[Model D] Detroit City Distillery receives approval from the city, aims at spring 2014 opening

After a five-month-long process requiring two public hearings, Detroit City Distillery has been approved as a distillery by the City of Detroit.

Detroit City Distillery is a partnership between seven young professionals who are also long-time homebrewers and distillers. At the center of it is distiller J.P. Jerome, a Ph.D. in microbiology, and Michael Forsyth, manager of retail development for the DEGC and director of the REVOLVE Detroit program. The distillery will be in a 2,700 square foot space at 2462 Riopelle St. in Eastern Market, a former slaughterhouse.

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The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Totally rocking Pure Detroit duds. I lift Detroit with my boobs.

So I was on the Food Network's "Food Court Wars" and wrote this about winning contestants Chip 'N Wich. And also I was on the Food Network. That's me standing next to Tyler Florence, right there^. He smells nice. [EID]

Detroit is so hot right now. "Chuck's Eat the Street" was in town filming last week and hit La Palma in Dearborn, Hygrade Deli in Southwest, and Mercury Burger Bar in Corktown. Dear Chuck, please note I am available for future sidekickery duties. [Detroit News]

Summer Beer Fest was super fun; let's do it again! Like, for example, on October 25 and 26. Tickets to the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival go on sale August 1. [MBG Official]

Oh, but first MBG Prez Eric Briggeman on what makes Summer Beer Fest so durn special. (Aside from Campus Dark Horse and their 99 beers. True story.) [Freep]

And the best of fest goes to: Griffin Claw Brewing Company for their Berliner Weiss, a sour session beer only 3.5% ABV and the best beer of Summer Beer Fest 2013. Bless you, Dan Roberts. [EID]

Of course, it wouldn't be a Beer Fest if Reactionary Larry didn't make some noise. This time it was about the Guild's support of PAC. Read his explanation here, then read my dialogue and reader commentary here. Then, after making a big stinky-stink about taking his ball and going home, Larry Bell then announced somewhat undramatically that they would be attending after all and not another word was said about it because, really, why? [EID / MLive]

Saying it again just so I can say I was FIRST to say it: as mead becomes the next craft beverage of choice, Michigan is very much leading the way. Three of the top 10 meaderies listed here are from metro Detroit: Kuhnhenn Brewing Co., B. Nektar, and Schramm's Mead. Also, National Mead Day is this Saturday and B. Nektar is celebrating with their Summer Mead Fest and five-year anniversary party, while Motor City Brew Tours will be touring all of the above meaderies and more (more = Dragonmead). [Real Food Kitchens]

Canadian man says "Soorry" about getting drunk and swimming across the Detroit River, becomes local hero. [Gawker]

ICYMI:
~Pie-Sci will be opening their very own storefront next to Woodbridge Pub. Not included in this story: the "pizza glory hole" the Pie-Sci guys are working on with Jim Geary. [Model D]
~MotorCity Wine said they'd be relocating in August, and whaddya know, this week is August. Check them out in their new space starting this Friday! [Model D / EID]
~If you're interested in urban farming initiatives and food justice in the city of Detroit, check out The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), an ambitious undertaking over on the North End. [Model D]

A new food truck called Shimmy Shack is hitting the streets, serving an all-vegan menu of sliders, shakes, and fries (the first all-vegan food truck in Michigan). Also, the truck was designed by Ren and Stimpy animator John Kricfalusi. I kid you not. [Ferndale Patch]

No, what is good for Chicago is NOT good for Detroit. What is good for Chicago is good for Chicago and should stay there. [Detroit News]

Been a lot of these kinds of stories lately, and now here is the Freep's version. So, to recap, local artisan distilling is a thing now. Valentine Distilling Co., Two James Spirits, etc. [Freep]

Rap and Noodles. A new monthly at Green Dot Stables. [GDS FB]

A beautiful and a bit tear-jerky story about Peteet's Famous Cheesecakes. It would seem a bit superficial to endcap this with "Tuesday is National Cheesecake Day and Peteet's is giving away free cheesecake," but so it is. [Crain's / Royal Oak Patch]

Have you checked out the weekday vendors at Campus Martius Park yet? Aside from the usual suspects (El Treat Dreamso), there is also this falafel stand. [Hell Yeah Detroit]

Amanda Brewington of Always Brewing Detroit on the old "why Detroit" question. [Vimeo]

What, did you think a little bankruptcy was going to stop the construction of a new $450 million downtown hockey arena built with bonds? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA [Crain's]

Skidmore Studio decided to make a video about their fave lunch spot Steve's Detroit Deli so that others will know about it and enjoy it too. (It's a bit tongue-in-cheek.) [YouTube]

According to Nerd Travel, Ann Arbor is one of the best destinations for green travel. Also, they have beer there. [Nerd Travel]

Here's a nice story about artisan distilling in the Traverse City area, the history of distilling in the Grand Traverse region and how the existing local industries helped it evolve. [Record Eagle]

Forbes goes deep on the Detroit grocery store controversy, or whatever. Anyhoo, the 8 Mile Meijer opened. [Forbes]

And they, too, got their own special beer from Atwater Brewery. [Market Watch]

Mobile food cart for sale! Only $12 *THOUSAND*. Not hundred, as I originally posted on Facebook when it was 5:30am in Vegas when I scheduled it to post and I was working on about six hours of sleep over a 36-hour period and about to spend the next 15 hours in a car and on planes. Apologies and thanks for understanding! [Craigslist]

Oversized lawn games! Placemaking! Beach Blanket Bingo! Er, no, but a beach bar. Here's a nice roundup of the various things being done by the Riverwalk, Campus Martius, and other parks to, um, get people to go there and hang out, basically. [Crain's]

Restaurants in rest stops would be really, really awesome you guys. [Detroit News]

"Oh hey look guys, this octopus only has 6 tentacles!" "Hahaha WEIRD!" *smash smash smash* [io9]

Beerie
~I love so many things about this I don't even know where to start. Thank you, First We Feast, for putting this "Headbangers Brew" (!!!) list together. Craft beer is toooootally metal. [FWF]

~"Take the Black Stout" will be the new Game of Thrones beer from Ommegang. [BeerPulse]

Also wine
~Bryan Ulbrich of Left Foot Charley Wine and Lee Lutes of Black Star Farms are among the top 100 most influential winemakers in the U.S. It wasn't until very recently that Michigan wines were easily dismissed by wine connoisseurs and the region simply wasn't taken seriously; Bryan and Lee have both played significant roles in changing that. [Into Wine]

[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.