Vice President of Pure Michigan, framed the seasonal push around reconnection with local agriculture: "Whether you're seeking vibrant fall colors, looking to savor the season's fresh agricultural bounty, or wanting a place that will deliver that quintessential fall experience, Pure Michigan is ready to welcome you."
Distribution and Access
Consumers and on-premise buyers can locate participating outlets through michigan.org/breweries. The Fall IPA's statewide craft retail placement signals that Short's — headquartered in Bellaire in northern Michigan — is leveraging the Pure Michigan brand to extend beyond its traditional taproom and regional distribution footprint. For trade buyers and distributors, the collaboration underscores the commercial opportunity in co-branded seasonal releases tied to state tourism identity, a model that has gained traction in agricultural-heritage states from Vermont to Oregon.
The campaign's Food & Beverage Magazine audience relevance extends beyond the beer itself: cider mills, farm-to-table operators, and specialty food retailers across Michigan stand to benefit from the roughly $20 million in annual Pure Michigan campaign spending that drives visitation — and consumer spending — into food and beverage venues across both peninsulas. Operators in the /category/craft-beverage segment should note the distribution window is time-limited to the fall season. Buyers in the /category/regional-food-and-drink space tracking Michigan's agri-tourism economy will want to monitor sell-through data as the foliage season peaks.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
