Manitou was first brewed on June 17th 1994 making it the 1st Craft Beer in the Grand Traverse region. Traverse Brewing Company just south of Elk Rapids went on to produce this local “Mother’s Milk” for many many years. Our brewer worked at TBC for 12 years and eventually bought the brands for Brewery Terra Firma where we still brew them to the original recipes but with American yeast instead of British and w/o wheat for those with wheat allergies.