Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Microbrewery
in
Warren,
Michigan,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated with 2 Venues
Established in 2001
Contact
Description
The Kuhnhenn Brewing Company is a small microbrewery, winery and meadery in Warren, Michigan, United States. They have several beers rated in the top 100 in the world on beeradvocate.com and ratebeer.com. The business was established in 1998, but did not open its doors until 2001, by owners and brewers, the brothers Bret and Eric Kuhnhenn.
The brewery sits on the corner of Mound and Chicago Road in the old Lutz hardware store which is owned by the Kuhnhenn family. The brothers started homebrewing when Eric went to college and was introduced to it. He brought the hobby home and introduced it to his brother Bret. Bret started selling homebrewing supplies from the hardware store and soon it became more profitable than selling hardware. The hardware component of the establishment did not disappear from the brewery until mid-2006.
The brewery uses converted equipment, the lauter tun was a peanut butter hopper from Quaker Oats cereal, the mash/boil kettle was a yeast starter for a sour dough bread company, their pilot system’s kettle was a 100-gallon coffee maker. They have a six kettle brew on the premises that allows them to make experimental beers.
The beers include Raspberry Eisbock, Winter Wonder Lager, Fourth Dementia, DRIPA and Simcoe Silly. The brothers brew about 80 different beers; most of these beers are small batches made for annual events. Kuhnhenn’s is also known for brewing seasonal and experimental strong beers.
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. won a gold medal at the a World a Beer Cup for DRIPA (Double Rice IPA).
A satellite brewery (larger than the original, and with increased bottling capacity) has opened at 36000 Groesbeck Highway Clinton Township, Michigan 48035.
The brewery sits on the corner of Mound and Chicago Road in the old Lutz hardware store which is owned by the Kuhnhenn family. The brothers started homebrewing when Eric went to college and was introduced to it. He brought the hobby home and introduced it to his brother Bret. Bret started selling homebrewing supplies from the hardware store and soon it became more profitable than selling hardware. The hardware component of the establishment did not disappear from the brewery until mid-2006.
The brewery uses converted equipment, the lauter tun was a peanut butter hopper from Quaker Oats cereal, the mash/boil kettle was a yeast starter for a sour dough bread company, their pilot system’s kettle was a 100-gallon coffee maker. They have a six kettle brew on the premises that allows them to make experimental beers.
The beers include Raspberry Eisbock, Winter Wonder Lager, Fourth Dementia, DRIPA and Simcoe Silly. The brothers brew about 80 different beers; most of these beers are small batches made for annual events. Kuhnhenn’s is also known for brewing seasonal and experimental strong beers.
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. won a gold medal at the a World a Beer Cup for DRIPA (Double Rice IPA).
A satellite brewery (larger than the original, and with increased bottling capacity) has opened at 36000 Groesbeck Highway Clinton Township, Michigan 48035.
5.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4.5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle from Tavour. Ruddy brown pour, small, thin beige head. Something seems off from the start. Aroma is sweet, more fruitcake than gingerbread. Taste is a mess, cardboard, faint ginger, just off. And it wasn't just me, I brought this to a share (all beer geeks) and everyone was turning up their noses at this. I think the Kuhnhenn name was the only thing that saved this from being a drain pour.
Tried
from Bottle
from Tavour
on 28 Nov 2025
at 21:39
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
2024 bottle, as pictured, drunk 11/27/25.
Chocolate and oak with less bourbon. Probably 3rd or so use barrels. Char, salt, soy oxidation and a good deal of dark fruit and bread. Low roast and no booze keep it approachable.
Sweet milk chocolate up front with raisin and prune. A big bitterness, more hop like than barrel-derived, asserts itself to balance. Sweet and malty with a thick, chewy texture. Dries out nicely with continued hop bitterness and moderate oakiness. Salt, char, smoke add complexity on the edges. No alcohol in flavor, either. Nice for sipping and the hop bitterness is unique. Some moderate roast builds over the course of the bottle, which I don't think adds anything to the beer.
Update. As is often the case, further down the bottle, it's just getting too sweet. I haven't even had 5 ounces and I'm already considering dumping the rest. It's as if all this hop and roast acidity is hiding a rather under attenuated beer. It's not brutally sweet or anything, but this isn't a beer to drink much of. Which, to be fair, it doesn't have to be. But I suppose I've started to get used to a lot of the top tier BA stuff from breweries like Side Project, Barreled Souls, Hill Farmstead, where the beer goes down like water.
Chocolate and oak with less bourbon. Probably 3rd or so use barrels. Char, salt, soy oxidation and a good deal of dark fruit and bread. Low roast and no booze keep it approachable.
Sweet milk chocolate up front with raisin and prune. A big bitterness, more hop like than barrel-derived, asserts itself to balance. Sweet and malty with a thick, chewy texture. Dries out nicely with continued hop bitterness and moderate oakiness. Salt, char, smoke add complexity on the edges. No alcohol in flavor, either. Nice for sipping and the hop bitterness is unique. Some moderate roast builds over the course of the bottle, which I don't think adds anything to the beer.
Update. As is often the case, further down the bottle, it's just getting too sweet. I haven't even had 5 ounces and I'm already considering dumping the rest. It's as if all this hop and roast acidity is hiding a rather under attenuated beer. It's not brutally sweet or anything, but this isn't a beer to drink much of. Which, to be fair, it doesn't have to be. But I suppose I've started to get used to a lot of the top tier BA stuff from breweries like Side Project, Barreled Souls, Hill Farmstead, where the beer goes down like water.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Kuhnhenn Brewing
on 27 Nov 2025
at 18:37
7.1/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 7
12 oz can. Aroma has notes of coffee, cocoa, vanilla, gun metal, bell pepper, burnt caramel. Pours very dark brown to black with a thin beige head that settles into a ring quickly. Taste is bittersweet and roasty. Palate is a little thin and watery.
Tried
from Can
from Tavour
on 27 Nov 2025
at 03:52
6.6/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 6.5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Aromas are bred, dry grain, malt and a bit of hop. Flavors are similar to nose. Mildly sweet with enough bitter and carbonation to balance. A little too sweet for my taste. Wish you was dryer and crisper.
Tried
from Can
from Tavour
on 10 Nov 2025
at 00:22
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Can from Tavour. Pours clear brassy gold with a moderate white head. Aroma is bready with some grass. Near med body. Clean. Bready but dry. Light grass/spice bitterness. Nice flavor, tho not very strong - xpt perhaps for the spice which persists.
Tried
from Can
from Tavour
on 29 Oct 2025
at 23:47
8/10
Nice! Not as sweet as expected, which is probably a good thing. Great balance. Far left, none left 😉
Tried
on 09 Aug 2025
at 15:24
8.5/10
The classic. Sadly the Tripa had just kicked.
Tried
on 09 Aug 2025
at 15:23
7.5/10
Pretty not bad. One of the brown ones
Tried
on 09 Aug 2025
at 15:22
7.5/10
😋
Tried
on 09 Aug 2025
at 15:21
7.5/10
Made it to Kuhnhenn! Great place. This was a bit sweet for me, but full and rich
Tried
on 09 Aug 2025
at 15:18