[EID Preview] First look at the new Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. production facility

The entrance of the new tasting room. All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Earlier this week, Warren-based Kuhnhenn Brewing Company made the official announcement (though I spilled the beans earlier this month) that they have purchased a new facility in Clinton Township that will enable them to significantly increase their production capacity - up to 20,000 barrels annually. (To put that in perspective, the nationally-acclaimed Russian River Brewing in SoCal has officially maxed out at 14,100 barrels annually. It's no Bell's or Founders - with production capacities of 500,000 and 340,000 barrels, respectively - but 20,000 barrels is a lot of beer.)

Kuhnhenn is already a player on a national level, having racked up plenty of awards at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup over the years (two of the largest and most prestigious beer competitions in the country and world) and getting ranked #12 in a list of the best brewers in the world by user-generated RateBeer. This new 35,000-square-foot facility, located in the former Evergreen Lawn and Landscape building on Groesbeck just south of Metro Parkway, will also allow them to significantly increase their mead production, with an estimated production of 2-3,000 barrels in the first year.

With this new production facility also comes a new tasting room and multi-season outdoor beer garden with an estimated capacity of 250-300 people. Simply put, it took them long enough to make the leap (this search for a bigger production facility has been in discussion for years), but now that they have it is LEGIT.

They expect to be open sometime in the first quarter of 2014, ideally before the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival in Grand Rapids but certainly no later than St. Patrick's Day. Equipment is already being delivered and I got a walk-through of the new space yesterday. Check it out.

This will be the three-season beer garden. 

Tasting room: south side.

Tasting room: north side. 

Part of the production area (which will be visible to the tasting room).

New tanks!

More photos here.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

All roads lead to Fight Club.

Mark Wahlberg thinks Detroit is swell and likes that one BBQ place. [Freep]

You know, the one Adam Richman called one of the best restaurants IN ALL OF AMERICA. [Kitchen Daily]

So obviously it was time for me to update this. [EID]

Wait, WHAT, Supino again? Damnit. Time for another update. (I should probably add Buddy's on there too.) [Thrillist]

I'm still waiting on my phone call to become Tyler Florence's sidekick. I almost wrote "Tyler Durden" there; how cool would THAT be? [Castles and Cooks]

ICYMI:

~La Feria's la facade is taking shape, as is the interior. [Model D]

~The Somerset CityLoft and The Detroit Shoppe pop-ups are open again on Woodward in downtown Detroit through August 24. Check them out on Thursdays during lunch for coney dogs, Better Made Snack Foods chips, and Faygo Beverages Inc. soda for $5 - every dollar benefits Summer in the City Detroit and Boll Family YMCA. [Model D]
~Pretty much slayed Mead Day coverage here. The way one would slay a dragon. Because, mead.  Also: news B. Nektar Brewery, the new Kuhnhenn production facility, and the Dragonmead expansion. BAM. [EID]

Guns + Butter is back for August, probably with less Bourdain but at least with more dates. None of which will I be in town for. C'est la vie. [G+B]

Rock City Eatery is getting ever-so-close to opening, and I will tell you this: the menu is going to blow your mind. I say that as someone who was already sold on it and has been actively pushing it to other people, as well as someone whose mind is not easily blown. For reals. [EID FB/eatsdrinksandleaves Instagram]

An update on all those West Village developments that got so much buzz when they were announced awhile back: none of them are open yet but all of them still plan on opening. The end. [Mode Shift]

After a flood from the torrential monsoon-like rains Detroit experienced for most of July forced them to shut down for a couple of weeks and do a bit of remodeling, The Bottom Line Coffee House has re-opened and have revamped their baked goods selection to provide all handmade, locally-sourced treats, plus an all-new breakfast menu with bagels, breakfast sandwiches and freshly made fruit and yogurt parfaits. [Bottom Line]

One of the best Thai places in metro Detroit (it's still glorified mall food but calling it "one of the best" in the area is simply relative to what else is out there) has opened a fast and casual concept for Midtown workers inside the Auburn Building. Go! Sy Thai is now open offering quick carry-out and dine-in service. This is their fourth location; they recently opened another Sy Thai in Troy and also operate Sy Thai Shores in St. Clair Shores. [Go! Sy Thai]

Thrillist checked out the new Jefferson House at the Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown-Convention Center and found the food, the drinks, and the ambitious young chef impressive. ‪#‎nikkisboys‬ [Thrillist]

The Dakota Inn Rathskeller is now 80 years young. [Pure Detroit]

Just to taunt us, here are construction photos of Detroit Institute of Bagels. [DRNH FB]

It's Farouk! He's as much an icon as The Rattlesnake where he works. I'm not totally convinced he always knows what's going on around him, but he's definitely always a character. [Hour Detroit]

Chazzano Coffee Roasters is looking for a bigger home in Ferndale (they definitely need one). [Crain's]

Block off August 13 so you can drive to the Disney Land of suburbia (Novi) and stuff your face at the new Cheesecake Factory. [Novi Patch]

The Stand is shaping up in Birmingham, and so far it looks like they gutted all the atrocious neon leftover from Zazio's. So that's promising. [Crain's]

This is such a great little spot in Keego Harbor. Which you would never even know about unless you had reason to be in Keego Harbor. Which you wouldn't have unless you were driving between West Bloomfield and Waterford, or actually live in Keego Harbor. Even so, Jeremy Restaurant and Bar is celebrating 10 years with a new menu with lower prices and more veggie options and whatever the hell us was in that press release. [Freep]

Meet the artisan ice creams of A2/Ypsi: Sweet Dirt, Hello! Ice Cream and Gelato, and Go Ice Cream. [AnnArbor.com]

For the most part my commenters are not the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers you find on most other sites. Yet sometimes, still sometimes, I get an outstanding example of Obfuscating Troll Logic. I made the egregious error of informing people that the new "Detroit Sandwich Shop" is in Farmington Hills and not Detroit (which the owner himself addressed in the linked story), and this is what happened. [Metromode / EID FB]

Beerie
~Serious Eats: Drinks played the "Ask a Cicerone" game once again, this time to inquire - what is the perfect summer beer? To which one responded, Berliner Weisse. You know where you can get a killer Berliner Weisse? (And to my knowledge, the only one being made locally.) Griffin Claw Brewing Company. Go there, you must. Also a dandy shout-out to Jolly Pumpkin Brewery! [Serious Eats: Drinks]

~Yes, I heart Griffin Claw. [Thrillist]

~Tickets to the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival in Eastern Market Corporation are on sale RIGHT NOW! [MBG Official]

~The Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival isn't the only beer fest happening in these parts this October. WindsorEats is hosting the first-ever Windsor Craft Beer Festival across from the recently-opened Walkerville Brewery Oct. 18-19, bringing in food and craft beers from all over Ontario. Tickets are only $25 per day; this could be a nice little primer for Beer Fest and a good way to find out what our neighbors to the south have brewing. [Windsor Eats]

~Ashley's Westland has opened their outdoor beer garden. But in Westland. So. Beer. [Detroit News]

~'tis true: the pumpkin beers have officially hit the distribution networks (Southern Tier Brewing Company has also released Pumking already so look for that one soon too, in addition to what's listed here.) It's kind of like women's retail when you can buy sweaters in the dead of summer but you can't find shorts or swimsuits. [MLive]

~Except for Rogue Ales. And they use REAL pumpkin. Grown on their own farm. And won't release their pumpkin ale until October, after they can harvest their estate-grown pumpkins and use them in their beer. Rogue, I forgive you for your Voodoo bacon maple doughnut abomination, just don't ever do it again. [Beer Pulse]

~All of this is true, including the part about me at the end. ‪#‎misbf13‬ [Mitten Brew]

~Hey, check it out, the number of craft breweries in the country has finally topped what it was back in ***1890***! o_0 [Beer Pulse]

[EID Preview] Griffin Claw Brewing Company

In the case of great minds thinking alike, my boy Nate Dawg...er, I mean, reporter Nathan Skid from Crain's...ran this preview of the new Griffin Claw Brewing Company opening next Thursday in Birmingham. Normally I'd just scrap my own plans to run something because why be part of the echo chamber, but since I already shot and edited the photos and just haven't had time to post I'll still give you my own sneak peek with some different details. If you look at mine first then his, it's kind of like a time-lapse! (My photos were taken last Friday; looks like Nate probably took his on Monday.)

So, to recap: Griffin Claw Brewing Co. is the lastest effort of the same family that owns Big Rock Chophouse and Clubhouse BFD (to be clear, each of these businesses have different owners, but they are all connected to each other by previous partnerships, marriage and blood: Bonnie LePage and Mary Nicholson own Griffin Claw; they co-own Big Rock Chophouse and the Reserve with their husbands Norman LePage and Ray Nicholson; and the LePages' son Scott LePage owns Clubhouse and Eastside Mario's).

Brewmaster Dan Rogers, who has racked up the awards since taking over as Brewmaster of Big Rock Chophouse in 2004 (see a complete list of his awards below - bear in mind, Big Rock was really just a small brewpub with no distribution and some of these awards are in the biggest categories in the biggest and most respected beer competitions in the world), is moving over to Griffin Claw along with all of Big Rock's brewing operations. All of their beer will now be under the Griffin Claw label.

Griffin Claw is a 12,000 square foot facility and most of that is the brewery (and soon, distillery - though the equipment isn't yet operational). They're looking at a 10,000 barrel production in their first year, and judging from early demand so far they've already outgrown that. Griffin Claw beers will be distributed in kegs to local restaurants, and they will also can four of their signature beers - Norm's Raggedy-Ass IPA, El Rojo Amber Ale, Grand Trunk Pilsner and Grind Line Pale Ale - for distribution to liquor stores through mega craft beer house Powers Distributing.

The taproom will have 12 draft handles with ever-rotating seasonals and speciality beers. Some of these speciality beers will also be canned but only available for purchase through the taproom. Some of what Dan has planned includes lots of Belgie beers - trippels, a Belgian stout, lots of sours (which, if you were at last year's Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti, you may be in the elite group of those of us who decided Big Rock's sours were the best beers of the bunch). Dan plans on having lots of events here, including an Oktoberfest and Winter Fest and an annual bourbon-barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout release party.

The mash filter.

The brewery is also a state-of-the-art facility, featuring a mash filter that was custom made for them. (Mash filters are rare to see in craft breweries, long the providence of the macros in American brewing. To Dan's knowledge, this is the only mash filter of its size in the country.) In layman's terms, this is an advantage in several different ways, including in the brewing of high-gravity (read: high-ABV) beers. Which, yes, he will be making. Griffin Claw will also be one of the top 10 largest breweries in the state when it opens, based on projected production.

The space was designed by Ron Rea, who has designed pretty much every restaurant in metro Detroit in recent memory, and includes communal tables inside and in the pretty pretty beer garden, which also has a fireplace and heaters to keep its season going even longer (these might just be the best seats in Birmingham).

Big Rock's Executive Chef Brian Henson, the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association's 2012 Chef of the Year, oversaw the menu at Griffin Claw. Both the atmosphere and the menu are a stark contrast to nearby Big Rock - much more casual. The menu will still be of the same high quality as its sister chophouse, just more burgers (and we're talking brisket and short ribs burgers here) than steaks. (They will have golf carts taking people back and forth between the two restaurants though, so you can have a few beers while you wait for a table at Big Rock, have a steak, then come back for more beers on the patio.)

As soon as he has all the equipment he needs, Dan will also start distilling. He'll be making a vodka from spelt and Michigan wheat, gin, rye whiskey, brandies, and absinthe - oh yes, ABSINTHE. To my own knowledge, I don't know of any other Michigan distillers making absinthe. Domestic absinthe has been known to be less than stellar (and that's assuming you like absinthe in the first place and have a palate for it), so I'm interested to see what Dan does with his. Griffin Claw will be opening a martini bar in the corner of building opposite the beer garden later this fall.

This will be the martini bar when it opens this fall.

Griffin Claw opens to the public on Thursday, July 18. The opening draft list is as follows: hefe weizen, wit bier, grind line pale ale, el rojo (red), norm’s raggedy ass ipa, go figure black ipa, platinum blonde, third rail belgian style trippel tripple, lemon shandy, saison st clair, berlinerweiss, red rock flanders red, bourbon imperial. (Emphasis added to indicate level of excitement.)

Brewmaster Dan's list of achievements while at Big Rock:

2011 Brain of Brewers
 Gold Medal - Witbier German Wheat Beer
2011 World Expo of Beer
 Gold Medal - Red Rock Flanders Red Ale
2011 Internatonal Beer Fest
 Gold Medal - White Cap Whit Belgian Farmhouse Ale
2010 & 2011 World Beer Cup
 Gold Medal - Norm’s Raggedy Ass India Pale Ale
 Silver Medal - Bonnie’s Raggedy Ass Imperial Pale Ale

2010 Great American Beer Festival
 Silver Medal - Go Figure American-Style India Pale Ale  Bronze Medal - American Brown Ale
2010 World Expo of Beer
 Gold Medal - Bonnie’s Raggedy Ass Imperial Pale Ale  Silver Medal - Norm’s Raggedy Ass India Pale Ale
 Silver Medal - Michigan Sour Cherry Tripel
 Bronze Medal - Red Rock Flanders Red Ale
2009 Great American Beer Festival
 Silver Medal - Red Rock Flanders Red Ale
2009 World Expo of Beer
 Gold Medal & Best In Show - Red Rock Flanders Red Ale  Gold Medal - Sour Cherry Tripel
 Silver Medal - Jessica’s Raggedy Ass Imperial IPA
2005 World Beer Championships
 Bronze Medal – Got Rocks Russian Imperial Stout
1998 World Beer Championships
 Gold Medal – Big Rock Scotch Ale
 Bronze Medal – Flying Buffalo Oatmeal Stout 

For more photos, view the Flickr set here.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Not the same thing.

Thank you, once again, for the overwhelming outpouring of unsolicited support via personal emails, Facebook posts and messages, and texts. This fall I plan on being a Nine Inch Nails groupie and follow them around on the festival circuit while also pursuing my dream of not being home for pretty much all of July through October. Which I think is explanation enough, but if not, this once again. [EID]

So I posted this:

OFFS. Another terrible national "breastaurant" chain is franchising throughout metro Detroit. Victor Ansara, who owns 22 Red Robin locations in MI and OH as well as two 2Booli locations and Portofino in Wyandotte, and his 4 sons (2 of which founded Burgerz, now working on their third location) have set up "Motor City Peaks LLC" and will operate 6 new Twin Peaks location. The first one could be open as early as next summer.

The press release also contained this gem: “Michigan is new territory for Twin Peaks and there’s a huge demand for this kind of concept in the Detroit area,” said Ansara. “We have a huge number of loyal sports fans here and they want a fresh, new restaurant experience and that means more televisions, great food and a fun atmosphere – that’s exactly what Twin Peaks provides.”

Well, nothing says "fresh" and "new" like a sports bar drowning in the glare of its own flatscreens tended by co-eds in micro-shorts! 

Also, fuck you for ruining Twin Peaks for me. Fuck you so hard.

And this is what happened from there.

No legal booze was bad news for Cheesecake Bistro, turns out. [Crain's]

In case you missed it:
~Craft cocktails have gone from a niche corner of the bar market to the new expectation for all discerning drinkers and drunks. Roast, The Oakland, and The Sugar House led the way, but now the local artisan distilling industry has made huge gains and a new crop of craft cocktail bars is rising up including Red Crown, The Sardine Room, Pizzeria Biga - Royal Oak, The Last Word and more. What a difference two years make, eh? [EID]

~The Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown-Convention Center opens next month, and with it The Jefferson House and Urban Cellars. Here is the very first look inside at the space and some of the menu items. Will this be the new Detroit hot spot? With a 40-seat outdoor patio (not pictured) and plans to reopen the Top of the Pontch, it most certainly could be. [EID]

~The Downtown Detroit Farmer's Market is held every Thursday from 11am-6pm in Lafayette Greens with vendors like Brother Nature Produce, Brooklyn Street Local, Detroit Bulk Company, and more. [Model D]

~Kitchen Connect, a partnership between FoodLab Detroit and Eastern Market Corporation, will soon start accepting applications for their community kitchen/business incubator partners in Osborn and SW Detroit. [Model D]

~Bike rides and barbecues and boats, blah blah blah. Here are 10 things to do this summer that aren't the same-old parks + rec round-up. (Complete with both Shakespeare and HST references.) [Metromode]

~A very sincere thank you to everyone at The Detroit Bus Company, Traffic Jam + Snug, St. Cece's Pub, El Taco Veloz, and Corridor Sausage Co. for a fantastic inaugural Eat It Detroit/DBC tour and a great Saturday afternoon, and thanks to everyone who came out! [EID FB]

The wonderful James sisters now have a permanent Detroit storefront presence with their DROUGHT juice inside the new Shinola store in Midtown, which just opened to the public on Friday. Here is an interview with co-owner Julie James. [Shinola]

The Markets of Cadillac Square started Friday, which now means we have Campus Martius Park Beach, the weekday food vendors in Campus Martius, the Downtown Farmer's Market Detroit on Thursdays and now this. Downtown Detroit is turning into a sour Skittle-colored bazaar! [Crain's]

Rodin is now open for lunch. [Rodin]

A new late-night menu starts at Imperial on July 5. Which now effectively eliminates my need for the recently-reopened Taco Bell on Woodward just north of 8 Mile. [Imperial]

Great Lakes Midtown just turned one years old. [GLC FB]

Mike Illitch continues making the dough. [MLive]

The Foodtruck Cafe is now open, for those who want all the fun of food trucks without having to deal with the the pesky impracticalities of mobile dining. Also known as a "restaurant." [Royal Oak Patch]

Looks like Bistro Joe's, located above Papa Joe's Gourmet Market in Birmingham, is also now open. Based on this lone Yelp review, it at least sounds promising. [Yelp]

Here is another story about MSU's Artisan Distilling Program with a nod to Detroit City Distillery. [Lansing State Journal]

The Sugar House got a fancy new sign. (Yes, this is news.) [EID FB]

Marcus Market in Midtown (next to the Bronx Bar) also got a fancy new sign, and this is really news because the Marcus Market is definitely not known for being fancy. Which is a nice way of saying it is known for bums hanging out in the parking lot. One EID reader implied that this is part of "the Shinola Effect." Which is sort of like the Whole Foods Effect, but more focused on aesthetics. [EID FB]

Here is an excellent story about Jim Geary and Woodbridge Pub, also known to some as a home away from home, or "third place." [Model D / Metromode]

If you missed German Park this weekend, you have two more chances to make it this summer: July 27 and August 31. [AnnArbor.com]

World's largest urban farm, Hantz Woodlands, is shaping up on the east side. [MLive]

The Fourth of July is upon us (and the Detroit fireworks have, blessedly, come and gone). Here is a guide to MOAR mortar in metro Detroit. [Daily Tribune]

Etc.
Should tipping be outlawed? As a Detroit resident, I'm not entirely convinced of the "no tips means servers won't do their jobs" counter-argument (first in the comments). Because. Um. Have you been to a lot of Detroit bars and restaurants? I rest my case. [Esquire]

I don't know what I'm more surprised about: the lengthy defense of the website people most love to hate (Yelp), or the fact that Buzzfeed ran something that wasn't a list with animated GIFs. [Buzzfeed]

Beerie
~Another day in Detroit, another pop-up biergarten. [AIA Detroit]

~I very much look forward to spending at least part of the fall in the U.P. again this year. And now someone even made a handy guidebook for me! All of the breweries + The Fitz = DONE. (Though, sadly, Upper Hand Brewery won't open until 2014. Darn it all, guess I'll have to go back again next year.) [UP Second Wave]

~Traverse City Ale Trail? Why, don't mind if I do! (Though I'd also like to see beer bars like 7 Monks Taproom and Brew Traverse City on there, as they also significantly help promote the local beer culture.) And check out the list of "soon-to-be-opened establishments:" TC will be nearly doubling its number of breweries with these! Brewery Terra Firma, Beggars Brewery, The Workshop Brewing Company, Bravo Zulu Brewing and Rare Bird Brewery and Taproom. [The Ticker]