PAW PAW —

Three. Two. One. Brew.

Like a pair of friends daring each other to jump from a bridge into a river, brothers-in-law Ben Fleckenstein and Ryan Sylvester have been side-by-side waiting to make the first move since discussing opening their own brewery more than a year ago.

Last month, they took the big leap and opened Paw Paw Brewing Company in a small 1,700-square-foot space near downtown Paw Paw.

Although rather tiny, PPBC will hold its grand opening Jan. 22 — little more than a year after Fleckenstein’s wife, Bonnie, gave him the OK to start buying equipment for the business.

On Dec. 27, 2009 — Fleckenstein’s birthday — the two seriously talked about going out on their own.

If you go

Paw Paw Brewing Company

What:

New microbrewery’s grand opening Jan. 22

Where:

929 E. Michigan Ave., Paw Paw

Hours:

Noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday;

noon-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday;

noon-6 p.m. Sunday

Contact:

269-415-0145

Sylvester, 36, had been a homebrewer for more than five years, and with Fleckenstein’s help, they figured now was the time.

They were young enough and several factors seem to nudge them in that direction, they said.

“We got on the Internet and found some supplies and stuff like that. We started taking it from there — took the plunge,” Sylvester said. “A lot of things aligned and I think that’s what we contribute a lot of it to, of taking the next step. The building was available, my winters were available so I needed something else to do, me and Ben work well together. Everything sort of took a right turn and kept going. We didn’t look back.”

Sylvester owns the building at 929 E. Michigan Ave. in Paw Paw. It was last home to a coffee shop, but was vacant during their early talks.

Along with his father, Sylvester also runs Great Lakes Pondscapes, a Paw Paw company that builds and sells supplies for water gardening and pond/stream construction.

Right away, they had the key ingredients: a building, some free time, a little know-how and passion.

“Early on, we used to say any brick wall we’re going to meet with a sledge hammer. There’s too many things lining up,” said Fleckenstein, 31. “This is the right time in both our lives. If we don’t do something like this now it’s not going to happen.”

What else is fermenting at PPBC



About the co-owners



Ryan Sylvester

Age:

36



Born:

Morris, Illinois

Residence:

Paw Paw

Education:

Graduated from Morris High School (1992) and attended Western Michigan University (1992-97)

Profession:

Also co-owns Great Lakes Pondscapes, of Paw Paw

Family:

Married with four children

Other:

Wide receiver on Western Michigan University’s football team from 1992-95

Ben Fleckenstein

Age:

31

Born:

Kalamazoo

Residence:

Paw Paw

Education:

Graduated from Loy Norrix High School (1998) and WMU (2004)

Profession:

Was a flight instructor at WMU until December

Family:

Married with two children



The beers

St. James English:

A mild English ale with an alcohol-by-volume of 5.1 percent

Paw Paw Wheat:

Not a traditional wheat, uses a Califronia yeast, instead of Belgian yeast, for a clear appearance; traditional American wheat ale is cloudy; ABV of 5.1 percent

2 Paws IPA:

75 IBU (international bittering units); bold but not really bitter; ABV of 5.5 percent

Black River Stout:

an oatmeal stout with an ABV of 5.8 percent



PPBC’s Mug Club

The Paw Paw Brewing Company will have a three-tiered mug club packages — Single Paw, Double Paw and All Paws Out.

Each package comes with an initial fee — $40, $75 and $100, respectively — and a one-year membership. There will be an annual fee to continue the membership.

Those wishing to participate will get a 20-ounce mug and a series of discounts and perks throughout the year. The mug will hang on the walls in the tasting room.

Here’s a breakdown on how each package will work:

Single Paw ($40 initial fee; $10 annual fee)

— 50 cents of any 20 ounce beer anytime

— 10 percent off all gear

Double Paw ($75 initial fee; $20 annual fee)

— $1 off any 20 ounce beer on Wednesdays and Thursdays

— 50 cents off any 20 ounce beer anytime

— 15 percent off gear

— $1 off any growler fill anytime (growler is a 64-ounce glass container)

All Paws Out ($100 initial fee; $30 annual fee)

— $1 off any 20-ounce beer anytime

— 15 percent off any gear

— $2 off any growler fill anytime

The brewery has simple bar area with two slivers for windows that face East Michigan Avenue.

There’s also a little tasting room with five tables, four using wine barrels as their base, and a flat-panel TV in the corner.

PPBC has a capacity of 76 — a framed piece of paper proudly displays the fact near the bar — and a staff of two, Fleckenstein and Sylvester. There’s a humble brewhouse where Sylvester will work his magic on a seven-barrel system.

Sylvester thinks he can brew around 400 barrels in 2011. He makes four beers right now — a mild English ale, an IPA, a wheat ale and a stout — with plans to tap into the region’s rich agriculture for specialty batches in the near future.

“Southwest Michigan is full of all kinds of stuff between maple syrup to grapes and blueberries and apples. We’re going to have some fun,” Fleckenstein said.

Fleckenstein quit his job as a flight instructor at Western Michigan University in December to dedicate his time fully to PPBC.

It’s the epitome of small business — two people taking a chance and following their hearts. They make the beer. They pour the beer. They clean the place after the doors close.

They’re relying on their neighbors and other people who enjoy a handcrafted product to make their “plunge” pay off in a bad economy. Since a rather quiet opening in mid-December, the response has been encouraging, they said.

“It’s been a dream of mine to do something like this. People say, ‘Your beer’s great,’” Sylvester said. “(But) It’s so hard brewing on your stove at home and watching it at your cellar in your basement and getting it right. You’re dealing with different temperatures and stuff like that, a lot of inconsistencies. It was turning out right and people were loving it. Now we can control things. ... It’s really made a big difference. It’s been a big learning curve, taking that step — a lot of phone calls, a lot of research, a lot of reading books.

“We’ve had great response from the local government, the local people, everybody’s been supportive.”

There is evidence to support the potential success of PPBC, which is now one of more than 80 breweries in the state, according Michigan Brewers Guild executive director Scott Graham, whose organization represents 75 of the state’s beermakers.

There were more than 40 members of the guild in 2007, Graham said.

Michigan ranks fifth in the country in total breweries, according to latest numbers from the Brewers Association, the Boulder, Colo.-based organization that represents small and independent craft brewers in the U.S.

Sales of Michigan-made beer is up more than 10 percent in 2010, according to statistics from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. Michigan breweries also have announced plans of more than $70 million in expansion and renovation projects last year, according to the guild.

When questions arise, Fleckenstein and Sylvester, a former wide receiver at WMU from 1992-95, have turned to other brewers around the state for advice:

, of Kalamazoo, who is the brewmaster at

;

, head brewer at

; Scott Newman-Bale and Joe Short, a former WMU student, who started

in Bellaire, among other brewers.

For example, when he brewed at home, Sylvester used corn sugar to carbonate his beer. But there are other ways of doing it when you have your own brewery.

“People told us a little bit about it, about the industry being helpful, but we didn’t expect it to that extent that they’d go out of their way and really help us out,” Sylvester said. “That’s where those guys become really helpful, ‘Here’s how I do it.’”

Now that they’re in the air, Fleckenstein and Sylvester will rely on the same passion that got them to this point to push ahead.

“Nothing is going to stop us. That’s just the bottom line. We’re here on a really small scale, but you gotta start somewhere,” Fleckenstein said.

Contact John Liberty at jliberty@kalamazoogazette.com and 269-388-8579.