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

