ALBION, MI – Imagine getting served a brûléed orange slice in an Old Fashioned, or deep red berries decorating a winter margarita at Albion Malleable Brewing Co.
The brewery, 420 S. Superior St., has recently expanded its beer offerings to offer just that. In October, the business obtained a Michigan Class C liquor license, allowing it to serve cocktails, wine and cider alongside its craft brews, Co-Owner Ben Wade said.
This transition from a microbrewery to a brewpub follows the decline in beer consumption, the rise of ready-to-drink cocktails and consumers being more conservative with spending due to economic concerns, he said.
Wade said wine and cider have been popular requests from patrons for years. This will allow the brewery to serve the population that does not like beer but would like to have a drink with their meal, he said.
“We’ve heard from numerous people that, ‘We went out with the family last week and there were five of us that really wanted to come down for a burger, but mom doesn’t like beer, or dad wanted a cocktail, so we went somewhere else,’” Wade said. “Really, our primary motivation was to remove any barriers.”
Similar to the food, the brewery wanted to offer good versions of classic cocktails, using Michigan-based spirits.
The cocktail menu offers a margarita, Manhattan, cranberry mule, bees knees and a martini. Some of the spirits come from Eastern Kille Distillery in Grand Rapids, Long Road Distillers in Grand Rapids and Grand Traverse Distillery in Traverse City.
A popular drink is the Old Fashioned, made with Journeyman’s Featherbone Bourbon, Angostura bitters, house-made simple syrup, brûléed orange and a Luxardo cherry.
“Just a slight variation on a traditional,” Wade said. “It’s very good.”
The wine list comes from small winemakers across the world, including France, California and Italy. The cider is through a partnership with Odd Brothers Craft Cider in Homer.
Albion Malleable also offers non-alcoholic cocktails, made with Little Saints, a mushroom-based nonalcoholic spirit. Options include a “No-Jito” and a “No-Tequila Sunrise.”
“One of the things I like about these, is it’s not trying too hard to taste like bourbon or gin,” Wade said. “It works well for mixing when you’re adding the other cocktail ingredients to give it a nice character.”
Alcohol sales have spread more broadly across the beer, wine and cocktails since the expansion, he said. The brewery hopes this will allow them to respond to the alcohol market better, he said.
“I think it makes us more nimble,” Wade said.
Phil Hackworth of Marshall, who was visiting the brewery to meet a friend, ordered a Michigan Sazerac. While he enjoys the beer, he wanted to try something new on the menu. He anticipated he would try the Old Fashioned next.
“It seems smart, there’s several people that don’t drink beer,” Hackworth said.
The idea for Albion Malleable Brewing Co. began brewing in 2015 when co-owners Wade and Charles Moreau, along with former co-owner John Rogers, wanted to be a part of the revitalization of downtown Albion. Being the first brewery in the city was the idea they pitched, and eventually it came to be in 2018.
The logo and name of the brewery pay homage to Albion Malleable Iron Co. — one of the city’s former largest employers. The rise and fall of Albion Malleable Iron Co. was intertwined with the growth and decline of the city itself, and the owners wanted to show that inside, as well as outside with a mural.
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Dining and Cooking