Jolly Pumpkin founder remembered as ‘wicked smart’ pioneer in beer brewing

— The craft beer brewing industry lost a pioneer with the recent death of Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales founder Ron Jeffries.

Jeffries and his wife Laurie Jeffries founded Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter in 2004. It expanded to several additional locations across the state in Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing and Traverse City.

Longtime friend and business partner Tony Grant said Jeffries was "a Renaissance man" who was "wicked smart."

Jeffries "set new categories, new trends in the industry," Grant, CEO and CFO of Northern United Brewing Co., said. "And he would do it all the time."

Northern United Brewing Co. formed in 2008, bringing together Jolly Pumpkin, North Peak Brewing Co., and Grizzly Peak Brewing Co., where Jeffries had been a brewer.

"Ron was really the creativity, the passion," he said. "He was just such a beautiful mind. He had a way of coming up and knowing enough to be able to source and find ingredients and different tastes, things that would surprise people."

Crafting sour beers was his niche.

"There wasn't a sour beer category in the U.S., anywhere, for medals, competitions," Grant said. "He really started it."

His legacy extends much farther than the brewery, Grant said.

Jeffries was a founding member of the Michigan Brewers Guild. He also collaborated and educated brewers from across the country and overseas and helped others launch breweries.

"His willingness to give back to people with his time and his knowledge was tremendous," Grant said. "There are countless brewers and breweries across the country that started because of his help."

He also remembers his friend as a "quirky, funny" guy with wit "off the charts."

"He was also just the most caring, giving, loving individual, too," he said.

Son Daemon Jeffries confirmed his father's death in a Facebook post on Monday, Sept. 30.

"It is with heavy hearts that we remember Ron Jeffries, a loving husband and father, who touched the lives of many with his passion and creativity," Daemon Jeffries wrote in the post.

Jeffries is survived by his son, wife Laurie Jeffries and daughter-in-law Ashley Megan.

"Ron was not only a loving family man but also a creative genius and lifelong learner," Daemon Jeffries wrote in the post.

Ron and Laurie Jeffries had moved to Hawaii and worked on a brewery before his death.

"In his final year, Ron fulfilled the lifelong dream of moving to Hawaii where he eagerly worked on his family brewery," Daemon Jeffries wrote in a portion of the post. "He was excited about what the future was bringing to the world with Hilo Brewing Company/Holoholo Brewing. He cherished moments spent on his lanai, soaking in the Hilo rain with a pint in hand."

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