At Griffin Claw Brewing Co. within the decrease peninsula of Michigan, they use phrases like heat (however not motherly), charismatic (however not clean), proud (however not snobby), snug (however not slobby), and hospitable (however not smothering).
Stroll into certainly one of Griffin Claw’s two taprooms and also you’ll discover a gold-winning World Beer Cup beer known as Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA (named after founder Norm LePage) subsequent to a humble best-selling El Rojo amber ale subsequent to a lineup of housemade spirits.
These are crowd pleasers, not costly, snobby, trying-too-hard beers.
These are wheat ales, IPAs, ambers, hazies, Mexican lagers, Czech lagers, pumpkin ales, stouts, and extra perfected by experimentation and buyer suggestions within the ever-busy taprooms.
As a result of at Griffin Claw, their two taprooms are their coronary heart and fireplace, the place all the great things occurs.
And for the final ten years this brewery, distillery, and taproom vacation spot has been making a reputation for itself all through Michigan making numerous actually “good things.”
However for Griffin Claw their story didn’t start essentially with beer; it started with chops.
From Chophouse to Drafthouse
Griffin Claw has maybe a distinct historical past than most breweries. Usual after the historic Denver ChopHouse, Griffin Claw started as a restaurant—Huge Rock Chophouse. However for the reason that authentic ChopHouse had a brewery inside it, Huge Rock Chophouse obtained one too.
However beer wasn’t the main target at first.
That every one modified when their beers began successful awards on the World Beer Cup.
The issue?
As a restaurant with only a home brewery inside, Huge Rock Chophouse couldn’t distribute. Solely allowed to serve beer within the restaurant, the brewpub had no solution to fulfill the rising demand.
“We had a cult following on the location,” says Scott LePage, managing associate at Griffin Claw whose dad Norm LePage began the unique restaurant. “Everyone pulled up saying fill our kegs for us and we’ll pay in money, however my dad mentioned completely not.”
Fortunately, an empty piece of land subsequent door supplied that massive break for Huge Rock. The enterprise expanded, opening up Griffin Claw as a totally operational brewery and distillery in Birmingham, MI, ten years in the past.
Since then, as a brewery, distillery, and restaurant, Griffin Claw has steadily clawed its solution to new heights.
And now all of it begins with the beer.
The Beer Different Beers Would Drink If They May Drink Beer
That’s the philosophy behind the beers at Griffin Claw.
And all of it begins with the anchors—Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA and Bonnie’s Raggedy Ass Imperial IPA, which gained gold and silver respectively on the World Beer Cup in 2010.
Named after the founders of Huge Rock Chophouse (and Scott’s mother and pa), Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA and Bonnie’s Raggedy Ass Imperial IPA put the brewery on the map.
Norm’s is a single IPA brewed with a who’s who of traditional Pacific Northwest hops together with Centennial, Cascade, Columbus, and Simcoe. Whereas Bonnie’s ratchets issues up a notch to a 9.5% ABV imperial IPA with Centennial, Columbus, Cascade, and Bravo.
Though these flagship IPAs gave Griffin Claw its credibility, the brewery has gone on to brew far more than simply IPAs (or beers usually, however we’ll get to that).
“We all know what pays the payments,” says Christopher Lasher, advertising and marketing director at Griffin Claw. “Norm’s has at all times been our core model, however we experiment on a regular basis. That’s the character of craft beer; everybody needs to strive one thing new.”
And with twenty-six faucets to play with on the authentic Birmingham location and one other forty-one handles on the newer Rochester Hills taproom, Griffin Claw has loads of room to experiment.
Like with Mr. Blue Sky, an American pale wheat ale brewed with grapefruit peel that LePage says at all times makes it into the top-five promoting beers each week.
The brewery additionally presents fruited variations on Mr. Blue Sky that Lasher says are at all times fashionable—akin to the present Mr. Blue Sky Pineapple.
One other prime vendor in keeping with LePage and Lasher, El Rojo is an amber crimson ale that has been round for the reason that starting. It’s not too typically that we discover profitable amber ales, “however we see sure components of the yr usually that it peaks and we’re like, ‘Who’s ingesting all that Rojo!?’” says Lasher.
And the amber ale isn’t the one shock on Griffin Claw’s faucet record.
Come fall, Screamin’ Pumpkin, an amber ale brewed with roasted pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger, kills it.
“It’s the preferred pumpkin beer in Michigan,” says LePage. “In simply that brief window from September to Halloween it finally ends up being our quantity three SKU total.”
Add to {that a} pilsner and hazy that persistently rank within the brewery’s prime 5 and you start to see that Griffin Claw doesn’t restrict itself to only one fashion.
Or simply beer for that matter.
Doubling Down on a Distillery
When Griffin Claw opened in 2013, they didn’t simply create a 50-bbl brewhouse, they constructed area for a distillery too.
“We wished to ensure our prospects had choices as a result of not all people drinks beer,” says LePage.
To construct the distillery, Griffin Claw flew up specialists from Kentucky to point out them retailer bourbon and rye and brew it within the true vogue.
Which meant leveraging a Meura mash filter that not solely improves brewing efficiencies, but additionally has an additional benefit in the case of spirits.
A singular Belgian piece of kit to distill, the Meura mash filter permits Griffin Claw to run 100% rye.
“Most ryes aren’t 100% rye, so ours is absolutely particular,” says LePage.
So far as LePage and Lasher know, on the time they had been the primary craft brewery in America to personal this piece of specialised gear. Macrobreweries akin to MillerCoors owned one too, however not smaller craft operations. Though extra craft breweries these days do personal one.
“I bear in mind when ours was accomplished, as a result of they customized made it for us, they didn’t wish to promote it to us at that time as a result of they noticed the market behind it,” says LePage.
However the additional work paid dividends.
“Now it brings folks to the brewery,” says Lasher. “It’s a showpiece.”
LePage agrees, “And we get tons of breweries that wish to see it.”
Right now, Griffin Claw distills spirits akin to Claw Vodka, Potato Vodka, Flying Buffalo Bourbon, Rail District Rye Whiskey, Crooks Gin, Doc Rogers Rum, Boxcar Brandy, and Krupnik.
Their whiskey particularly is bottled-in-bond from single-barrel batches after 5 years and counting.
Lately, they’ve expanded to a whole line of ready-to-drink cocktails
City Craft Vodka + Seltzer
Working for over a yr to excellent the recipe, Griffin Claw Vodka & Soda leverages the brewery’s personal distilled vodka to be a “craft model of the massive boys,” as LePage calls it.
Griffin Claw Distiller Andre Ellison “has been making a few of the finest vodka,” says Lasher. Initially Griffin Claw’s head brewer, Ellison earned the position two years in the past however realized distill when the brewery first opened. “He was educated by these guys from Kentucky,” says LePage. “He’s achieved an unbelievable job.”
With a strong basis of expertly distilled vodka, Griffin Claw Vodka & Soda then will get a success of actual fruit juice.
Obtainable in 4 flavors—Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Mango, and Pineapple—Griffin Claw Vodka & Soda comes out clear, crisp, and filled with taste.
And maybe surprisingly, Black Cherry has been one of the best vendor from day one. “Most black cherries are medicinal; it’s a tricky taste,” says LePage. “However our guys nailed Black Cherry.”
Which Lasher attributes to utilizing that actual fruit juice, which additionally provides a cool rose coloration to the vodka seltzer. “It’s showcasing the precise taste of the fruit, so it’s not medicinal, it’s good,” says Lasher.
Behind Black Cherry, Blood Orange is Lasher’s private favourite. “Blood Orange is tremendous, tremendous crisp like a Topo Chico Grapefruit the place it’s actually crisp, hits your tongue, and nearly burns in a great way,” he says.
All 4 flavors of Griffin Claw Vodka & Soda have been out there for the reason that summer time of 2022, however newly rebranded gold cans in an eight-pack selection pack might be hitting cabinets in late February.
Ten Years, One New Look
To go together with their new ready-to-drink cocktails and ever-changing lineup of beers, Griffin Claw celebrated its ten-year anniversary with a wholly new look this yr.
For the final decade Griffin Claw has made a reputation for itself in Michigan. “Our taprooms are loopy,” says LepPage. “They’re packed morning, midday, and night time.”
And in the summertime months, the taprooms can simply attain 1,000+ covers on a Friday or Saturday. “We solely seat 110, so we’re turning all of it day,” says LePage.
Even through the previous couple of years, Griffin Claw pushed by, introducing a web based pickup system through the shutdowns attributable to the worldwide pandemic.
“After we turned on that system, I’ll always remember it so long as I dwell,” laughs LePage. “We had 300 orders come by, all wanting to choose up between 6-6:30PM. Our entire parking zone was full of individuals tailgating whereas ready for carryouts!”
Right now, Griffin Claw is again to enterprise as standard, however to mark their historic birthday the brewery feels they’re overdue for a refresh.
“After we first opened Griffin Claw the sport was approach totally different,” says LePage. “You could possibly provide you with a beer, put some humorous paintings on the can, and promote the shit out of it as a result of everybody simply wished craft beer.”
In line with LePage, that strategy led to numerous type of tongue-in-cheek designs created on the fly. “The model misplaced consistency; it was far and wide,” says LePage “It turned tough to establish us on the shelf with 5 totally different SKUs as a result of they had been all so totally different.”
Ten years on and now greater than ever it’s vital {that a} shopper can pick a brewery it loves on the shelf.
“We wished to make it so if you see us on the shelf it has the billboard impact,” says LePage, sharing that he hopes with a brand new emblem and might design folks will perceive the model and the brewery itself proper from selecting up a can.
To that finish, the brand new Griffin Claw emblem obtained a slight refresh “to be a extra enjoyable and energetic illustration of our character,” says Lasher. Though it’s nonetheless iconic to Griffin Claw.
Maybe the most important change is a swap to gold cans, a direct nod to the gold-medal successful Norm’s Raggedy Ass IPA that jump-started Griffin Claw.
“After going by many design choices and coloration combos, we simply fell in love with the best way gold regarded on our core manufacturers and we felt a robust draw to decorate all of our merchandise in gold,” says Lasher. “Our beer has at all times been the ‘gold commonplace’ to us, as we’ve invested a lot time, sources, and personnel devoted to tremendous top quality in every little thing we do, so it appeared like a good looking and cool-looking solution to characterize what we care about, which is high quality at all times and our folks, one of the best folks.”
All characterize how Griffin Claw, named after the legendary creature with the physique of a lion and the pinnacle and wings of an eagle, has roared to life over the past decade.
And hopefully will proceed to soar for years to come back.
The Way forward for Griffin Claw
When taking a look at the place the brewery can head subsequent, LePage hopes Griffin Claw will proceed to develop.
“My hopes could be that we double the dimensions we’re minimal and that we will translate what we do with our taprooms in Decrease Michigan to Northern Michigan,” says LePage.
The extra that Griffin Claw can develop, the extra beers and kinds they’ll brew, the extra spirits they’ll distill, and the extra cocktails in a can they’ll create. And the extra they could be a welcoming place to drink for neighborhoods throughout Michigan.
Or as Lasher places it, “If we will get the amount then we will do every little thing we wish and [welcome] all of the folks we wish, that’s what it’s all about.”
