The Beer Issue
Founders Brewing Co. founders Mike Stevens (left) and Dave Engbers at the location of their planned new Detroit taproom on Charlotte Street. COURTESY PHOTO
BREWS NEWS COMPILED BY REVUE STAFF
OPENING SOON:
North Channel Brewing Co. expects to open this fall. The brewery is renovating an old building on the north side of the Manistee River in downtown Manistee. They’ve also recruited a pedigreed brewer, Bill Joslyn, with 17 years of pro brewing experience. He most recently worked for Oskar Blues Brewery in North Carolina, and for Schlafly (a.k.a. Saint Louis Brewery) and Boulder Beer of Colorado before that. TwoGuys Brewing Co. in Wyoming is planning to open soon. Co-owner Tom Payne is a veteran brewer, having recently worked as brewmaster at 57 Brew Pub in Greenville. The brewery expects to offer sandwiches and other food as well, recently debuting a “killer” pulled pork burrito at a pre-opening sampler event. Brass Ring Brewing, set right in the Alger Heights neighborhood of Grand Rapids, hopes to open by Thanksgiving of this year. Owner Christopher Gibbons has been homebrewing for 10 years (while working as a local attorney) and wants to bring a strong sense of community to the brewery and the neighborhood both. Brass Ring will launch with a seven-barrel system. Eventually, Three Blondes Brewing & Restaurant plans to open in a space attached to the VanDerZee Motorplex in South Haven. The brewery is being opened by three sisters — Amanda Johnson, Carrie Troyer and Megan Zernicke — with the help of their husbands and their father, Ray VanDerZee, who owns the motorplex. The sisters hope to open hit the ground running with a 15-barrel system, a food menu and about 20 employees. Founders Brewing Co. is opening a second location in Detroit this winter, just in time to provide a safe
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haven from the cold and snow. The 14,000-square-foot facility is setting up in the Cass Corridor area and will serve some beers exclusive to its location. Guardian Brewing Co. is set to take over the historic Red Barn Playhouse near Saugatuck, with plans to open in fall 2018. Owner and head brewer Kim Collins relocated from Colorado to work on the project. She has a certificate in brewing and malting from the Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas, and previously brewed at Boulder Beer, Epic Brewing Co. in Denver, Barrels & Bottles Brewery and Wynkoop Brewing Co.
CHANGEUPS:
One of the long-time faces of New Holland Brewing Co. has stepped away from his role at the company. Fred Bueltmann, a.k.a. the “Beervangelist,” is stepping down to focus on This Craft Nation, a book project, and running his horse ranch. Arcadia Brewing Co. has closed its downtown Battle Creek location, but only to open a new downtown location early next year. Arcadia began in the space 21 years ago. Meanwhile, the headquarters and brewing operations in Kalamazoo will remain open.
RUMOR:
It’s already known that Big Lake Brewery is moving its current taproom location to downtown Holland at the former Serafino’s. However, it appears a new brewery, Hopland Brewing Co., is angling to take over Big Lake’s former location on Butternut Avenue, according to state filings. There are no details known yet about the new brewery.