Spring Lake craft brewery closes, owners plan sale

Spring Lake craft brewery closes, owners plan sale
Dutch Girl Brewery in Spring Lake announced today that it plans to close permanently after less than two years in business.

SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — After less than two years in business, Dutch Girl Brewing Inc. plans to close.

The company said on social media today that it was closing permanently and thanked the customers and staff that had supported the brewery since it opened in the summer of 2015.

Husband-and-wife duo Luke Finchem and Kelly Rozema Finchem opened Dutch Girl Brewing in a 7,500-square-foot space at 14964 Cleveland St. after three years of planning, according to a report in Revue, a sister publication of MiBiz.

Calls to the brewery’s phone number were not answered, and Rozema Finchem did not respond to a request for comment as this report was published.

In a post on Facebook, the owners said Dutch Girl Brewing was currently for sale, with an asking price of $350,000. If they are unable to attract a buyer in the coming weeks, the couple indicated they expected to pursue an auction for the company.

“We learned a lot about opening a small business,” the owners said in the post.

The brewery is located in Spring Lake Township, across the street from Vander Mill LLC’s long-time cider-making location.

Dutch Girl produced 177.5 barrels of beer in 2016, according to Michigan Liquor Control Commision, a division of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Brandon Finnie, managing director at Hungerford Valuation who advises breweries on financial decisions, said he’s expecting more small breweries in challenging locations will experience financial pressure and close amid mounting competition in the industry and internal issues.

“I am anticipating an increase in activity this year which will include sales of successful breweries as they seek additional growth and expanded footprints, sales of underperforming breweries, and unfortunately some brewery closures,” Finnie wrote in an email to MiBiz