[Metromode] Fermenta galvanizes women in Michigan's craft beverage industry

ANGIE WILLIAMS AT GRIFFIN CLAW BREWERY - DAVID LEWINSKI PHOTOGRAPHY

As a writer and a woman, I tend to feel a bit uneasy about writing about women in various industries in a way that is pointedly exclusive of men. "Listicles" proclaiming "Top 10 Female Brewers" irk me endlessly – why can't it just be "Top 10 Brewers" with a mix of men and women? The separate designation is akin to saying that women aren't really good enough to hold their own against men, thus necessitating their own special "lady list."

Read more.

[NEWS BITES] Pedal-powered brewery coming to Detroit

Aaron and Shawn Grose have a crazy idea. They want to open a nanobrewery in Detroit - that's not the crazy part (based on the response Batch Brewing Co. has received, there is a mega market for nano beer in this city). No, the crazy part is that they aim to make the entire brewery operation 100% pedal-powered.

It makes sense, what with Detroit's exploding cycling scene and the symbiotic relationship that seems to exist between beer and bikes.

So here's how it will work: customers will come in and ride bikes (think of them like the stationary bikes at the gym) and create pedal power. That power is then used to power the brewing equipment, so, essentially, pedalers are actually helping to brew the beer themselves. (And how often can you really say that?)

Of course, you're not obligated to contribute your personal pedal power; you can just come in and drink like at a normal brewery. But those who pedal receive membership accounts with an escalating point system to get discounts, merchandise, and other freebies. AND, if enough pedal power is produced, their utility costs will be significantly lower, making the beer significantly cheaper. Everybody wins!

Their pedal-powered brewery concept is called Windmill Pointe Brewing Company, named after Windmill Pointe in Grosse Pointe. Aaron and Shawn are both Grosse Pointe natives and the name not only pays homage to the harvested energy of a windmill, but also to Detroit's history (Windmill Pointe was first settled by French farmers and the whole area was filled with ribbon farms). All of the beer they will brew will have names that refer back to some piece of local history. Both are avid home-brewers and long-time industry vets.

They do not yet have a location for Windmill Pointe Brewing but would ideally like to be located in Eastern Market. This February they will host a private tasting party and fundraiser kick-off featuring their home brews where they hope to be able to use their pedal power technology (which they're still figuring out) to brew a five-gallon batch right then and there. To start out, they need to have about 20 bikes to power a 2.5-barrel system.

It's still very much in the early stages so it's far too soon to say anything definite - right now it's still just two dudes brewing beer in their garage - but the concept is certainly promising and it will be interesting to see how it develops after the holidays. They would like to open sometime in 2014.

[Fox News] Fall foliage road trip along Michigan's Upper Peninsula

At the top of Brockway Mountain on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

Fall colors are as short-lived as they are glorious. While there's no shortage of beautiful mountain ranges, national forests, and wooded shorelines in the U.S. to enjoy this season, Michigan's Upper Peninsula offers some of the most rugged terrain and diverse natural scenery you'll find anywhere. A driving tour across the U.P., as it's known, will let you take in all of the stunning scenery, outdoor recreation opportunities, and delicious food and beer.

The U.P. is vast. It stretches some 384 miles from east to west, and has 4,300 inland lakes and 1,700 miles of shoreline on three Great Lakes. Much is forest, so you'll be able to take in all of the reds, oranges, golds, and greens of the season.

Read more.

Want to see more? View over 200 fall photos taken last year in the U.P. here. 

[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.

[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.

[HOT LIST] Michigan Craft Beer Month - Summer beers

It's July, which means it's summer (in theory), and also that it's Michigan Craft Beer Month. Now, if there's one thing all beeries can count on as reliably as death and taxes, it's that one (and usually several) of Michigan's top breweries are going to make it on to some somethingsomeonesomewhere's list of "best beers for MAKING A LIST WITH." Like this one, for example: summer's best beach beers! ZOMGZFOUNDERZZZZZ!!!!

Which is swell. Really. It is. Lists are great! But the feasibility of actually getting your hands on any Founders Rubaeus this summer is about as likely as winning a $300 million jackpot (though some hardcore beer trolls out there would probably find it equally as exciting).

And that is the fault of many of these ZOMGZBEERLISTZZZ out there: they usually only focus on the ultra-rare, ultra-limited releases that, hell, most of their readers don't even live in a state where the brand is distributed, much less stand a shot of getting their hands on any. And what's the fun in that? "Here is a list of awesome things you will never, ever try!" Ah, slideshow journalism as powered by Google.

Here is a list you can actually use. These Michigan beers are in wide release (some are high-production seasonals; others are year-round) and readily available for your drinking enjoyment. And since it's summer, and bourbon barrel-aged barleywines and the like just don't make any damn sense in the dead of summer, I'm sticking to summer-friendly beers as close to sessionability (defined as 4.0%ABV and lower) as local brewers seem willing to make.

#1 New Holland
There will come a day when New Holland is as popular as Founders and Short's and Bell's, and their specialty beers will be just as hard to come by. This will be both a happy and a sad day: happy for them, sad for me. But for now, we can still enjoy all the beers this stellar brewery puts out as if they were brewed just for us. Mainstays include Full Circle (an excellent kolsch, 4.9%ABV), Mad Hatter IPA (hoppy, 5.25%ABV), Sundog (amber, 6.0%ABV), and Monkey King (a superb saison, 6.6%ABV). Seasonals include the full Hatter series (the White Hatter, a Belgian-style white pale ale clocking in at 5.5%ABV, is probably the most popular), and the newly-relaunched Paleooza, a Michigan pale ale (5.6%ABV).

#2 Brewery Vivant
Brewery Vivant follows Belgian brewing traditions, which means there are certainly some heavy-hitters in their lineup. But their year-round releases are also some of the best drankin' beers around. Sold in four-packs of 16-oz. cans, they also make good travelers for summertime boating and camping and stuff-some-beer-in-your-backpack biking trips. Farm Hand is a French-style farmhouse ale and highly drinkable at 5.0%ABV, while Triomphe is a Belgian-style IPA - which means it isn't the hoppy cock-punch of your typical American IPA, but has a more gentle, pleasant hoppiness (reminds me of black teas). It's 6.5%ABV though, so not exactly poundable.

#3 Bell's Brewery
Say whatever you want about Bell's (they rule, they suck, Larry's a dick, whatever), their summer beer suite is second to none. And actually, their most summer-friendly beers happen to be the ones they make year-round. There's the Amber (a simple and tasty amber ale, 5.8%ABV), the Pale Ale (a classic, 5.2%ABV), Third Coast Beer (a hoppy ale with a modest 4.8%ABV), Lager of the Lakes (in the tradition of Bohemian-style pilsners, 5.0%ABV), Oarsman (a real-and-true sour-ish session beer made from sour mash and only 4.0%ABV), and the ubiquitous Oberon (their summer seasonal wheat ale, 5.8%ABV).

#4 MillKing It Productions
Remember when craft beer in a can was super-weird and everyone wondered if it would really work and if it was any good and if it was going to last? Well, MillKing It Productions was the first in the area to adopt aluminum, and now it's so much a THING that it's not even a thing anymore. While their product lineup has expanded quite a bit in the last three-ish years, their original lineup of AXL Pale Ale (5.2%ABV) and BRIK Irish Red (5.2%ABV) are still some of the best local go-to beers.

#5 Keweenaw Brewing Co
Is it any coincidence that three of the top five breweries on this list distribute in cans? Well...yes, it really is just a coincidence, but still one worth noting, if for no other reason that just to say, "Huh, that's funny. What a coincidence." ANYWAY. So Keweenaw's Widow Maker Black Ale (5.2%ABV) is a great chuggin' beer, as is their Pick Axe Blonde (4.7%). We don't see a lot of Yooper beers down here under the bridge, so these Keweenaw brews are a real treat. Nothing XTREME about them; just pop the tab and drink.

Bubbling under Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca (4.8%ABV) + Luciernaga (6.5%ABV), Atwater Grand Circus IPA (4.2%ABV), Founders All Day IPA (4.7%ABV), Arbor Brewing Co. Sacred Cow IPA (6.8%ABV) + Bollywood Blonde (6.0%ABV), Rochester Mills Cornerstone IPA (7.0%ABV), Greenbush Sunspot (6.0%ABV), Saugatuck Brewing ESB Amber (5.5%ABV) + Oval Beach Blonde Ale (5.0%ABV), Crankers Bulldog Red (5.1%ABV) + Torchlight (4.9%ABV)

[Real Detroit] Falling Down Beer Company

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

Let's just get this out of the way: yes, there is a brewery opening in Warren that is called Falling Down Beer Company. Yes, this is actually its name. Yes, it is meant as a joke – an inside joke, in fact, referring to a time co-owner Mark Larson tripped after having a beer and his friends from that point forward forevermore would jokingly ask if he was "falling down drunk yet" after one beer.

So how's that for an origins story? Not quite X-Men: First Class, but as far as anecdotes go this will definitely be a good one to share with all of the new friends you will surely make once Falling Down Beer Company opens to the public on 3/29.

Read more.

[EID Feature] Have Beer, Will Travel: Falling Down Beer Company Opens March 29

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

One of the things that has particularly impressed me about Falling Down Beer Company is not their beer. I haven't even had any of it yet. In fact, hardly anyone has, save for a few mug club members and friends and family of the owners. What has impressed me is the strong following they've been able to build – over 3,700 followers on Facebook alone – before they even opened their doors.

There is a lot of talk in the media about the power of social media for small businesses. Some of it is pat; puerile even. As one media friend of mine has noted, careers in social media are the new pyramid scheme: one social media expert teaches others who want to teach others how to be social media experts and then you just Tweet social media tips to people who then re-tweet them to their followers, and so on. It's a silly reality of our nü economy and one that has yet to be fully vetted for its long-term reliability as both marketing tool and career plan, as there has yet to be a social media platform that has proven itself to be long-term sustainable. Will people flee Facebook the way they mass-exited MySpace when things just got too Blingee? Only time will tell.

But in the here and now of 2013, Facebook is arguably the best way to build and reach an audience. And Falling Down Beer Co. has been able to do that exceedingly well, considering they're not even open yet.

When I sat down to talk with co-owner Mark Larson about how exactly he was able to amass such a strong following in advance of opening their doors, I found out that Larson actually has a marketing degree, though he currently works in IT (in addition to now owning a brewery). "I'm the sole marketer [of Falling Down]. I'm actually using the degree I've never used!" he jokes.

His strategy was pretty intuitive: get friends and family to like the page first. Then he spent $100 on Facebook ads targeted to over-21 craft beer drinkers in Warren and surrounding areas. He started liking and interacting with other brewery pages, reached out to the journalists and beer bloggers, posted to fan pages like the Detroit Red Wings and 97.1 to increase visibility to other potential fans (and Warren is definitely a Red Wings/97.1 kind of town). The rest has all been keeping their Facebook community constantly updated with photos of the bar in progress, the brewing process, the building permit, photos and regular updates to engage their audience. All in all they spent $100 (from which they got about 500 new fans) and are already a known name in the southeastern Michigan craft beer community without even tapping their first public keg.

Another innovative strategy they implemented prior to opening was selling mug club "founding members" memberships in advance of opening. Founding memberships weren't cheap ($125) but the 82 people who bought one received a lot of incentives other mug club programs don't offer, including six growler fills, T-shirts, and invitations to private events. (The mug clubbers, most of which live in or near Warren, have already tried the Ninja Chicken and Beaver beers.) And there was also an Indiegogo campaign early last summer, too.

Mark Larson (left) and George Lang, owners of Falling Down Beer Co.

Mark and his founding partner George Lang (who also works a day job in IT) started out as homebrewers. Their home-brewed beers gained a following amongst their friends and family and they started getting requests for kegs, so it made sense to start a brewery. "IT started as a hobby, so now I'm working two hobbies!" says Mark. As the saying goes, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. (It also helps that Mark and George are both telecommuters, which is an ideal situation for anyone trying to juggle multiple careers at once – take it from someone who does exactly that.)

During their due diligence phase, they reached out to several cities. Warren happened to offer the best location, an old ice cream shop and diner (that looks like it was probably a Big Boy's before that) located right by the Hazel Park racetrack. It's not glamorous, because nothing in Warren is, but there is an established base of beer geek culture here that cannot be denied – Kuhnhenn Brewing Company and Dragonmead Microbrewery, both also located in Warren, have a devout following, and despite the fact that neither of them produce enough beer for any level of significant distribution, both are known names in craft beer throughout the Midwest region and are multi-time national award winning breweries.

In fact, when Mark started doing his research, he actually found the location to be quite ideal. "I used Short's in Bellaire and Witch's Hat in South Lyon as case studies," he says. "Look at Witch's Hat: they're in South Lyon and hard to get to, but they had a line out the door for the first three months. It was crazy. I knew so many people who ran out there and made the trip [just to check it out]. And there's Dark Horse in Marshall, in the middle of nowhere, and it's always packed."

Agreed. Beeries have most certainly established "Have beer, will travel" as a code of ethics.

"We also liked this spot because it's right off the freeway, it's a straight shot to Ferndale, and Chrysler and GM are nearby." Warren is also metro Detroit's largest suburb and the third largest city (by population) in Michigan. Bottom line: there's plenty of thirsty people out there.

Falling Down Beer Company opens to the public on Friday, March 29. In next week's issue of Real Detroit Weekly I'll have more information for you about the beer they'll be serving (like the Ninja Chicken and Beaver beers noted above), the origin of their name, their long-term plans for distribution and their commitment to all things Michigan-made, but I do so very much hate to repeat myself so you'll just have to keep your peepers peeled for that.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here.

[NEWS BITES] Royal Oak to Welcome Monk: Belgian Beer Abbey, Craft and Bastone Brewery expansion this Spring

Remember when I first told you about Monk back in December? Well, here is the full press release (including more news about Bastone expanding and basement lounge Commune being re-branded as Craft), which you are probably about to see get re-posted a LOT.

Something big is brewing at the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Royal Oak this spring. Restaurants that have won over customers for years are transforming or expanding – all in the name of craft beer.

Café Habana will make way for Monk, a Belgian Beer Abbey. Commune Lounge will become Craft, and Bastone Brewerywill expand to two levels. Vinotecca will feature a new wine and food menu. All locations are part of Union Brewery, LLC., whose owners invested $300,000 to make these changes possible and to improve the overall experience at each venue. All three projects are expected to be completed and open spring 2013.

On Feb. 24, and after nine successful years, Café Habana closed its doors, allowing the owners to develop the space as Monk.

“It wasn’t without hesitation that we closed Café Habana,” said David Ritchie, operating partner, Union Brewery, LLC. “Café Habana has always had very solid sales, but we decided to move forward with our plan to strengthen the Belgian theme that Bastone Brewery was built on.”

Loyal Café Habana customers can look forward to future plans that include a new, bigger space elsewhere in Royal Oak.

In the meantime, newcomer Monk will offer a deep, rich monastery feel with wood that will reach 10 feet high along its walls. A lantern style lighting package will accentuate the natural color scheme.

Monk will follow a similar layout to Café Habana, but will feature new banquettes and tables. Other changes include: new doorways, an expanded kitchen, a new sit-down counter and flat screen TV’s.

Seating capacity will remain the same inside, but Monk will add a new outdoor patio with 36 seats along Fifth Street.

Monk’s menu will offer unique chef-created burgers, mussels, frites, and waffle sandwiches. In addition to serving Bastone Brewery’s Belgian style craft beer, guests can expect an extensive bottled Belgian beer list as well as French wine selections.  Monk will open every day at 4 p.m. for dinner only.

Next door, the Bastone Brewery expansion will add 1,500 square feet to Bastone’s floor plan in the space along Fifth Street on two levels. The main floor expansion will add six tables for guests, and the second floor, which will overlook Bastone’s bar, will have a capacity of 20. It will be designated for private parties.

To celebrate the expansion, Bastone Brewery has released new imagery for its six signature beers on tap, which will be featured in new advertising, branding, social media, merchandise and apparel.

Located beneath Bastone Brewery, the venue, currently known as Commune Lounge, will soon be renovated and re-emerge as Craft. The new concept aims to create a hip 1970s look and feel. Imagine vintage record players, bicycles, Edison bulbs, wallpaper, wood panels and a fresh color scheme.  Additionally, a wall of old speakers will be installed behind the bar to add to the whimsical basement vibe.

Craft will feature a new stage for live music on Wednesday and Thursday nights; and will continue to welcome a DJ Friday and Saturday nights.

“We want it to embody the craft of musicians as well as the craft of beer, spirits and unique cocktails,” said David Ritchie.

Craft, in addition to keeping absinthe on the menu, will serve an array of exclusive craft beer cocktails, craft spirits -  such as Civilized - a full bar, Bastone beer and more.

New websites and social media networks are in progress to be launched for each venue.

Of note, Vinotecca Wine Bar will remain as it is, but will offer a new menu this year.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Batch Brewing

Detroit's hottest 'hood already has an artisan craft cocktail bar, an artisan craft coffee house and an artisan craft BBQ and beer joint. What more could it need?

A brewery!

A nanobrewery, at that.

An artisan craft nanobrewery, specifically.

Batch Brewing Company has grand plans of opening in Corktown this summer and will fill that artisan craft nanobrewery void with their homemade nanobrews. They would also be the first-ever nanobrewery in the city of Detroit.

Read more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

New Belgium's Fat Tire. Photo courtesy of mL. in Birmingham.

After months (and really years) of whispers, it's finally official: Supino Pizzeria owner Dave Mancini has signed a lease for the space formerly occupied by Taste of Ethiopia. He won't be expanding Supino but will instead be opening a new restaurant serving tapas and braised meats and finally putting his liquor license to use. This announcement comes just in time for Supino's four-year anniversary this month. [Freep]

Ah, a Greek restaurant in Greektown. How novel. The Papases will be expanding the space and re-opening Mosaic (which closed earlier this month) as some really long Greek name no one will ever remember or correctly spell. Look for it late Sept. [Det News]

The owners of Russell Street Deli will open Topsoil this fall in the Auburn, a new mixed-use building in Midtown. This new venture will offer fast vegetarian and vegan cuisine and will carry on the same sustainable traditions of the Deli. Also, things I didn't see coming: veganism becoming A Thing in Detroit. [HuffPo Detroit]

Like, so much of A Thing there is yet another vegan concept that made the top 10 semifinalists for this season of Hatch Detroit. Which is all well and good but I am putting the entirety of my almighty vote-persuading force behind Rock City Pies, and not just because Nikita Santches looks like Justin Timberlake. [Hatch]

Famous person does something; public reacts. [WXYZ]

The Whitney axes half of their staff and debuts a new menu and new hours in an effort to reclaim their once-iconic position as the grande dame of Detroit's dining scene now that everyone loves Detroit so much. [Crain's]

Here's a fun game: next time you're in public yell, "Belle Isle winery!" and listen to everyone go "RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!" [MLive]

A Whole Foods Detroit update: there is concrete. [WFD FB]

Stella is getting a facelift courtesy of Reclaim Detroit. [Model D]

More on the drama around Mudgie's would-be liquor license and also a Chekhov's Gun FAIL. (Maybe don't lead with "Mudge would just as soon let people bring in their own beer and wine. But he found out it was illegal." bit unless the MLCC's prohibitive liquor laws were the focus of the story because it implies an in-depth, researched look at the reasons WHY it is illegal, then never delivers. Besides, it's not exactly a secret and many other Detroit restaurants have been busted for allowing BYOB when they shouldn't have, so if anything this just makes Mudge sound oblivious.) [MLive]

Matt Prentice's latest impulse-opening venture Detroit Prime is now open and he plans on making it a chain. [Thrillist / EID]

The team behind Jolly Pumpkin -- aka my heroes -- debuted Lena and the new Cafe Habana in Ann Arbor this week. [AnnArbor.com]

The biggest thing to happen in beer this week: New Belgium Brewing Co. hit Michigan shelves. [Oakland Press]

The second biggest thing to happen in beer this week: Brewery Vivant's collaboration with New Belgium, Escoffier, hit shelves in extremely limited release. (Thankfully, I have beer friends). [MLive]

The third biggest thing to happen in beer this week: oh hey, did you guys know I write for the New York Post? Because I totally do. And I took my fawning over Jolly Pumpkin's Sobrehumano to that much larger platform. [New York Post]

The fourth biggest thing to happen in beer this week: Fox News drank every single beer in THE WORLD and named Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Bierre one of the 10 best. [Fox News]

The fifth biggest news to happen in beer this week: the completion of the installation of nearly $345,000 worth of energy-efficient equipment at Arbor Brewing Company and Corner Brewery was completed this week, making these Michigan's first solar breweries. [AnnArbor.com]

Okay, so this was really just A Very Beerie Week. The Michigan Brewers Guild U.P. Fall Beer Festival is next weekend. BTW, it's all about the U.P. right now, in case you didn't know. [UP Second Wave]

Beards Brewery has opened in Petoskey. And yes, this is the best name for a brewery ever in the history of brewing. [NW MI Second Wave]

According to Imbibe, the world's most cultish beers include Founders' KBS and CBS. Also I have a bottle of 2012 KBS I will sell to you for $50, because I am very generous. [Imbibe]

Another "media outlet" re-hashes Mario Batali's list of favorite places in the Traverse City/Leelanau area. I hope he's getting royalties on these. [Zagat]

Speaking of Batali, earlier this week he ate at Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor and Tweeted that he, like, totally loved it. Just after the latest issue of Travel + Leisure, in which they call Mani Osteria one of the "20 best Italian restaurants in America," hit shelves. Coincidence? [AnnArbor.com]

Stats! We love stats. Here are more of the same stats as to why beer is good for the local economy. These are all numbers you've seen before. [Click on Detroit]

All Meijer stores are accepting donations for their Simply Give program, which aims to replenish the shelves of nearly 200 food pantries in their five-state region during each campaign. It runs through Oct. 6 in support of National Hunger Action Month with Meijer matching all $10 donations, but during the Simply Give Week Sept. 2-8 Meijer is double-matching all $10 donations - so your $10 will mean $30 for local food pantries. Sometimes I'm not snarky. [Macomb Patch]