3 minute read
Coopersville Brewing Company
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND PRODUCING AMAZING LOCAL BEER
Kevin McKinney MiBrew Trail
It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! Magazine, Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine… “It was all a C.R.E.A.M. Ale”, was one of the first pours I enjoyed at Coopersville Brewing Company. Now, if you’re a fan of old school 90’s hip-hop like the owner Jeremy Grossenbacher, you may think it’s a nod to The Notorious B.I.G. “JUICY” was his favorite song growing up. Or maybe paying homage to the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.” Well, it is but in a Coopersville acronym kind of way. C.R.E.A.M. has a much deeper and much more thoughtful meaning to Jeremy.
“Coopersville Recreation
Education Arts & Music”
Every quarter Jeremy and the team at Coopersville will take proceeds from each and every pour of this flagship beer and give back to the community. Whether it’s new soccer goals for the recreation center or paying for lunches at a local elementary school. It was the community in and around Coopersville that gave their time and money to the brewery, now the brewery wants give back. What better way than brew a beer that supports local. Coopersville Brewing is supporting local in other ways. Purchasing many of the ingredients that go into the production of their beers from local business. Like the barley, wheat, and rye which all come from Kantola Farms in Ravenna. What’s beer without hops? The brewery makes it a point to use Michigan proprietary hops when possible. Many coming from a farm just four miles down the road in Coopersville, Pure Mitten Hops. Speaking of those beers, head brewer Jim Goodburn is concocting some delicious recipes. I visited C.B.C. during their opening weekend. Saturday at 11am, new brewery, new beers. Always a great start to any weekend. Along with their C.R.E.A.M. Ale, I had pours of the Hand Squeezed Juicy IPA, Cow tippin’ Milk Chocolate Brown Ale, and American Dream Wheat Ale. I enjoyed each, but the two beers that really stood out were Another Man’s Treasure IPA and Ties The Room Together Pale Stout with Coffee & Chocolate.
“Brick by brick, as a village, we built a brewery.” You often hear, it takes a village. In the case of Michigan’s newest brewery, it takes Coopersville. When you visit the brewery, you’ll see a wall of personalized bricks dedicated to the Villager’s Lifetime Membership Mug Club. Two years before the doors were to open, local residents and businesses alike knew something special was happening here and wanted to be part of it. Folks parted with the hard-earned dollars to be a permanent fixture of the brewery. Coopersville came out to support local! The brewery has an open floor plan. Sit anywhere and see everything. Plenty of repurposed and reclaimed wood everywhere. Like the bar top, a local family business using repurposed wood created the one-of-a-kind bar that absolutely pops the second you walk through the doors. With the brightest of blues, The Grand River runs through the entire length of the bar. Jeremy explained that “he wanted to brewery to represent Coopersville as much as possible. For instance, the beer names or all the great artwork on the walls. Like a friendly one-eyed family of cows, greeting you as you enter the restrooms. When you’re seated at said bar, you’ll notice 28 taps. Most will have delicious beers flowing through them. The others will have different styles of cider. From dry to sweet, with flavors like a cinnamon, ginger, & pear
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