USA, MI: Pavlov’s Brewing Co. already open in Temperance
There’s a reason Joan Groll calls her husband a “mad mule.”
After getting a homebrewing kit for Christmas six years ago, John Groll’s new hobby rapidly took on a life of its own, the Toledo Blade reported on April 4.
“He went kinda crazy,” Mrs. Groll said. “When he started brewing beers, he just went all in. He learned as many techniques, styles, flavor choices, different hop flavorings as he could. Research, research, research. He just dove in.”
The Temperance couple just opened Bedford Township’s first brewery, Pavlov’s Brewing Co., in a renovated former bank building on Lewis Avenue.
Mr. Groll is a Temperance native and graduate of Bedford High School, for which the mule is the mascot. He was a forklift mechanic for 31 years and said he never imagined himself a master brewer or business owner until he was eyeballs deep in making his own craft beer.
“You get to the point where you start making some pretty good beers and start comparing yours to everybody else’s,” Mr. Groll said. “I never would have guessed that I’d be here a few years later.”
The Grolls enjoyed visiting other breweries in Michigan, northwest Ohio, and anywhere they traveled. They joined the Frogtown Hoppers and Glass City Mashers, which Mr. Groll credits with greatly expanding his knowledge and stimulating ideas.
“When you join that kind of organization, you end up learning a lot from those who have been doing it for a while,” he said. “There are a lot of great homebrewers in this area. They may not ever want to do this, but they are making some very good beers for themselves.”
It was Mrs. Groll who casually tossed out the idea of opening a brewery several years ago.
“It was kind of a joke, honestly,” she said. “And then he got better and better and more interested.”
About three years ago, Mr. Groll got some guidance from an uncle to write a business plan. The couple invested their own funds, solicited support from private investors, and took out a loan. Mr. Groll said they put in more work than either had imagined possible, conquering hurdle after hurdle in the naturally uphill battle toward opening a business.
“No matter how hard we pushed, it seemed like the pushback was just as hard coming back at you,” he said. “You always felt like you’re going against the wind the entire time. You just keep working and working and working, and you don’t look back. You can’t look back.”
Bedford Township officials were excited by the Grolls’ venture and adopted an ordinance to allow a microbrewery and on-site beer sales. Al Prieur, deputy supervisor, said the township has been working to revitalize the Lewis Avenue corridor for about a year and a half, and developments are now starting to ramp up. He is hopeful the brewery will stimulate further business development in the area.
“We were really excited that he wanted to locate on Lewis Avenue,” Mr. Prieur said, as the property had been vacant for a year or two. “Bank buildings are not the easiest buildings to convert over. So when somebody wants to buy a bank building, you’re excited. Now you know it will be turned into something else and it will be a useful property.”
When searching for a name, the couple decided on a nod to Mrs. Groll’s retired service dog, 14-year-old Labrador-golden retriever mix Quinley. Mrs. Groll is blind, seeing only some light, and Quinley was her guide dog for 10 years before retiring to become a family pet the past two years.
“She gave me a sense of independence that I would have never had without her,” Mrs. Groll said.
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist and Nobel Prize winner known for his discovery of classical conditioning while studying salivation in dogs. He realized the dogs began salivating in anticipation when they formed an association between specific sounds that preceded their meals and the food actually arriving.
Conditioning is a basic foundation in dog training, and Quinley was extensively trained by Leader Dogs for the Blind to help Mrs. Groll navigate the world. The brewery’s tagline is: “Home of the conditioned response.”
Mr. Groll said he has about 60 beer recipes set, and many more in the works.
“That’s half the fun,” Mr. Groll said. “I get the opportunity to experiment. I have flavor concepts in my head I have to try to get out and I want to see if we can make work.”
The brewery has 12 beers on tap now, and will eventually have 16. After a soft opening March 15 followed by a grand opening Friday, the couple has received nothing but positive feedback from the Bedford community.
“It’s been amazing,” Mr. Groll said. “People were just coming out to say hello. I want people to feel comfortable when they come here, and I want them to enjoy a high-quality craft beer. And I think they will. And they are. It’s as fast as they can pour on Friday nights. The taps never shut off.”
The couple already knows some of their brews will be staples kept on tap. The top selling beer thus far is Submission, an American wheat ale.
“It’s just crazy how fast that is going out of here,” Mr. Groll said. “And Stink Eye [IPA] follows it, and then Quinley’s Amber Ale.”
Pavlov’s does not sell food, but is partnering with other local businesses and allows customers to bring their own food inside. The brewery does not sell any other alcoholic beverage beyond its own brews and has a limited selection of non-alcoholic options.
Pavlov’s Brewing Co., at 7548 Lewis Ave., in Temperance is open from 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, and from noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays.
04 April, 2019
