30 | JUNE 6 • 2024
J
N

M

ove over, wine and
cheese — a new perfect
food and beverage
pairing is making its way to Troy
this spring. Stumblebum Beer
Co. is set to open its doors at
Maple and Crooks with a variety
of unique beer and charcuterie
pairings.
As the brainchild of Jewish
proprietor and brewer Eli Green,
a Metro Detroit native who was
involved with Jewish Ensemble
Theatre, the new brewery is set
to add Troy to a very short list of
breweries nationwide that spe-
cialize in the trifecta of beer, meat
and cheese.
While living in New York City
to pursue an acting career, Green
found inspiration in Brooklyn’s
Museum of Food and Drink,
where he attended a lecture on
pairing beer and cheese. He
learned, surprisingly, that beer

and cheese was “superior” to
wine and cheese, and it ignited a
passion in Green to learn more
about this seemingly perfect
combo.
To do so, Green often visited
a brewery down the street from
his New York City home that spe-
cialized in charcuterie, eventually
taking his now-wife Liz Karg on
their first date there.

When the couple moved back
to Michigan in 2017, where they
now live in Ferndale, Green
began toying with the idea of
bringing a similar concept to
Metro Detroit.

A TIMELESS DESIGN
Despite an explosion of small
breweries that opened between
2015 and 2018, the COVID-19
pandemic saw many businesses
eventually shutter, meaning the
market was once again open fol-
lowing a return to normal life as
COVID-19 restrictions eased.
“COVID-19 accelerated the
idea,
” Green, 39, explains. He
was hired at a brewery during
the pandemic and received the
hands-on experience he needed
to run his own operation.
Ready to get the idea off the
ground, he partnered with Shari
Stein, owner and principal interi-
or designer of Birmingham-based
design firm DesignTeam Plus, to
bring the vision of Stumblebum
Beer Co. to life. The goal: to
blend wanderlust, warmth and
hygge, or the Danish concept of
comfort, into one unique atmo-
sphere and brewery.
“Eli had a great story and a
very specific vision of a place in
time and an aesthetic which we
brought to life in our design,
”
Stein says. “Using his adjectives
to describe his brewery — hygge,
mysterious and familiar —
DesignTeam Plus created a one-
of-a-kind brewery with a nod to
traveling and wanderlust.
”

Inside the new Troy brew-
ery are warm wood tones, a
reclaimed wooden box car face
that serves as the bar and timeless
bronze pendant light fixtures. The
name of the brewery, meanwhile,
Stumblebum, is a nod to wander-
lust, or the penchant to travel.

CLEVER PAIRINGS
As for the food and beverage
choices themselves, patrons will
find a variety to choose from. In
addition to plenty of craft beer,
Stumblebum Beer Co. will serve
up housemade sodas, french fry
flights with different seasonings
and dips (such as parmesan garlic
and truffle aioli), warm paninis
and, of course, its house staple of
meat and cheese.
Stumblebum Beer Co. will
also offer a Chef’s Choice rec-
ommended food and beverage
pairing that includes three chees-
es, two meats and four beers in a
flight.
“Hopefully this recommend-
ed pairing gets people used to
tasting what it is that makes beer
and cheese special,
” Green says. “I
think this is going to be unique,
and over time, people will start
to embrace the idea of exploring
beer and cheese.
”
Craft beer aficionados can also
take advantage of Stumblebum
Beer Co.
’s Mug Club, a soon-to-
be-rolled-out annual or lifetime
membership that allows special
pre-orders and perks at the brew-
ery.
A grand opening is planned
for June 15. Green is thrilled to
add the brewery to Troy’s roster
of food and beverage options, and
to bring Metro Detroit into the
small community of breweries
across the country that specialize
in beer, meat and cheese.
The reason behind the perfect
pairing is simple, Green says:
“It’s the protein content and hops
acidity.
”

Visit stumblebumbeer.com for more

information.

NOSH
EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS

Stumblebum Beer Co. serves up
creative beer and charcuterie pairings.

The
Perfect Pair

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Liz and
Eli Green

Eli
Green