USA, MI: Schmuck's Brewing Co. could become Howell Township’s newest craft brewery

A vacant office building at a gravel pit and concrete business could become a new microbrewery, taproom and eatery near Howell, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported on September 27.

American Concrete Products owner and beer brewer Brad Jonckheere and his wife Alicia have proposed transforming the building at 4944 Mason Road in Howell Township into Schmuck's Brewing Co, and township officials recently approved preloiminary site plans.

"It will have a brewery downstairs and tap room upstairs," Jonckheere said. "It will also have a patio and a lot of things outdoors, like corn hole, fire pits and gathering tables, and igloos (made of clear plastic) in the wintertime with a heater in the center."

He said Schmuck's Brewing Co. will eventually brew about 18 to 24 beers onsite.

"We'll do a lot of the most popular styles, IPAs, pilsners, sours, amber ales and lagers," he said. "We'll also do spirits and wine, all produced onsite. For spirits, we want to do gin, vodka, whiskey and bourbon."

The microbrewery and pub will get up and running in phases.

"Initially, it will be production only," Jonckheere said. "We'll start brewing. ...We'll start with a small one-barrel pilot system and then we are looking at a 10-barrel system."

He said he hopes to have the whole thing open sometime next year and employ up to 10 people.

The establishment would also serve pub food such as pizza, sandwiches, pretzels and other comfort foods.

It would seat about 80 people indoors and about 80 outdoors.

Jonckheere said the look and feel of the pub will match its industrial setting at the gravel pit and concrete business.

"We're going to incorporate shipping containers. One will be the entrance and another will be an exit to a beer garden that will be like a little bridge," he said. "We'll have unique tables and chairs made out of different items I've acquired, like a large heat exchanger turned into a table and a section of a boom crane off one of our trucks will be the base of a table. We have a lot of stuff around here we can repurpose."

The plan is to eventually host private events such as parties and wedding receptions.

"We have a lot of ideas for the future. Someday we might put in some walking paths, mountain bike paths," Jonckheere said.

He started brewing beer as a hobby out of his home.

I said he liked it so much he decided to enroll in a brewing training program at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. He got hands-on training from Block Brewing Co.'s original brew master and Schoolcraft College instructor Tom Block.

Jonckheere stayed with Block Brewing Co. past his training program, taking over as brew master for a while.

Howell Township's Planning Commission recommended approval of a preliminary site plan Tuesday.

"Next month, we're going for final site plan approval, which the board (of trustees) would have to approve," Jonckheere said.

He first brought his plan to township officials about two years ago.

The township's board of trustees approved rezoning in November 2017 of about four acres where the brew pub would be located to residential service use. Township officials specified that only a microbrewery could be built there.

In February of last year, township officials granted Jonckheere approvals for micro brewer, small wine maker and small distiller licenses.

He said he is also applying for a license that would allow him to sell alcoholic products to other businesses, including other pubs and stores.

In the future, the property will go back to residential and we'll be putting houses in here and hopefully a park area," Jonckheere said. "The timeline for residential is probably four or five years."

He said American Concrete Products is getting toward the end of mining gravel on the site.

"We'd like to also have things like an auto repair shop, a hair salon, whatever fits into neighborhood service commercial (uses)," he said. "That will be after the mining is complete. We'll repurpose buildings into other shops."

He said he expects Schmuck's Brewing Co. to be a neighborhood draw.

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