USA, MI: Salty Pecker Brewing Company becomes Norton Shores’ first brewery

One couple’s home brewing hobby is now the first brewery in Norton Shores, mlive.com reported on September 9.

Derek and Jennifer Olsen opened the Salty Pecker Brewing Company, 255 Seminole Road, on Sept. 2.

“My wife and I have wanted to open a brewery for a long time. It’s been a side dream of ours for years,” said Derek Olsen.

The couple started working on the microbrewery in April 2020 after Art Van Furniture, where Olsen worked for two decades, abruptly shut down last year. They took their 16 years of home brewing experience and scaled up to commercial production.

Olsen wants the Salty Pecker to offer beer that is “easy to drink and approachable.”

“I want to bring craft beer that not only people who already love craft beer enjoy, but to try to bring more people into the fold of drinking fresh local beer,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of people on the fence if they like craft breweries, and I’d like to tip some of those people over.”

Seven beers are on tap at the Salty Pecker, including an Irish red ale called Salty’s Big Red and a Hefty Hen stout recipe that’s been “perfected over the years,” Olsen said.

The brewery also serves a cane sugar root beer.

“I fill all my recipes with love,” Olsen said. “I’m in there, singing to the beer. It’s like talking to your houseplant that it’s good for it—putting good energy into the beer.”

The Salty Pecker is the first brewery to open in Norton Shores, joining nearby craft breweries in Muskegon like Pigeon Hill Brewing Company, Unruly Brewing Company and the Rake Beer Project.

Olsen said their taproom, located off Seaway Drive, provides another option for the community to enjoy craft beer outside of downtown Muskegon.

“We’ll either be the first brewery that you hit or the last one you hit on your way out of town. We’re kind of right on the entrance into Muskegon and into Norton Shores,” said Olsen.

Jointly operated by the couple, Olsen said it is also the first female-owned brewery in the Muskegon area. In Whitehall, Fetch Brewing Company is also owned by married couple Dan and Jen Hain.

The Salty Pecker is open Thursday through Saturday from 4-10 p.m.

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