Noah Johnson Daily Press Saunders Point Brewery Bartender Sharron Hughes, right, and Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch Forestry Innovation Center Office Coordinator Adrienne St. Vincent display the brown ale and the Yooper Gold maple syrup used to create the brand new “I’d Tap That” draft beer. The beer will flow all weekend at Saunders in conjunction with Maple Weekend put on by the innovation center.

GLADSTONE/HYDE — A local research center and brewing company are teaming up to create a unique beer for a sweet weekend.

The Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch Forestry Innovation Center (Yooper Forestry) in Hyde and Saunders Point Brewing in Gladstone are unveiling a new beer – a brown ale infused with maple syrup sourced from the innovation center’s maple trees.

The beer, “I’d Tap That,” will be available at Saunders starting on April 4, just in time for Maple Weekend.

On April 5 and 6, the innovation center will provide tours of the facility at 6005 J Rd., discuss their work, and demonstrate how some confections equipment can help producers in Michigan turn their syrup into more valuable products.

Bobaloon’s Cafe will be on-site to make food purchases.

The event is open and free to the public.

“We guarantee we’ll be open, (and) we guarantee we’re going to be boiling,” said MSU Center Director Jesse Randall.

There, guests can pick up special pins during the tour and take them to Saunders for a dollar off a pint of I’d Tap That.

The brewery will be pouring the new beer all weekend.

“We will be tapping our exclusive beer to help Yooper Forestry kickoff Maple Syrup weekend in the U.P. We will have I’d Tap That on draft, along with folks from Yooper Forestry on hand to discuss maple syrup and what other products they offer,” said Saunders Point Brewing owner Jake Mills.

Guests will also be treated to live music by George Sailer starting at 6 p.m.

Mills explained how the collaboration came to be, saying it started as just an idea.

“For our maple syrup beer collaboration with Yooper Forestry, we set out on uncharted territory. They approached us with the idea — a unique opportunity to create something special with maple syrup, a flavor we hadn’t previously explored in our beers. After a couple of brainstorming sessions, we were supplied with several syrup samples, and we got to work,” Mills said.

He said the brewery decided to use a brown ale as the base because it has a balanced, malty backbone that won’t overpower the syrups’s ‘delicate nuances.’

“A stronger base like a stout might have masked the maple flavor, but the brown ale allowed the syrup to shine without making the beer overly sweet,” he said.

Mills and company ran several trial runs, mixing the brown ale with varying amounts of syrup until they found the perfect flavor profile.

Randall said the innovation center routinely tests the syrup throughout production to ensure the syrup is at, or slightly above, 66.6 percent sugar.

“This consistency allows brewers to make a repeatable recipe and beer,” Randall said.

Mills added that he is always looking for great partners to collaborate with, announcing Saunders plans to collaborate yearly with Yooper Forestry, where the parties can continue to refine and perfect the recipe.

“The upcoming release will allow us to tweak the balance between the unique characteristics of maple syrup and our perfectly crafted base beer. But that’s not all; discussions are already brewing about future collaborations with Yooper Forestry,” Mills said.

Details are not being shared at this point, but the brewery and Yooper Forestry are discussing incorporating other ingredients from the innovation center in future projects.

“The goal is to explore new flavor dimensions and craft beers that stand out for their unique character and quality,” Mills said.

MSU Office Coordinator and Maple Product Innovator Adrienne St. Vincent said it was an easy decision to approach Mills about the idea, saying he is always open-minded to creative ideas.

“His immediate attitude of, ‘Absolutely, let’s do it,’ confirmed his passion for brewing (and) led us to believe this would be an amazing beer, and he did not disappoint. Because Jake (Mills) is an independent brewer, he has the ability to make smaller size batches of brews,” she said.

“The chill, welcoming atmosphere at Saunders Point made it very easy to collaborate on this project, and we are excited to continue this for future events.”

Mills echoed St. Vincent, saying there is more to come.

“Stay tuned; there’s a lot more innovation on the horizon at Saunders Point Brewing, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Cheers to fresh ideas, bold flavors, and great partnerships,” Mills said.

Sanders Point Brewing and Yooper Forestry unveil its new beer, I’d Tap That, on Friday, April 4 at the brewery.

It is open from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. It is located at 1000 Delta Avenue in Gladstone.

The beer will flow all weekend in conjunction with Maple Weekend at the MSU Forestry Innovation Center on April 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The center is located at 6005 J Road in Escanaba.

Follow Yooper Forestry on Facebook for more details and updates.

The Escanaba Elks Lodge 354 is also partnering with MSU for Maple Weekend, offering members and a guest Yooper Forestry products such as maple cotton candy and smoked maple rubs. The lodge is also serving up special dishes on Friday and Saturday nights, including apple maple pork chops, cherry maple tenderloin, and maple pork pizza. Saturday, the lodge has live music performed by The Wall Walkers. The lodge is open from 4 p.m. to close on Friday and noon to close on Saturday and Sunday.

The event is for members only. However, the event is part of a membership drive, so members may bring a non-member.