MSU grad student, Jeannine Crouse, sits with her pals enjoying a pint of
Bell’s Expedition Stout during happy hour at
Crunchy’s in East Lansing. Groups gathered around tables and booths laugh and converse over pints of amber-colored ales and dark brown stouts.
This is not your typical bar scene with patrons nursing light-bodied, golden-colored macro-beers like
Budweiser and
Miller Lite. It’s an example of the Lansing area’s growing interest and enthusiasm for craft beer.
“The taste and the whole experience of drinking craft beer is just so much better than the macro-brewed, more generic beer,” says Crouse, who's been drinking and enjoying craft beer for several years.
“I really think the micro-brew has more character and is more reflective of the brewer’s character, as well.”
Small Batch BrillianceCraft beer differs from that produced by beer goliaths like
Anheuser-Busch and
Miller in that it is brewed in relatively small batches using primarily the traditional beer ingredients water, barley, hops, and yeast.
Small craft brewers place a premium on variety, character, and uniqueness; the larger brewers value efficiency and uniformity of product.
Several establishments are brewing craft beer commercially in the Lansing area, including Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub in East Lansing,
The Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum in Okemos (yes, you read that correctly), and the
Michigan Brewing Company in nearby Webberville.
The Travelers Club has the unique distinction of being the smallest official brewpub in the state (and the only one in the world with a Sousaphone fountain). Located in the heart of Okemos, The Travelers Club opened in 1982 as a restaurant specializing in authentic international cuisine. Beer and wine were added to menu in the early 1990’s, and in 1998 the the largely local-sourced restaurant officially became a brewpub.
They brew their beer one barrel (31 gallons) at a time, making the process more cumbersome and labor intensive than most other breweries.
“We have to take all of the equipment from the basement to the patio, take it out of storage, assemble it, and brew the beer,” owner Will White explains, “Then we take it all back downstairs and clean it and store it again. It’s a real hassle. And for all that work you only get one barrel of beer.
The Travelers Club doesn’t currently have enough space to keep their brewing equipment assembled year-round.
“For the same amount of labor, if you have all your brew system set in place, it would take you just as long to make fifteen times as much,” says White. “That’s why we don’t make a lot right here.”
In addition to brewing their own beer, The Traveler’s Club serves drafts of beer from other Michigan breweries, and features over 120 different types of bottled beer from around the world.
“The Travelers Club is a great example” of a place where the craft beer reflects the brewer’s character, suggests Crouse. “I really love [it], because of the atmosphere.”
Smaller is Better
Bars featuring craft beer include Crunchy’s in East Lansing and
Dusty’s Taproom in Okemos. Crunchy’s has become a hot spot for craft beer. Though they do not brew their own beer, they do feature an extensive selection of craft beer, both on tap and in bottles, and they regularly rotate their selections.
“We’ve 27 taps, only three of which are beers like Miller Lite, Labatt Blue, and Blue Light,” says Crunchy’s general manager, Paul Stewart. “I try to really focus on the beer we have here in Michigan.”
Crunchy’s also hosts the popular “Meet the Brewer Night,” usually held every other Wednesday, where brewers from around Michigan come to Crunchy’s to speak about their brews.
“Part of my job is educating the public,” Stewart says. “It gives the public a really good chance to meet the people who make craft beer. Who better to ask, ‘Why does your beer taste this way?’ and ‘Why did you make it this way?’ than the person who actually made it?”
Brewery BeatWhen talking of her favorite spots around to enjoy craft beer, Jeannine Crouse emphasizes Michigan Brewing Company of Webberville, her personal favorite.
“I love going to Michigan Brewing Company because they have such a selection of unique beers, and I love their huge samplers that you can get to get a really good idea of what the beers are like,” says Crouse.
Michigan Brewing Company regularly features 16 beers on tap, ranging in style from light lagers to imperial stouts. They also operate Things Beer, a home brewing supply store.
Harper’s Restaurant and Brewery is also another area hot spot for craft beer. In addition to year-round staples like their popular Spartan Wheat beer, Harper’s has two seasonal taps that rotate roughly every month. On Wednesdays, the place is usually packed because everything on the menu is half price.
Although the City of Lansing doesn’t currently have a brewery of its own, that may soon change.
Zander’s Old Town Brewery is tentatively scheduled to begin brewing by the end of 2008. The brewery would be located on Clinton St. in Lansing’s burgeoning Old Town neighborhood, and would feature at least seven brews.
A tasting event in January drew over 300 people, indicating strong community support for a brewery in Lansing.
Crouse, for one, is excited about the prospect of more locally brewed beers.
“I think Old Town is a great spot for a brewery, and it’s a neighborhood that has a lot of character and I think it’ll be a great place to have a brew.”
Okemos may soon be home to more locally brewed beer as well. Will White hopes to break ground by next spring on an expansion of The Travelers Club that would allow for him to permanently install brewing equipment, enabling them to brew five or six of their own beers on premises.
With dollar-sales of craft beer up nationally an astonishing 58 percent since 2004, White is optimistic about expanding his business and start brewing more beer.
“We’ve been wanting to do this for about ten years,” he says. “Now, hopefully, the time is right.”
Joshua Hagadorn is a freelance writer working in Lansing, and a self proclaimed "beer geek."
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Crunchy’s general manager, Paul Stewart
The draft beer list at Michigan Brewing Company
The crowd enjoying the craft beers at Crunchy's
A growler of Traveler's Club's craft beer
Pouring a stout draft at Michigan Brewing Company
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie