ANN ARBOR, MI - HOMES Brewery is opening to the public Wednesday, April 19, bringing a lineup of handcrafted brews and a menu of Asian street-style food to Ann Arbor's West Side.

Owner Tommy Kennedy has been working with his team for about two years on HOMES Brewery, an acronym for all five Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior) and a homage to the building's former use as a Culligan water company location.

The nearly 5,000-square-foot, industrial-style brewery and taproom located at 2321 Jackson Ave. is opening to members for a preview Tuesday night, and then the public starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Around 170 people can be seated comfortably either indoors or out on the patio's picnic tables and benches built around electric fire pits. The 28-foot bar is ready for beer orders, a variety of German glassware designed for certain beer styles cleaned and arranged.

Guests can order food in a separate line during busier periods, or simply head to the bar to pick out one of the beers on tap. Triangle-shaped beer flight holders hang on a wall nearby, with five spaces for sampling.

In the taproom's larger seating area, Roman shades depict astronauts surveying a geometric mountainous landscape and painted in bright hues of pink and turquoise. Those same colors are joined by a fluorescent orange and deep blue, chosen by Detroit street artist Paolo Pedini for artworks seen throughout the building.

The shades conceal dartboards, with three televisions above for catching the game. A projector hangs nearby, and large garage doors offer the opportunity to feel a spring breeze when the weather is nice.

Those garage doors have been open from time-to-time as the HOMES team prepares for the grand opening, and has attracted some attention from passersby.

"People walking by have been poking their heads in," Kennedy said. "It's pretty exciting. I like being built into the neighborhood like this."

There are 10 beers ready for curious patrons to try this week, with a variety of styles like the Lazer Light Show double IPA (India pale ale) made using Galaxy, Citra and Michigan chinook hops and the King Cold Brew Imperial Cream Ale that gets its coffee flavor from Columbian beans added during the beer-making process.

There are nine French oak barrels resting in a cool storage area underneath the brewery, a mark of pride for former Right Brain Brewery head brewer Nick Panchame.

He is now in charge at the brewing processes taking place at HOMES Brewery, and is looking forward to seeing how the Belgian sour batches that fill the barrels proceed over the coming weeks.

"We'll be checking those every few months," Panchame said. "We're going to make a big deal out of them, there's so much work that goes into it."

His plan is to extend HOMES brewed offerings via the 20-tap system throughout the year.

Noe Hang, head chef of the No Thai! restaurants in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, has also been putting in time and effort to develop a menu with Asian flair from kimchi fries for $9 to chicken katsu steamed buns for $12. Larger entrees include Korean beef bowl for $14 or a veggie version for $12.

Executive Chef Chou Vang, formerly with Ann Arbor's Tomukun Noodle Bar, is busy making the homemade kimchi and prepping the kitchen for the first wave of business.

"Come in and in try everything," Vang suggests with a smile.

Kennedy and his team have been posting updates on the HOMES Facebook page, from their visits to nearby breweries to the training they've been doing for their 20 new bartenders and wait staff.

After two years, he is drawing a breath and getting ready for the next chapter of HOMES Brewery.

"It's a simultaneous finish and start line," Kennedy said.

HOMES Brewery is closed Mondays and open 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. It is located across from Veterans Memorial Pool Park and Ice Arena in west Ann Arbor.