When Dan Shock and Keith Smith, the owners of Northern Wind Brewing, considered locations for their new brewery, they quickly recognized that Downriver Detroit presented the best opportunity. More specifically, they knew that downtown Wyandotte was where they truly wanted to be.

Wyandotte is quickly becoming a destination city – and not only for the wonderful folks Downriver. With the growing draw of the popular music venue District 142, unique and specialized shopping, plenty of amazing food and beverage options and the wide range of fun and exciting events held each year throughout the year, Wyandotte has joined the likes of Plymouth, Royal Oak and even Ann Arbor as the place to be, especially for entertainment.

“We really like a lot of things about Wyandotte,” Shock said. “I appreciate all the functions they have throughout the year that bring a lot of people to the area. They seem to have more functions and festivals than any other community Downriver and it just seems like the place to be now for nightly entertainment.”

One of the key partners in the brewery, Keith Smith, is the operations manager and he lives in Wyandotte – so that local flavor certainly helps. Shock and his partners (Smith and Martin Shock) finally found the perfect spot at 3355 3rd Street.

Northern Wind Brewing, a startup business, is more than just a dream – it’s a testament to an unwavering dedication to the art of brewing.

“All three of us have been making homebrewed beer for about eight years,” Shock said. “Keith was making beer in Wyandotte while Martin and I were making beer in Chesterfield. With homebrewing, you can share your beer with friends and family, but you can’t sell it. By opening a microbrewery, we can share our beers on a much larger scale.”

Not only was the beer popular with friends and family, but it also won competitions, including a renowned homebrew competition at Urbanrest Brewing in Ferndale. Their “Razamataz” (Raspberry Belgian blonde) won by a very large margin.

Smith, who came up with the name Northern Wind Brewing, also has had many successful collaborations over the years with the Wyandotte Beer Co. – including the very popular Paczki beer.

Shock and his team are completely renovating the old Dollar Depot into a 3,100-square-foot brewery and restaurant. They hope to open in late spring and will start out with about eight-to-10 beers on tap and then increase the number. They will feature IPAs, porters, wheat beers, sour beers, fruit beers and lagers.

“We want to start out with a good variety and let everyone find something they enjoy,” Shock said.

The food menu will start with pizza, grilled cheese, burgers, fries, soup, and grow from there.

"Above all, delivering a positive customer experience is our top priority. Our goal is to create a relaxing, unique atmosphere in our brewery taproom, where we craft exceptionally flavorful beers for everyone to enjoy,” Shock said.

Welcome to Wyandotte!