Located at 925 Cherry Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Brewery Vivant’s building has a long history. It was once used as a funeral home chapel and had to undergo extensive renovations before housing the brewery. Brewery Vivant may be situated in the center of a neighborhood, but they are a full manufacturing brewery. They process all their beer on the site and either they package it to be distributed through their wholesale partners or directly pump it over to serve in their pub.
The Brewery Vivant exhibits its special character upon stepping in the front doors. The chapel-like spot includes stained glass behind the bar and a buttressed roof with long wooden community tables in the middle of the restaurant. What it doesn’t show at first glance is the brewery’s high standard for commitment and sustainability to the local community. Most individuals looking for a brewery aren’t searching for sustainability, When Kris and Jason Spaulding opened Brewery Vivant, they had plenty of extraordinary ideas for Michigan’s small breweries. Both of them decided it was essential to concentrate on establishing a business that was economically-wise, community-based, and environmentally-friendly. Kris works with Herman Miller on a team for Design for Environment, while Jason was a part of the pioneering team that started New Holland Brewery in Holland. He then left the brewery in Holland to take brewing classes in Germany. Kris and Jason both tool time to tour Belgium and French breweries. They chose to follow the example with the breweries they were planning to launch.
The food there is one of the most efficient sustainable practices. As much as possible, the owners want to work with local farmers and plan to utilize the nearby farmer’s market. Making use of the local food means the menu will nearly mirror the changing seasons of Michigan. The long-term objective for the food is to get 50% of their food recipe from within a 250-mile radius.
The Brewery Vivant itself is a 20 barrel, three-vessel brewhouse constructed by the owner’s friends in the WM Sprinkman Corp., just across the pond in Wisconsin. The 1950’s style milk signature sign of a Sprinkman system works as an award between the mash tun and kettle. The grant permits the brewery to move their beer wort from the mash tun without dragging a vacuum on the grain bed.
The brewery has cylindrical-conical fermenters about 20, 40, and 60 barrel, and horizontal storage tanks that have been reused from dairy tanks. These tanks enable them to provide their French style which is ‘Biere de Garde’, the additional time it requires to grow and mature before they wrap it. The surface space for horizontal tanks provides the beer a bit of additional house flavor by making a larger surface space for the yeast to function.
Brewery Vivant’s pub is a spot to splurge in the beer’s culture. It’s a way of life for the owners that’s why they love to share their passion with everyone who takes the time to visit their pub. Once you step inside, you’ll get the feeling of stepping inside a Belgian monastery, excluding the monks that walk around. The pub has a pretty casual view where you can stop for a goblet of beer with your friends or colleagues. They don’t just process inspired beer in the pub, they are also looking to craft a beer-food experience for their customers.
Want to know what makes the beer in Brewery Vivant very unique? A better way to learn is from the individuals whose hard work poured that beer in your glass. It’s also fun to participate in tours since the brewery gets the chance to impress the out-of-town visitors by leading them down to discover how this local beer is established.
The tours for the brewery are usually conducted every Saturday at 3:00 PM. Since Brewery Vivant has limited space and a lot of people flock the area, tours are exclusive to 35 guests on a first come first serve basis. To secure a spot for the tour, you need to go to the area a bit early and buy a ticket from the host. You should be above 21 years old to participate in the tour. It costs $10 and includes enough beer samples. All participants of the tour get a 10% off coupon from the brewery store, where you can utilize to get beer glasses, hats, shirts, or take home a 4 pk or case.
Kris was most thrilled about the waste goals of the Brewery. They work with a local composting company to collect organic leftover items and utilize the recycling program of the city. Before the brewery opened, Kris realized that her perfect vision of waste management wasn’t realistic right after opening, but she hopes to enhance their practices and attain her zero-waste goal in time.
Breweries encounter some sustainability concerns that other businesses don’t. Manufacturing beer takes huge volumes of water and uses ingredients that aren’t easy to buy locally. There are more producers of grain in the Midwest than in Michigan. Since they are also dedicated to using high-quality products, Kris and Jason realize that they will be required to look for a balance between using quality products from further away and using local produce. One of the most consuming functions is cleaning tanks for brewing, meaning, using chemicals or a high volume of hot water, another matter of balance that will be modified as they keep on moving forward. Training and education played a significant role in minimizing water waste, as well as other kinds of waste. Teaching staff to utilize water efficiently and always be mindful of how to use water will highly lessen waste.
Community participation is another scope Krish and Jason believe is necessary for operating a sustainable business. Other objectives include making a 10% donation of their profits to local charities and compensating their staff for making a volunteer. The goals of Brewery Vivant will help to continue the improvement of the East Hills Neighborhood. The primary objective for the business is to serve the community especially the local ones. They are planning to distribute canned beers since it’s a more cost-saving and environmentally-friendly preserving container. They will continue to have a small distribution area so that they can keep on serving their local community.