USA, MI: Glasshouse Brewing waiting for the final licenses from the state
The beer is brewed, the glasses are ready and the staff is anxiously waiting to welcome customers to Ann Arbor's newest brewery, MLive.com reported.
Glasshouse Brewing is now simply waiting to receive the final licenses from the state so it can begin pouring its product to thirsty guests.
"We're ready to open right now. We're waiting on the state for our final approval," said Brent Payeur, one of the owners of the brewery.
Brent, his father Steve Payeur and brother Brad Payeur have been working on making Glasshouse a reality for more than two years and as expected, they're extremely excited to get the doors open. But even Brad admits the idea of actually opening up the brewery is causing some stress.
"It's kind of nerve wracking. You're still nervous because you're not open," Brad said, adding that he wants to know what people think of the beer and the brewery.
Once those permits are approved and Glasshouse is open, six different craft beers will be on tap including a porter, a smoked stout, an America IPA, and amber wheat beer, an English ordinary bitter and a Saison.
Head brewer Kuma Ofori-Mensa, who previously worked as a brewer at Arbor Brewing Company joined the team earlier this year and has been working to perfect the beers for opening day.
"Two of the recipes that we're starting with were based on a couple of Brent's home brewing recipes," Ofori-Mensa said.
A home brewer for many years, Brent said bringing on someone with Ofori-Mensa's experience and talent really helped take the beer to another level.
"Kuma came in and took a huge load off of all of us. He had the beer and he was off to the races," Brent said. "One thing I was really worried about was that a lot of brewers when they first start out is wasted product.
"But having Kuma, every beer came out the way it was supposed to."
The brewery has six brew tanks available that will be used to rotate different beers as space comes available. The plan is to introduce a new beer each month and eventually expand the production capabilities to be able to make even more beer.
Ofori-Mensa already has his next beer in mind.
"It's all Michigan ingredients," Ofori-Mensa said. "I based it on the Kolsch's of Germany...but we're making it with all malt, hops and yeast from Michigan."
Although space is limited as the brewers learn more about what their customers like and what they have to have on tap at all times, the plan is to try different things that can set Glasshouse apart.
"The idea is to have fun with the beer and just make up new stuff," Ofori-Mensa said. "Any idea that comes up, we'll put together a recipe for it and make it happen."
Construction on the brewery began last year and took much longer than anticipated for various reasons. Aside from delays in the permitting process throughout construction, the family admits they were a bit naive in how much would go into building a brewery.
"There's so much more that goes on before and after. It's a lot of work," Brad said.
The brewery is built in a 1,800-square-foot space behind the family-owned Diamond Glass & Feiner's warehouse located at 2350 W. Liberty St.
Steve said the original cost of the brewery was estimated to be $300,000, but that has nearly tripled over the last year. Still, the family said, it was worth it to make sure all the equipment was right for the job and to ensure there would be no issues once they opened.
Glasshouse will not serve food, but guests are welcome to bring their own food in with them or order food from nearby restaurants. The brewery is working with Chela's Restaurant and Taqueria to offer food to their customers and will eventually offer beer pairing events with the food.
Down the road, Brent says he hopes to add a small pizza oven and offer some snack foods for guests as well.
Glasshouse will sell growlers and is also marketing a mug club membership for the first 100 people who sign up. The brewery will be open from 4 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and from noon to midnight on weekends.
20 May, 2016
