Most pedestrians walking on the clean cut sidewalks along Michigan Avenue in downtown Dearborn will miss Dearborn Brewing Company’s unfinished, unassuming storefront. Big things are brewing for Dearborn’s first microbrewery and we are not even talking about the 300 gallons that can be produced a day.
They plan to open their 2,450 square feet microbrewery late May/early June at 21930 Michigan Ave. People will be able to watch brewer John Rucinski through a glass partition as they drink their ale in the 20-25 seat bar. The finished interior will look like a Black and Tan, an English beer cocktail where a dark beer sits over a pale beer.
An amber ale, a cream pale ale, a Belgian, and possibly a brown ale will always be on tap, while a few specialty beers will be on rotation. It will not serve food. The owners, husband and wife John and Sheila Rucinski, are currently looking for bartenders and servers.
“This has been in the works for 3 years,” Sheila Rucinski said. “Considering all of our friends were asking us when they could buy our beer, we thought maybe this is the time if we can make the numbers work. We knew we had a good product that a lot of people liked.”
The Rucinskis chose to open in Dearborn because it is home. The closest microbrewery in Dearborn is Fort Street Brewery in Lincoln Park, a 15 minute drive away.
“Detroit actually has a pretty nice brewing history that doesn’t get talked about a lot,” John Rucinski said. “We’re fortunate to live in an area and a city that is blessed with fantastic water for brewing. It’s a lot like cooking in that regard. If you have great ingredients (including the water), you can make great beer. When the water isn’t so great, it makes things that much more complicated to make great beer.”
John used to judge beer competitions at the Michigan State Fair. He said a good beer is free from flaws that should not happen in the brewing process, like astringency.
“In an IPA, I expect there to be a lot of hops so I look for a beer to have the body and maltiness to stand up to the hops,” John said. “Stouts are my go to cold weather beers. I prefer them thick, a bit sweet, and strong. Something to keep warm with when the snow is flying around outside.”
We look forward to Dearborn Brewing Company’s opening. The brewer knows how to enjoy a beer … and how to make a good one.
