Business & Tech

Adventures in Homebrewing Opens Second Location near Dexter

The business plans a grand opening Saturday with demonstrations by the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild.

From the White House kitchen to the garages of beer aficionados across the country, home-brewed beer is a growing industry in the United States.

Capitalizing on the hobby’s popularity in southeast Michigan, Adventures in Homebrewing, a new business at 6071 Jackson Rd., offers customers hundreds of options to augment their beer and wine endeavors.The business officially opened its doors three weeks ago.

“We’ve been slammed since opening,” Matt Rye of Dexter said. “Home brewing is amazingly popular right now. When it first took off a few years ago, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of neat.’ Now it seems like everyone knows a home brewer.

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“With the whole 'buy local' movement, we’re seeing more people making beer themselves rather than deal with purchasing it commercially,” he said.

The Jackson Road location is the second for the 13-year-old business, which was founded by Jason Smith in Taylor.

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“Our wholesaler had been pushing us for a while to come out to Ann Arbor as our online business has grown over the years,” Rye explained. “When this location opened up, we grabbed it.”

The Jackson Road facility serves as a proverbial warehouse for the company, stockpiling kits, tubing, bottle fillers, siphons, cappers, bottle caps, thermometers, infusers, chillers, grain mills, false bottoms and brewing equipment hardware.

“Fifty percent of our sales are online,” Rye said. “The second store allows us to serve our customers better and more efficiently. In Taylor, there wasn’t enough room to accommodate our online sales and our walk-in customers, so someone was getting neglected.”

Rye said he credits the economy as a major factor in home-brew popularity.

“Home brewing is becoming more popular during the economic downturn,” he said. “You’ve got the novices who have a slight interest to the middle-of-the-road individuals who supplement their commercial purchases with home brews.”

Even President Obama has used the halls of the White House to indulge his predilection for home-brewed beer— the first time beer has been brewed specifically for the Oval Office, according to The Daily Mail.

“Something about it brings people together,” Rye said. “We all share this common love for beer.”

While beer and wine equipment make up the bulk of business, Adventures in Homebrewing also offer products for home-based cheese and soda makers as well.

“I’m always amazed at what people come in here to buy,” he said.

To celebrate the store’s grand opening, Adventures in Homebrewing will host a open house from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday featuring free brewing demonstrations by the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild and Motor City Mashers.

A wine- and beer-making class will be offered Nov. 5 as part of the national Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day.

Adventures in Homebrewing is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays. Beginning Oct. 1, the store will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, visit the store's website.


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