Winter Beer Festival 2014

Nick Hinz, left, and Cecilia Osmolski party at the Michigan Brewers Guild's 2014 Winter Beer Festival at Fifth Third Ballpark.

(MLive file photo | Chris Clark)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - This, my friends, is a classic case of being crippled by choice: The 2015 Winter Beer Festival will feature 1,035 beers from 103 breweries, a new numerical pinnacle for the 10-year-old event.

Of those 103 breweries, 15 are new to the event (or didn't participate in 2014). Also worth noting, due to the festival's expansion to two days, some of those 1,035 beers will only be available one day or the other; the full list at the Michigan Brewers Guild website notes which brews will be available when.

In other words, that absurd dream some of us have, where we taste every beer at the fest, is even more ridiculous and impossible (and stupid?) than before. Which means you have some difficult decisions to make regarding what you want to sample - and that's where I hope to be of some service. I've divvied up the brewery list by area and by who's new this year, so you can either give a new brewer a shot, or check out a brew from a far-away corner of Michigan you rarely visit:

The newbies:

B. Nektar Meadery (Ferndale)

Black Lotus Brewing Co. (Clawson)

Cheboygan Brewing Co. (Cheboygan)

Elk Brewing (Grand Rapids)

Eternity Brewing Co. (Howell)

Fetch Brewing Co. (Whitehall)

Final Gravity Brewing Co. (Decatur)

Grand River Brewery (Jackson)

Mountain Town Brewing Co. (Mt. Pleasant)

Northport Brewing (Northport)

Old Mill Brewpub and Grill (Plainwell)

One Well Brewing Co. (Kalamazoo)

Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. (Muskegon)

Railtown Brewing Co. (Caledonia)

Rupert's Brew House (Kalamazoo)

Sleepwalker Spirits and Ale (Lansing)

Territorial Brewing Co. (Springfield)

Tibbs Brewing Co. (Kalamazoo)

Traffic Jam and Snug (Detroit)

The rest of the breweries, by area:

Grand Rapids/West Michigan:

57 Brew Pub and Bistro (Greenville)

Big Lake Brewing Co. (Holland)

The B.O.B.'s Brewery (Grand Rapids)

Brewery Vivant (Grand Rapids)

Cellar Brewing Co. (Sparta)

Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids)

Grand Rapids Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids)

Gravel Bottom Brewery (Ada)

Harmony Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids)

Hideout Brewing Company (Grand Rapids)

Hopcat (Grand Rapids)

Jaden James Brewery (Kentwood)

The Mitten Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids)

New Holland Brewing Co. (Holland)

Odd Side Ales (Grand Haven)

Old Boys' Brewhouse (Spring Lake)

Osgood Brewing (Grandville)

Our Brewing Co. (Holland)

Perrin Brewing Co. (Comstock Park)

Pike 51 Brewing Co. (Hudsonville)

Rockford Brewing Co. (Rockford)

Schmohz Brewing Company (Grand Rapids)

Unruly Brewing Co. (Muskegon)

Vander Mill (Spring Lake)

Walldorff Brewpub and Bistro (Hastings)

White Flame Brewing Co. (Hudsonville)

Detroit/Ann Arbor:

51 North Brewing Co. (Lake Orion)

Arbor Brewing Co. (Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti)

Atwater Brewery (Detroit)

Blue Tractor BBQ and Brewery (Ann Arbor)

Chelsea Alehouse (Chelsea)

Cotton Brewing Co. (Adrian)

Detroit Beer Co. (Detroit)

Dragonmead Brewery (Warren)

Great Baraboo Brewing Co. (Clinton Township)

Griffin Claw Brewing Co. (Birmingham)

Grizzly Peak Brewing Co. (Ann Arbor)

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales (Dexter)

Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. (Warren)

Liberty Street Brewing Co. (Plymouth)

MIP Brewery (Royal Oak)

Motor City Brewing Works (Detroit)

Rochester Mills Beer Co. (Rochester)

Royal Oak Brewery (Royal Oak)

Sherwood Brewing Company (Shelby Township)

Unity Vibration (Ypsilanti)

Witch's Hat Brewing Co. (South Lyon)

Wolverine State Brewing Co. (Ann Arbor)

Woodward Avenue Brewers (Ferndale)

Lansing/Mid-Michigan:

BAD Brewing Co. (Mason)

Cranker's Brewery (Big Rapids)

Eaglemonk Pub and Brewery (Lansing)

Frankenmuth Brewing Co. (Frankenmuth)

Northern Lower Michigan:

Beards Brewery (Petoskey)

Big Buck Brewery and Steakhouse (Gaylord)

Brewery Ferment (Traverse City)

Brewery Terra Firma (Traverse City)

The Filling Station Microbrewery (Traverse City)

Jamesport Brewing Co. (Ludington)

North Peak Brewing Co. (Traverse City)

Petoskey Brewing Co. (Petoskey)

Right Brain Brewery (Traverse City)

Short's Brewing Company (Bellaire)

Stormcloud Brewing Company (Frankfort)

Upper Peninsula:

Blackrocks Brewery (Marquette)

Ore Dock Brewing Co. (Marquette)

Southwest Michigan:

Arcadia Ales (Battle Creek)

Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo)

Boatyard Brewing Co. (Kalamazoo)

Dark Horse Brewing Co. (Marshall)

Gonzo's BiggDogg Brewing (Kalamazoo)

Greenbush Brewing Co. (Sawyer)

Latitude 42 Brewing Co. (Portage)

The Livery (Benton Harbor)

Olde Peninsula Brewpub and Restaurant (Kalamazoo)

Paw Paw Brewing Co. (Paw Paw)

Pleasant House Brewing Company (Three Oaks)

Round Barn Brewery (Baroda)

Saugatuck Brewing Company (Douglas)

Tapistry Brewing (Bridgman)

Flint/Saginaw area:

Midland Brewing Co. (Midland)

Redwood Brewing Company (Flint)

Tri-City Brewing (Bay City)

John Serba is film critic and entertainment reporter for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jserba@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.