Anyone been yet? They just opened on Thursday and I haven't had a chance to check it out myself. I'm a little wary of a new brewery opening with such a huge space with food and so much hype behind it. It's obvious that there's been a good bit of money thrown behind it and to me that's usually cause for concern. They already have a crowler machine for gods sake, if that isn't the cart in front of the horse I don't know what is. There's been a lot of local hype surrounding LBC's opening which Ellison Brewing and Spirits didn't seem to get so I'm a bit suspicious. Hopefully my worries are unfounded and it ends up being one of the Lansing areas first worthwhile breweries/brewpubs. Ellison being the first in my opinion, went last weekend and was very impressed with the quality of their beer. Cheers to Lansing having choices!?
Lansing has definitely been a black hole for craft beer. I'm all for anyone developing that downtown area around the ballpark. I agree with you in that I would rather check out Ellison based on the reputation of the head brewer alone. But I live west of Lansing so it will be easier for me to visit LBC than running out to East Lansing. I've only went to Hopcat in East Lansing twice because it's a pain in the ass to get out there so I probably won't visit Ellison very much either. But I attend Lugnut games about four times every summer and I go out of my way to visit Roma's when I'm in Lansing so I will definitely be going to LBC. (Plug for Roma's - this is an old Italian family shop in Lansing near LBC. Stop by there if you can. Pricey but worth it.) I also agree with gash in that LBCs opening has received noticeable more hype than Ellison, especially from the Lansing State Journal. I only heard about LBC for the first time a month ago. Then all of a sudden - BAM! For a brewer who just started two days ago, they really seem to have their shit together based on first appearance. I haven't seen a brewer sprint out of the gate with top notch facilities and equipment like this since Perrin's. If LBC does as good a job on their beer as they have with their opening so far, they will be a very welcome addition to downtown Lansing.
Been to Ellison several times now. Hit LBC for lunch on Friday. My personal opinion, Ellison has better offerings across the board. Big Toad's, sloppy seconds and mud slinger are top notch. LBC is pretty cool inside, and has a creative menu that seems to use their beer as an ingredient in every item. I hope they both flourish.
Completely agree. LBC did a wonderful job with the building, and they have a solid food menu. Ellison's facility is really just a tasting area in their warehouse, but the beers are a cut above. If I had to compare both places to other sites, I'd compare LBC to a better version of Latitude 42 in Kalamazoo (big-ish but well designed building, large food menu, family-friendly, etc). The beers were better than 42, but nothing really knocked me out. If anyone was ever at B. Nektar's old place, that's exactly what Ellison reminded me of: Fairly nondescript warehouse in a light industrial area w/o much signage, just snacks, and an open building with a bar separating the tanks from the tasting area. I was really happy with the beer selection. Overall, LBC and Ellison have distinctly different vibes. LBC will kill it in the summer on Lugnuts game days, and they'll get a lot of downtown/business traffic. Ellison is the friendly out of the way place that's as close to a neighborhood watering hole as a craft brewery can be. I really hope both do well - I can see myself going back to both, depending on the occasion.
I have yet to hit either. Almost went to LBC as i was in the area Thursday night but didn't want to deal with opening day. I drive by Ellison's general area twice a day, but have yet to stop in. Heard good things from my coworker, just haven't had a chance. Life get's in the way, two young ones, not a lot of time to hit the bar after work. I was actually thinking about hitting Ellison next sunday after we hit the shooting range, but I need a place with food and LBC is too far out of the way. LBC looks really nice from what i can tell. I am a designer, so lots of through and time went into making that all happen. Crazy amount of merch for a place that just opened. But love the general look and design of it all. Stark change from what I have seen from Ellison, as I absolutely hate their logo as it is a stock vector image with their name stuck in the middle, and MSU's capital campaign that rolled out a year ago uses the EXACT same laurel wreath. No originality and personality from it. As a comparison, Old Nation did a good job (in my opinion) with their rollout. Labels, etc they contracted out to a local firm, really well put together. I don't love their space, and their staff seems confused and clueless. I've been here a couple times and enjoyed a few of their beers. But again, this is all my general perception, I have yet to have beer from Ellison or LBC.
Been twice now. Glad they're open, because Lansing needs more local beer. I think their beer is a sizable notch below Ellison or Sleepwalker, which both make the best beer in town, IMO.
So it seems like most agree that they aren't on par with Ellison as far as beer goes. At least not yet. Will definitely check out LBC at some point once the hype has died down a bit. Also sounds like I need to look into Sleepwalker.
Logo aside Ellison was impressive in my opinion. You're doing yourself a disservice not stopping in for at least a flight. Especially if you're so close so often. Big Toads, Gum Job and Sloppy Seconds were great. I'd avoid their pale ale on your first visit, did not care for that one.
Stopped in today with my dad, brother in law and his brother. Decent offerings but not blown away. Big toads was very good. Prob my favorite. Had the hefe, mud slinger, big toads, and bit nutty. Also tried quick tastes of the sloppy seconds, kolsch and tiramisu. Won't go through the play by play, each were good but left me wanting a little more to each. With the stouts they all just seemed a bit thin for being 8-10.5%. Lacked body and richness. My brother in law had mud slinger and I ordered one and the keg blew, so I got it after the change. It wasn't really doing it for me, and he said he liked his. Overheard another table with a mug club member at they also had a pour from each keg and the second was very different. So I don't know what was up.
Bummer. I guess I can't speak to their consistency after only one visit myself. I feel like they need a lower ABV single IPA in the line up. Seemed to have a lot of high gravity stuff on tap when I stopped in. Really curious to stop in again to see if I like it as much as the first go round.
fwiw as people probably dont know...The head brewer at Ellison is Todd Schwem..The former head brewer at Kuhnhenn...Ellison is one of the better NEW breweries that has opened up in a long time..It blows all the breweries out of the water in the surrounding vacinity...They will become a huge force in Michigan..They just dont have the incredible deep pockets of the owners of LBC...
Truth be told, I haven't made it to either yet, but I see it along similar lines. LBC has a lot invested in it. I think you can tell from their branding and publicity that they are mostly in it to turn a profit (obviously not a bad thing). I'm a little put off by them claiming the LBC name and saying they were founded in the 1890s. My understanding is that the current location is not where the original was and they don't offer any of the same beers (or beer recipes) as the original LBC. But they have a favorable location (presuming the Stadium district takes off) and seem to be family friendly. The menu looks good and I think the bottomless bowl of cereal for the kiddies is an awesome idea. Ellison on the other hand definitely seems to be putting the beer first. They seem to be catering to the craft beer crowd instead of the mainstream folk like LBC. I think you can tell that from their beer offerings, location, menu, etc. I tend to lean towards the places that put the beer first.
I spoke with Todd at the summer solstice party and he said that it was his last week at Kuhnhenn. He mentioned moving up to East Lansing to join a new brewery and I was wondering if this was it, so thanks for confirming. *edit - the Double Hop Drop he brewed for that party was awesome...hope to see more of the same at Ellison.
