E-Malt.com News article: USA, MI: Constantine Brewing Co. to open in downtown Constantine by fall

Matt Ryan, a homebrewer from Constantine, will be turning his hobby into a business when he, along with his wife, Charlene open the Constantine Brewing Co., mlive.com reported on February, 8.

"We'll use whatever we can from the yard and source everything we can locally," Ryan said.

Ryan said they hope to open in the fall.

“There’s a lot of stuff in play as far as permitting and construction hassles, but our tentative date is around October of this year," Ryan said.

Ryan said he's doing a lot of the construction work himself. He wants to make around 100 gallons at a time on a three-barrel system.

Ryan said he expects to spend between $60,000 to $70,000 on the project, which is funded by the couple. Ryan said Constantine secured a state grant of around $400,000 to upgrade a nearby parking lot. The Ryans were also given grant money from the village to repair the facade.

"The village is 110 percent behind this thing. They're thrilled to death we're putting something in like this. They're giving us a lot of support," he said.

Ryan said he's not a big hop head. He said some of his best recipes are for an imperial black ale he calls Black Galactic, as well as an American pale ale and a raspberry wheat ale.

Ryan said he'll most likely have three house beers on tap -- an amber, stout and pale ale -- while rotating in two experimental or seasonal brews at a time. He plans to be a neighborhood brewery.

"I'm not looking at distribution at this point. I'm just looking to keep it in town," he said.


13 February, 2013