Albion welcomes its first downtown brewery, an homage to its past and a step to the future

It’s the kind of building you might see in a bigger city. The exterior is sleek and black, Albion Malleable Brewing Company is printed cleanly and visibly above the door.

Inside, high ceilings, exposed brick and specially crafted wooden furniture come together to create an industrial sort of aesthetic, a modern echo of the Albion history the brewery is paying homage to.

“Most people were pretty surprised to see this town had something like this, just covered by 50 years of plaster if not more,” said John Rogers, co-owner of Albion Malleable.

He and co-owner Charles Moreau met their third partner, Ben Wade, in October 2015. Wade had been thinking about starting a brewery. Rogers and Moreau were putting out feelers for investors in a restaurant or brewery.

“Small-town word of mouth” brought them together, Wade said. An hour of discussion and coffee convinced them they were on the same page. They decided to move forward on the brewery.

The $1.2 million project had its grand opening on May 21.

The name is a reference to the Albion Malleable Iron Company. Opened in 1888, it was long one of the city’s largest employers. It closed in 2002 after switching ownership a few times.

The building the brewery is in, at 420 South Superior St., was built around the same time the iron company opened. It was a carriage house and livery, a movie theater and a hardware store before it was turned into a brewery.

“We were looking for something positive to connect with the history of the town and to kind of inspire confidence in the future and where Albion’s going,” Rogers said. “Really this brewery was founded on being excited about the community, at least as much as we are excited about craft beer.”

That local angle is the main focus of every part of the brewery. Ken Shenstone, an Albion carpenter and potter, built the bar and the tables. He'll also be creating the mugs for Albion Malleable Brewing Company’s Mug Club. The bread and buns on the menu are from the soon-to-open Foundry Bakehouse and Deli. Albion Malleable also uses Cherry Capital Foods, a Michigan food distributor, to source local proteins and produce.

And as much as possible is prepared on site by the brewery’s chef, Joe Marciano, including in-house ground sausage and meatball blends.

“I think it’s been really great to see how people are responding to that, because I think people have forgotten what it’s like to eat out and have meat that’s been ground fresh daily, buns that are made by the bakery on the corner,“ Moreau said. “It’s not rocket science, it’s just good cooking, and people are really excited about it, I think.”

Albion Malleable’s beers are Belgian-influenced, not quite made in the traditional Belgian style but with Belgian yeast strains, Wade said. Saisons also will help make up the core of what will be available at the brewery.

“Our beers are very drinkable and an easy on-ramp for people who haven’t been exposed to craft beer or are looking for something lighter,” Rogers said.

The opening of the brewery is helping breathe some life back into Albion’s downtown. A walk down Superior Street will still show you some empty, dilapidated buildings, but things are turning around.

There’s a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel. Foundry is in the middle of construction. Right next to Albion Malleable, Pure Albion, a local merchandise store, and Brick Street Marketing, a local marketing firm, have set up shop.

More:

The Bohm Theatre built an audience around $3-a-ticket classic movies on the big screen

Albion College alumni open $12 million hotel in the city

Blakely: In my first cage fight, somehow the most terrifying part wasn't the actual fight

“We wanted a place the town can be proud of, someplace where people can come from surrounding communities and cities to Albion, not only to build our customer base but to see what downtown has to offer,” Wade said. “We’ve already had people from Kalamazoo coming through and saying ‘I’ve never been to downtown before. There’s a beautiful theater. I’d love to come check it out.’”

“It’s really about being one piece of a larger picture of things that are happening downtown,” he added.

Contact Natasha Blakely at (269) 223-0114 or nblakely@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @blakelynat.

Albion Malleable Brewing Company

420 S. Superior St

Albion, MI

(517) 343-2202

www.facebook.com/malleable/