Dragonmead

Dragonmead is a U.S. microbrewery, meadery and brewpub founded by Earl Scherbarth, Larry Channell, and Bill Wrobel in January 1997. The small brewery produces many varieties of beer, wine, and mead, and has received awards including gold medals at the World Beer Cup.[2]

Dragonmead
Dragonmead logo
Location4600 E. 11 Mile Road
I-696 Service Drive, Warren, Michigan 48089, U.S. 42.490908°N 83.060446°W / 42.490908; -83.060446
Opened1997
Key peopleLarry Channel, Bill Wrobel, Earl Scherbarth
Owned byEarl Scherbarth
Larry Channel
Bill Wrobel
Employees27[1]
Websitewww.dragonmead.com

History

Before opening the Dragonmead Larry Channel and Bill Wrobel worked for Chrysler while Earl Scherbarth worked at Ford. Their first interest in brewing came from a home brew kit bought for Scherbarth's birthday.[3][4] They decided to try different methods and ingredients to create new beers. During this period the group of friends looked into starting a business in the areas of computers or printing. Wrobel proposed that they start a brewery after they became familiar with the process of brewing. A year later the partners opened Dragonmead in May 1998. The company still sells to the home-brew community.[5][6]

In 1998, the Bay City Times wrote:

"Word about Dragonmead's magic is spreading, though they only make 18 barrels weekly and won't reach full capacity at their hospital-clean 5,200-square-foot [480 m2] factory until spring 1999. Detroit celebrity chef Jimmy Schmidt[upper-alpha 1] stocks Dragonmead at various high-end restaurants."[upper-alpha 2]

Johnny Klein, owner of Steamers Pub, on Bay City's West Side, and Steamers Pub South, in Saginaw, praised the brewery and its product.[upper-alpha 3]

In 2015, the brewery surpassed its "nanobrewery"[upper-alpha 4] character, upgrading to an 11,000 square foot facility, with a 1,000 square foot taproom,[9][10] and re-purposing old equipment.[upper-alpha 5] It used a three-barrel system to produce 2,500 barrels per year. The brewery purchased and installed a computer-automated Braumat software driven unit.[upper-alpha 6] According to Channell, the increased capacity will enable the pub to increase the number of "taps from 52 to 103 or more, and have at least one of each Beer Judge Certification Program-accepted style and sub-style available".[11] The brewers intend to extend their distribution.[upper-alpha 7] More seasonal brews are expected with the expansion.[12]

Beers

Dragonmead uses at least 57 types of grain for brewing, and sometimes as many as 75 from seven countries in a year.[13] Yeast strains – the company stocks fifteen – are used only once for brewing.[6][14] The brewery's most popular product is named Final Absolution Trippel, a bottled ale.[14] in December 2014 the brewing system was expanded to allow the production of an increased range of beers.[15]

This brewery has formulated beer recipes for 26 varieties.[8] These include multiple formulations of American style ales, English ales, German-style ales, a German lager, Belgian ales, Scottish ales, and a Russian Imperial Stout.[8][16] Other regionally distributed beers include "Under the Kilt Wee Heavy" (7.8% ABV Scottish style strong ale), and Sin Eater {11% ABV Belgian strong dark ale}.[2] The "Big 5" are their most popular beers, available as four-bottle packs in stores[upper-alpha 8] On tap the pub features a wide range of beers, including seasonal varieties.[18][19] The scope of the brewery's distribution has widened.[20]

A part of their effort is to brew to type, they use proper geographically relevant ingredients.[upper-alpha 9][upper-alpha 10]

Facilities

As the Chicago Tribune noted and photographed, the bar features a plethora of unconventional beer tap handles, i.e., just a portion of the 75 handles were photographed, "plus the stained-glass windows in the mirror's reflection. Belgian abbey, medieval watering hole, or Dungeon's & Dragons haunt: you decide."[25] Other crafted tap handles include Erik the Red, Coppershield Bitter Harvest, Excalibur Barley Wine and Russian Imperial Stout, all of which have their own escutcheon.[26] The decor includes two large vitreous glass tile mosaics, "Shield" by William Wrobel. He also crafted two large leaded art glass windows—The Knight's Window and The Dragon’s Window. The bar itself was 6 years in the making by Dragonmead owner D. Earl Scherbarth, and includes a "copper-top back bar with custom oak cabinetry.[26]

Awards

The brewery won a 2006 Gold Medal in the World Beer Cup – popularly and unofficially called "The Olympics of Beer"[upper-alpha 11] – for their Belgian Triple Final Absolution,[22][29][30] at 10% ABV[2] with a rating of 94 at RateBeer.[31] That beer is memorialized in a beer tap handle.[22][13] Another World Cup gold medalist was an English-style bitter, "Crusader Dark Mild Ale".[22][32] In 2012, Dragonmead double-medaled at the World Beer Cup.[28][33][upper-alpha 12]

Through end of 2014, the brewery has been awarded five prestigious World Beer Cup medals, and five medals from the International Mazer Cup Mead Competition. Combined with "numerous local and national awards, Dragonmead Microbrewery is one of the most-awarded breweries in the United States."[9]

It was named by RateBeer to its list of "Top 50 Breweries to Visit in the World".[upper-alpha 13]

Other products

The brewery also produces mead.[37][38] In 2014, the brewery garnered five awards at the Mazer Cup International Mead Competition. 1st place ESB, Braggot; 2nd place Crooked Door Braggot; 2nd place Strawberry Mead Dessert; 3rd place Medieval Spice Pumpkin Dessert; 1st place Cherry Mead Mellomel Dry.[39][40][upper-alpha 14]

The brewer also produces and serves its own root beer and sodas.

The brewpub now operates a kitchen with a specialized menu designed to be in accord with the beer.[upper-alpha 15] Growler beer bottles are filled and beer flights are served.[44]

Dragonmead entered into a joint venture with another Warren, Michigan microbrewery, Kuhnhenn Brewing Company. The agreement entailed production of "Dark Heathen", an "extremely high gravity Doopelbock-hybrid style of beer". This 12.5% ABV beverage would take 6 months of lagering before being packaged.[45]

Dragonmead is a member of the Michigan Brewers Guild and the national Brewer’s Association. Their individual brewers are members of the Master Brewers’ Association of the Americas Detroit chapter.[10]

It also supports "Fermenta," a specialized trade group founded by women in Michigan (at a meeting April 2014 at the Arbor Brewing Company) that is "committed to diversity, camaraderie, networking, [networking] and education within the craft beverage industry." It is one of 11 Michigan craft breweries participating along with the Michigan Brewers Guild.[46]

See also

Notes
  1. Schmidt is a three-time James Beard Award-winner.[7]
  2. "...his Kercheval on the Hill in Grosse Pointe, as do such swank joints as the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, the Pointe Bar-B-Q in Detroit, and Ashley's in Ann Arbor.”[8]
  3. ""Beer," he remarked, "is a lot like sex. It's all good, but some is better than others." “Microbrewers in Michigan are making some of the finest beers available on the market today, but these guys are taking it a step further. Dragonmead is making beers that your average microbrewery is not making." A key difference between Dragonmead and other Michigan microbreweries is the creation process. Most use "generational" yeast - the same batch of yeast is used and re-used as a blend for several varieties of lagers, ales and wheat beers." Not Dragonmead. Owners Larry Channell, Earl Scherbarth and Bill Wrobel only use original yeast batches once for each specific style of beverage. "They take no shortcuts at all. For anybody who knows anything about making beer, that's incredibly painstaking," Klein said. "That's taking the extra step to ensure quality."[8]
  4. Nanobrewery—a brewery that produces beer in four barrels or less. With their custom 3 barrel HDP brewing system "... they were a nano brewery before anyone used the term nano to describe a brewery.” Start up breweries typically have a 15 barrel system.[1]
  5. Thus, "it's nanobrewery status (a brewery that produces beer in four barrels or less) is about to become a thing of the past."[11]
  6. "The new system, purchased from Lake Orion-based Craftwerk Brewing Systems [permits] brewers [to] control every step of the brewing process. All of the tanks are shown on a computer monitor, and the brewer can simply click on each tank to check or adjust a number of factors, such as fermentation and temperature. Dragonmead is one of only a handful of smaller breweries in Michigan to adopt the system."[11]
  7. To reach to higher volume distributors in Livingston, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, and in due course throughout Michigan and other states. "We see a demand there for a lot more than what we're doing (now)."[11]
  8. Crown Jewels IPA, Under the Kilt Wee Heavy, Final Absolution Trippel, Erik the Red and Sir William's Extra Special Bitter.[17] Another source calls them "flagship beers".[11]
  9. "Offering nearly 50 beers on tap, all of which are made on-site using regionally specific ingredients, patrons can take a geographical journey by enjoying brews inspired by Old World recipes in a setting that hark back to a time when members of the feudal system would tip back tankards and complain about serfdom."[21] Crusader Dark Mild Ale, Erik the Red, Final Absolution, Russian Imperial Stout are said to be "key beers".[22]
  10. "The gold medal was for Final Absolution, a Belgian style trippel that beat out many other beers from Belgium. Not only did they trounce the Belgian beers, the judges were from Belgium! This victory was even sweeter as these same Belgian judges had, just the day before, stated that Americans could never brew Belgian style beers as well as a native Belgian due to inferior ingredients; a great story and a great triumph for Dragonmead and American craft brewers. To me, the story was the beer equivalent of the 1976 wine competition “Judgment of Paris” when Napa Valley wines defeated the wines of Bordeaux in a blind tasting that was judged by the Parisians!"[23][24] An example of the use of properly-sourced ingredients is the Camelot Bronze Belgian Ale, which mixes "sweet orange blossom honey" with imported Munich malt together with Belgian malted two-row barley. "The only thing not from Belgium in that beer is the Warren water, and our water is pretty good," Dragonmead owner Larry Channell wisecracked.[8]
  11. "'It's called 'The Olympics of Beer Competition' for good reason,' said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, the U.S.-based trade association that has put on the competition every two years since 1996. 'The event brings together great brewers from all corners of the globe. Plus, the awards are highly regarded. A brewer who wins a World Beer Cup gold award knows that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world. Congratulations to all the winners of the 2012 World Beer Cup. The Brewers Association and the proud sponsors of our event thank all participating brewers for their involvement.'"[27][28]
  12. In Category 6: Herb and Spice Beer, 80 Entries Silver: Ring Of Fire, Dragonmead Microbrewery; in Category 11: Specialty Honey Beer, 23 Entries Bronze: Killer Bee, Dragonmead Microbrewery.[28][34]
  13. "Warren's Dragonmead is one of the superior microbreweries. ... Dragonmead is a genuine craft beer mecca."[21] It "is consistently ranked in the top breweries in the world on beer rating websites BeerAdvocate.com and RateBeer.com."[10] It was voted best craft brewery in Macomb County in 2012 and 2013.[35][36] Voted Best Brewery 2012 by Metromix.com and Best Microbrewery in Detroit for 2012 by Hour Detroit Magazine.[34]
  14. Held in Boulder, Colorado, it is the largest mead event in the world.[41]
  15. The kitchen is being run as a joint venture with Lazybones Smokehouse, whose chef-owner Deni Smiljanovski (previously of The Golden Mushroom in Southfield, Michigan) is in charge.[42] It serves a medley of pub grub. Lazybones formerly would deliver food ad hoc to individual customers who were at Dragonmead. The pub had minimal food service, and thus allowed deliveries. Chef Smiljanovski created "Dragonbones - an original selection of beer-friendly appetizers and big sausage sandwiches prepared on site".[43]

References
  1. Halfpenny, Rex. "Dragonmead Finally a Microbrewery". Michigan Beer Guide. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. Wayland, Michael (September 18, 2013). "Michigan's Best Brewery: Dragonmead Brewery offers 'Final Absolution' for many beer enthusiasts". Warren, Michigan: MLive. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. Louwers, Brian. "DFriends, partners brew success at Dragonmead". www.candgnews.com. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  4. Burns, Gus (September 21, 2013). "Michigan's Best Brewery: From home brew to Dragonmead". Warren, Michigan: MLive. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. Blum, Peter H. (1999). Brewed in Detroit: Breweries and Beers Since 1830. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 249. ISBN 0-8143-2661-7.
  6. cgnewspapers (4 February 2010). "Dragonmead Microbrewery" (Video). cgnewspapers. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  7. Elliott, Farley (November 20, 2014). "James Beard Comes to the Desert with Chefs Jimmy Schmidt and Eduardo Ruiz". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  8. Nowlin, Michael K. (1998). "There's A New Brew In Town". Bay City Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  9. Audrey (November 25, 2014). "Dragonmead Microbrewery Expands Into 11,000-square-foot Facility". Industry News. Drink Michigan. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  10. Dianna (November 25, 2014). "Dragonmead Microbrewery Expands Into 11,000-square-foot Facility; 1,000-square-foot Taproom". Promote Michigan. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  11. Sakey, Jennifer (November 4, 2013). "SOUTHEAST: Dragonmead Increases Brewing Capacity with Expansion". Mitten Brew. Warren, Michigan: Mittenbrew.com. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  12. Shine, Kim North (December 5, 2014). "Dragonmead Brewery Expands with New Brewing System". Metromode. SE MI Start-up. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  13. "Tap Handle #94: Dragonmead - Final Absolution beertaps". Amazing Tap Handles!!. February 26, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  14. Ruschmann, Paul; Nasiatka, Maryanne (2006). Michigan Breweries. Stackpole Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8117-3299-4.
  15. "Dragonmead Brewery expands with new brewing system". Metromode. Issue Media Group, LLC. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  16. "Dragonmead Microbrewery". Pure Michigan. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  17. Hakim, Joe. "Dragonmead Brewery". Real Detroit Weekly. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  18. "Dragonmead's Premium Microbrews (interactive list)". Dragonmead. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  19. "Dragonmead Microbrewery Beer List". Untapped. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  20. "Locations". Dragonmead Brewery. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  21. Drink me (February 25, 2014). "The best of the craft beverage movement". Metro Times. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  22. Warniak, Jeff (March 5, 2014). "The 12 Best Breweries in Michigan, According to Science". Thrillist. Thrillist Media Group. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  23. Lowman, John (July 2012). "Food & Beer". Michigan Beer Guide. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  24. See, "Episode 27, Dragonmead (MP3)". Michigan Beer Scene. Brew Bubbas Radio. Retrieved February 22, 2015. How did they upset the Belgian's at the World Beer Cup?
  25. Satasuk, Preamtip (December 13, 2013). "Detroit Beer — Dragonmead". Chicago Tribune (Photograph). Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  26. "Artwork". Dragonmead Brewery. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  27. Starr, Barb (May 10, 2012). "Four Michigan Breweries Awarded 7 Medals at 2012 World Beer Cup: Four Michigan breweries – Bastone, Dragonmead, Founders and Kuhnhenn – are among those from around the world to receive awards from an elite international panel of judges in the 2012 Brewers Association World Beer Cup". imabeerhound.com. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  28. "World Beer Cup Announces Winners At Craft Brewers Conference". Huffington Post. May 7, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  29. "World Beer Cup 2006 Winners List" (PDF). Brewers Association. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  30. HuRRiC4Ne (October 16, 2009). "Extract - Belgian Trippel (2006 World Beer Cup Gold Medal: Dragonmead Final Absolution) clone". homebrew.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  31. "Final Aboslution Belgian Style Trippel". RateBeer. ratebeer.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  32. Liberty, John (April 21, 2008). "Bell's Brewery Inc. wins gold for best porter". San Diego: Mlive.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  33. "2012 World Beer Cup Winner's List" (PDF). The Brewers Association. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  34. FitzOhioBeer (June 8, 2012). "Beer News: Dragonmead Microbrewery wins some awards!". Ohio Beer. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  35. "Craft and Specialty Beers". Gerry’s Distributing Company. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  36. See "Dragonmead Microbrewery Ranked #3 of 32 for Best Brewpub". cityvoter.com. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  37. Rupersburg, Nicole (August 2, 2013). "[HOT LIST] Mead Day". Eat it Detroit. eatitdetroit.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  38. Ranspach, Ryan (August 3, 2012). "Come Celebrate National Mead Day with B. Nektar, Dragonmead & Kuhnenn!". imabeerhound.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  39. meadist (April 15, 2014). "2014 Mazer Cup Results". Mead News. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  40. "Home of Award Winning Beers". Dragonmead Brewing. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  41. .The Mazer Cup International official website
  42. Trudeau, Victoria (May 14, 2014). "Dragonmead adds Dragonbones Food to Menu". detroit.eater.com. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  43. Rector, Sylvia (May 14, 2014). "Lazybones cooks up a new beer-friendly menu at Dragonmead brewery". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 21, 2015.(subscription required)
  44. Blakeslee, Gerald (June 23, 2014). "Tap Tour 2014: Use our handy guide to plan your customized metro Detroit 'beercation'". Hour Detroit. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  45. "Kuhnhenn Brewing Collaborating With Dragonmead Brewery". The Full Pint. thefullpint.com. March 18, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  46. Knighton, Pauline (July 2, 2014). "Michigan Women Organize a Craft Beverage Trade Group: Fermenta". Retrieved February 21, 2015.
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