PaddleforPints_Map2015.jpg

Paddle For Pints map, 2015.

(Courtesy)

Update: 2016 dates

TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- How many places are there in the U.S. where can someone paddle a kayak between six different breweries? Well, there's at least one.

On Saturday, Paddle For Pints launches its first wave in Traverse City. The staggered event, to be held eight times through the summer, has swelled from an informal gathering organized through social media to a ticketed outing for 1,500 and counting over the past three years.

Troy Daily, owner of the TC Ale Trail brewery tour business, started the event in 2013.

Growing popularity has caused the paddle to sell out of kayak rentals, so anyone interested in buying a $35 ticket this year would need to bring their own.

Tickets include some event swag, a guide and "an awesome time," said Daily. Laws restrict the event from selling beer tickets.

"Everyone drinks as much or as little as they want on the tour," he said.

The first event, June 6, starts behind The Filling Station microbrewery, where kayakers will launch from Hull Park and paddle west toward Right Brain Brewery, located at the end of 16th Street near the western shore of Boardman Lake.

From there, paddlers will make stops at Brewery Ferment, Rare Bird Brewpub, North Peak Brewing and the Workshop Brewing Co. downtown. Other stops include the National Cherry Festival beer tent on July 6 and 8.

The tour includes overland walking between certain breweries and the event's Boardman River and West Grand Traverse Bay portages. Each wave includes about 100 people, Daily said. There are cleared areas for kayaks at each stop.

The event repeats on June 27, July 6, 8, 18, 25, Aug. 8 and 15.

Daily hopes to continue growing the event, land some sponsorships and build something that "helps the community, the river and all the breweries."