COMSTOCK PARK, MI — Two years after opening its doors, Perrin Brewing Co. is readying its first line of products for retail shelves, and the new bottles are being paired with a pointed message to the wider craft beer industry:

Don't sell bad beer.

"This is raising everyone up, not calling anyone out," said Perrin's head brewer, John Stewart, echoing a warning about quality control that took center stage at the 31st Craft Brewers Conference this spring in Colorado.

Perrin's 'Killing Craft' series.

“If people have a bad craft beer experience, it’s going to be negative for everyone.”

That’s the thrust behind Perrin’s new “Killing Craft” series, which will feature limited-run specialty beers sold in 22-ounce bottles. The first bottles in the series available to the public will land sometimes in November or early December.

It’s a significant milestone for the popular brewery, which dove headfirst into the Michigan beer industry in 2012 with a multi-million dollar setup but hasn’t yet managed to push bottles or cans through its distribution network. Perrin sold its high-end 36-head Krones bottling line shortly after opening.

The Killing Craft series, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 'craft v crafty' identity disparity within the wider beer industry, is meant to highlight the concern many veteran brewers have with the quality of product coming from a ballooning number of startups across the country.

"With so many brewery openings, the potential is there for things to start to degrade on the quality side, and we wouldn't want that to color the willingness of the beer drinker to try new brands," Brewers Association director Paul Gatza told the crowd gathered for the Craft Brewers Conference this April.

Stewart, who joined Perrin in 2012 after stints at New Holland and Saugatuck Brewing companies, took the message to heart. He’s a Grand Valley State University graduate and Michigan district chair of the Master Brewers Association of America.

Unfortunately, he said, some startups push beer through the taps that’s not ready for drinking. Maybe there are technical problems. Maybe the demand new breweries experience causes them to rush more into production. Maybe an experimental beer went wrong and the startup needs to recoup the sunk costs.

Each series label will have a statement about Perrin's mission "to support and defend craft beer from all threats, foreign & domestic, macro and nano. We will strive to accomplish this by producing clean, consistent and imaginative products.”

Stewart, Perrin creative director Terry Vanden Akker and brewery co-owner Jarred Sper acknowledged it’s a strident position for a relatively young brewery to take.

“We’re trying to be very deliberate in terms of our message,” Sper said. “It’s not a pessimistic one. It’s optimistic once you understand the mission. We’re not trying to point fingers. What this will do is cause people to point fingers at us and hold us accountable. That’s what this is all about.”

Despite the late entry into the standard distribution market, Perrin has achieved an impressive near-ubiquitous status on draft menus around West Michigan. Perrin taps are found at more than 700 locations in Michigan, Sper said, and the company is on pace to make between 12,000 and 14,000 barrels this year.

“We’re having serious discussions about (standard cans and bottles) in terms of timeline,” said Sper. “We understand it’s a viable part of the business. We’re making deliberate efforts to get it right this time.”

Previous Coverage:

• September 2012 interview with Randy Perrin

• Star brewer moves on; bottle distribution on hold at Perrin

Killing Craft is actually the second series of bottled beer Perrin has made. The company sells a new series of 750-ml sour beers only at the taproom, 5190 Comstock Park Drive.

Perrin will distribute 900 12-bottle cases of each new Killing Craft brand, Sper said.

The first distributed beers will be an Imperial Russian stout and an English-style barleywine. Both will be aged in Van Winkle Family Reserve bourbon barrels.

Perrin is waiting on label approval for both beers, which will only be sold in Michigan.

Garret Ellison covers business, government and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram