There’s a new brew in town. Or, more accurately, three new brews.

The shelves of local beer purveyors are now stocking six-packs of the distinctively retro “stubbies” containing Diabolical India Pale Ale, Siren Amber Ale, and Majestic Wheat Ale. For some time, these beers have been available both on draft and in bottles at Jolly Pumpkin Café & Brewery, 311 S. Main.

But whence cometh these brewskis? The labels say “North Peak Brewing Company,” although that’s not entirely accurate. The beers aren’t actually made at the brewpub of the same name in Traverse City (the sister establishment of Ann Arbor’s Grizzly Peak), but a little further north, at Bowers Harbor Inn on the Old Mission Peninsula, by a brewer named Mike Hall.

And who is Mike Hall? He’s part of Northern United Brewing, the parent company of Jolly Pumpkin that contract brews bottled beers for the North Peak and (beginning in 2010) Grizzly Peak brewpubs.

But that’s not even close to his whole story. Hall boasts of building more than 50 brewing systems around the country, including Grizzly Peak’s, and training more than 200 brewers, including Sam Calagione at Delaware’s Dogfish Head, whose brews are widely admired among beer nerds. He’s worked as a brewer for 23 years in places as diverse as London, England; Portland, Maine; and, most recently, Saratoga Springs, New York.

In short, the guy knows a little bit about beer. (With a degree in fine art, he also knows enough to have helped design the labels for the beers. Before that, he studied pre-med, so he may have a solution to rising health care costs, too. I wouldn't rule anything out.)

“I first learned about brewing from my dad when I was 13,” he says. “He was a homebrewer in Nova Scotia and he taught me a lot.”

Hall’s dad in fact figured into the decision to use the beers’ retro bottles. “[Grizzly Peak and North Peak owner] Jon [Carlson] and I talked about how we remembered our dads drinking out of those short little bottles back in the day,” Hall says. “We thought it would be neat to bring them back.”

“The product inside is the most important part, of course, and Mike achieved the goal of great beer,” notes Carlson. “We just wanted to wrap up the golden liquid in a little bit of old-school style.”

Yeah, so about that golden liquid. Diabolical India Pale Ale (by far my favorite of the three) is so named because it weighs in at 6.66% ABV (alcohol by volume) and 66.6 IBUs (international bittering units, a measure of a beer’s hoppiness). 666: Get it? The nose is citrusy, with a taste of Cascade, Vanguard, and Willamette hops in the body. Great for those who appreciate a bitter beer but prefer more balance than today’s trendy Super Mega Triple X-Treme Hopsmash ales offer.

Siren Amber Ale is a slightly sweet, mildly hopped (20 IBUs) brew in the classic style, offering a hint (but just a hint) of roasted malt. At an easygoing 5% ABV, it’s a good, inoffensive choice when you’re trying to introduce friends who don’t know any better to craft beer.

Lastly, the Majestic Wheat Ale is a straightforward, 5.5% ABV American wheat with a clean and crisp taste and an ever-so-slight hop finish. Not my favorite style, but like the Siren Amber, it’s a good beer to use to help wean friends off of drinking awful Budmillercoors stuff.

Moral of the story: When it comes to beer, more is not less, more is more. And three more choices of good, local beer are truly something to be thankful for. Plus, hey, those bottles are pretty awesome. Right, Dad? Cheers, my beer-drinking friends!

David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest. Email your beer-related thoughts to annarborbeer@gmail.com.