E-Malt.com News article: USA, MI: Block Brewing Co. to open in Howell

Block Brewing Co. opens in Howell, freep.com reported on December, 12.

The brewery and restaurant has set up shop at the former Shark Club site on South Michigan Avenue but almost no traces, from pinball games to charity poker nights, will remain.

"This is a fresh approach," said Keith Koch, who joins his wife, Ebony, and Kirstie Magyari as the new ownership team.

For starters, the building has undergone a floor-to-ceiling renovation over the past six months. The approach extends to the beer, brewed up fresh in recently installed vats, as well as to the new menu.

"The menu will incorporate the beer we brew," Gonzales said.

For his part, brewer and namesake Tom Block will serve up a variety of brews, from pale ales to pilsners to stouts, along with seasonal and one-off items.

"I've been working with Teeko's (an area coffee shop) to come up with some specialty brews," Block said.

For Block, a brewer with 20 years of experience, the new venture is a welcome trip home. His career includes stops at microbreweries in Battle Creek, Jackson and Indianapolis.

"After all these years, I'm finally working in Howell," he said.

Block Brewing Co. isn't the Livingston County's first microbrewery. Two microbreweries, Eternity in Genoa Township and Brewery Becker in Brighton opened in the past year. Other microbreweries operate in nearby Milford and South Lyon.

As a craft brewery, distinct from a microbrewery, Block Brewing Co. is also dedicated to providing innovative twists on even the most traditional brews it serves. If anything, Michigan's appetite for on site breweries has yet to be sated.

"Craft beer represents the fastest-growing segment of the whole hospitality industry and Michigan is leading the way," Gonzales said.

The Brewers Association lists Michigan as sixth among all states — and first in the Midwest — with 131 craft breweries. As of next week, that number will grow to 132.


17 December, 2014