Shut down (Michigan Brewing Company)

[fullstop22]

The Michigan Brewing Company headquarters and brewing facilities in Webberville Mi.were closed Tuesday Apr.25th. They were foreclosed on and evicted. There goes my homebrew store and Bad A** beer.

 

[wSelwyn]

I saw the tweet about the police, but they didn't say what happened. This answers a lot of questions.

I wonder how this may affect their new headquarters.

All this before national homebrew day...

 

[Toga]

The building was foreclosed due failure to pay their lender. The building was sold by the bank and they were evicted by the new owners after failing to come to terms on a lease. Perhaps this will mark the end of kid rocks arse beer.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120425/NEWS01/304250006/Michigan-Brewing-Co-evicted-from-Webberville-location?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

 

[DJP00829]

Well that is a shame ... I always had good interactions with the employees there. Time to start shopping for a new LHBS

 

[iaefebs]

Every time I had to travel I96 to Detroit area, I always looked forward to the return trip from Detroit. You get past that traffic from Detroit to Milford, and before hitting the Lansing traffic it was nice to stop at Michigan Brewery and get a great meal and a decent beer. I would pick up 3-4 bags of grain and it made the rest of the drive home worth the hassle of the 400 mile round trip. I was there 3 weeks ago and everything seemed normal. Sorry to hear they are closing.

 

[genes]

Something tells me that there is more to come on this story. MBC is what, 3rd or 4th largest brewery in the state and suddenly they can't pay their bills?

Sorry but I've never had a good experience with either MBC or Things Beer.

 

[HuronMan]

The gf and I were just there this past sunday. Bought some grain, had dinner and a couple beers. I am seriously bummed.

 

[iaefebs]

Sorry but I've never had a good experience with either MBC or Things Beer.

Then you never tried the Italian or Turkey on the pretzel roll, or the sweet potato fries. And you never bought Briess 2 row brewer malt for $27.00 a bag, (with the homebrew club member discount). Or filled a Corny Keg of their IPA for $35

 

[hop_head76]

I hope they can find a way to turn it around if we don't get screaming pumpkin her in PA. SWMBO is going to be seriously jacked!

 

[Grinnan5150]

You would think with the money Kid Rock has he could funnel some of it over to the brewery. Isn't he one of the owners? I think I saw it on an episode of Diners Drive Ins and Dives.

 

[iaefebs]

No, Kid Rock is not an owner...

 

[fullstop22]

I got wind something was a muck and should have zipped over for couple sakes of grain & 3gal carboy. I snoozed & lost. I hope they at least open the hb store again but doesn't look good.

 

[pickles]

MBC and Fenton Downtown Development Authority agree to terminate lease. Looks like the new place isn't happening either. That's a bummer, you always hate to see businesses fail. I wonder what happened; mismanagement or unprepared growth?

 

[Andrewtherooster]

Man, this sucks. Does this mean MBC is done altogether? I'm going to miss Screaming Pumpkin and Celis Grand Cru.

 

[Homercidal]

Celis White was one of my favorite Witbiers.

Also, I'm pretty sure I heard there was going to be a BIG homebrew competition judged there later this summer. Have to look into that.

 

[rhamilton]

I just got into Celis Grand Cru -- sad to see them on the down and out -- guess I'll have to get that clone project going sooner than later

 

[HuronMan]

I got wind something was a muck and should have zipped over for couple sakes of grain & 3gal carboy. I snoozed & lost. I hope they at least open the hb store again but doesn't look good.

If they don't open the hb store, maybe they' ll be auctioning off the stock.

 

[davekippen]

Too bad. I thought Bad A** was good for an american lager. Is the Lansing store going to close?

I hear Lansing may be getting a new brewery though. http://www.eaglemonkbrewing.com/home

 

[Buzzbeer]

I just tryed their High Seas IPA and thought it was great. Would love a clone recipe or something close. Anybody have a recipe that is close? Thanks

 

[fullstop22]

Anyone tried Hopmans in Waterford Township for homebrew supplies?

 

[drhookmec]

Anyone tried Hopmans in Waterford Township for homebrew supplies?

Great place!
May not be as big as some HBS stores but still best place around.

 

[downtown3641]

Obviously, getting into business with Kid Rock was a horrible idea.

 

[rico567]

Well, this place seems to have had a following, judging by some of the posts. But just because you can brew, and brew well, doesn't mean you can (or even want to) run a business. The two bases must somehow be covered.

 

[Farmer_John]

I had a taste for their nut brown about...10 years ago when they were in the smaller building accessed through the Mobil parking lot. Hell, I thought they were already out of business, as the old brewery is empty...Hmm...

 

[fullstop22]

I found the beers to be average to the point I did not want to spend my money on them when I picked up supplies. I would usually have the IPA it was OK. The wife liked the Screaming Pumpkin in the fall. The bulk grain prices were the best I found as were most of the thing they sold. My impression of the main dude , a little shady. I always thought they needed a little more edge to all brews.

 

[Homercidal]

I found the beers to be average to the point I did not want to spend my money on them when I picked up supplies. I would usually have the IPA it was OK. The wife liked the Screaming Pumpkin in the fall. The bulk grain prices were the best I found as were most of the thing they sold. My impression of the main dude , a little shady. I always thought they needed a little more edge to all brews.

Me too. Average beer in most cases, with a couple of exceptions. They did a lot of "contract brews" with other people's names on them. They had a lot of capacity.

I think if they could have managed to nail down a couple of good imperial recipes, to generate some buzz, they could have done better. They made some light lagers that IMO weren't any better than a good BMC product, but cost more. Hard to get BMC drinkers interested in paying more for the same thing.

 

[Toga]

This a shame to see any Michigan company go down. Well hopefully those who liked the MBC's beers will migrate to drinking beers from the other brewing companies in our fine state. Their only beer worth buying a 6er of in my opinion was the Celis White and over the last couple years even that was not quite what it once was. From the last update I got from a "little bird" they are completely done.

drhookmec Hopmans is ok. Rick is a great guy however there is another homebrew shop that I like better than Hopmans. Check out the Malty Dog in Southfield. They do not have quite the selection of some shops but they have the essentials, lower prices than any place in the area, and they are also a brew pub. Their beer is excellent. I love the fact I can walk in, hand them a recipe and have a pint while they mill my grain.

 

[drhookmec]

drhookmec Hopmans is ok. Rick is a great guy however there is another homebrew shop that I like better than Hopmans. Check out the Malty Dog in Southfield. They do not have quite the selection of some shops but they have the essentials, lower prices than any place in the area, and they are also a brew pub. Their beer is excellent. I love the fact I can walk in, hand them a recipe and have a pint while they mill my grain.

Sounds Awesome! Will haft to check that place out.

Tim

 

[MBC_Sucks]

Staffing issues. Bobby could never, ever keep a brewer on his staff. Never. Sure, the second generation Brockmiller was a great guy and loyal to the end (he was there up until the very last day), but Bobby never allowed him to develop as a brewer. Truly, anyone that came through Michigan Brewing that tried to grow as a brewer were quickly driven out by Bobby and his micromanaging theatrics.

And the rest of the staff. Bobby paid sh*t wages, and thus got a sh*t staff, folks that were not well kept, well mannered, or the least bit professional. Sure, there was the occasional bright and professional bar maid or server, but that was rare.

And the menu....average at best. When MBC moved to the new facility, there was the chance to install a real kitchen, put some real food on the menu, and make it a destination. Nope. We'll stick with the lousy sandwiches and canned soups. (Anyone remember Laura's Five Candle White Chicken Chili from the old place?)

And the ambiance, or lack of it. The bar and immediate pub area were OK, but rest of the joint reminded you of a friggin' church basement, and there were zero efforts to change that. Who wants to relax in someplace with linoleum floors, painted walls, and ceiling tiles? Institutional yuck.

And that "patio". Right out in the blazing sun on a concrete slab, sure, let's roast the guests like sun dried tomatoes.


And the wood fired pizzas...and the barbeque that never was...and on and on and on until he pissed it all away.

 

[Homercidal]

Staffing issues. Bobby could never, ever keep a brewer on his staff. Never. Sure, the second generation Brockmiller was a great guy and loyal to the end (he was there up until the very last day), but Bobby never allowed him to develop as a brewer. Truly, anyone that came through Michigan Brewing that tried to grow as a brewer were quickly driven out by Bobby and his micromanaging theatrics.

And the rest of the staff. Bobby paid sh*t wages, and thus got a sh*t staff, folks that were not well kept, well mannered, or the least bit professional. Sure, there was the occasional bright and professional bar maid or server, but that was rare.

And the menu....average at best. When MBC moved to the new facility, there was the chance to install a real kitchen, put some real food on the menu, and make it a destination. Nope. We'll stick with the lousy sandwiches and canned soups. (Anyone remember Laura's Five Candle White Chicken Chili from the old place?)

And the ambiance, or lack of it. The bar and immediate pub area were OK, but rest of the joint reminded you of a friggin' church basement, and there were zero efforts to change that. Who wants to relax in someplace with linoleum floors, painted walls, and ceiling tiles? Institutional yuck.

And that "patio". Right out in the blazing sun on a concrete slab, sure, let's roast the guests like sun dried tomatoes.


And the wood fired pizzas...and the barbeque that never was...and on and on and on until he pissed it all away.

I've been there 2-3 times and am sorry to see it like this, but that's a pretty accurate statement. I've heard from several others that he did a terrible job managing the place and people. Nothing "interesting" about MBC is one thing that helped do it in. They had capacity. They lacked any style. The other things I didn't like??

Sargeants
Bad Bass American Lager
Wolverine

It was like MBC wanted to be the next big macro brewer...