From Bell’s to the Jolly Pumpkin to the Motor City Brewing Works, while served in bottles year-round at Crunchy’s, these Michigan beers will all be on tap at Crunchy’s in East Lansing in July.In business since 1982, the East Lansing mainstay is featuring only Michigan brewed beers for the entire month.
“We dedicate every single [tap] line to a Michigan brewery,” said General Manager Mike Krueger. The event was so popular last year Crunchy’s decided to offer it again this year.
“It promotes Michigan beers and helps people get to know them,” Krueguer said.
Boasting Mid-Michigan’s best selection of microbrews, the bar typically has several Michigan draft beers alongside standards like Labatt’s, Miller and Miller Lite. In July, customers can still get those brews but they’ll have to be from a bottle.
Some of the featured breweries include Dark Horse, Founders, Arcadia, New Holland, the Livery, Detroit Beer Company, Atwater, and Saugatuck.
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Crunchy's
254 W. Grand River Ave., East Lansing crunchyseastlansing.com, (517) 351-2506 |
“It’s a traditional way of serving beer,” he said. “It’s drawn straight from a cask and not pumped with CO2. It’s naturally carbonated rather than forcefully carbonated. It allows the person drinking the beer to get the full flavor of what the brewer is trying to represent.”
For instance, Arcadia Brewing Company of Battle Creek offers a beer called HopMouth Double IPA, in which rye-soaked oak spirals will be inside the firkin.
“They will be naturally fermenting to give the beer a whole new flavor,” he explained. “We’re hoping to attract people who might not usually come out with this new twist.”
It’s not all about the brews at Crunchy’s, the varied menu includes stone-baked sub sandwiches, salads, burritos, tacos and the most popular menu items: pizza and burgers. While Crunchy’s tries to feature as many Michigan products as it can year-round, this month’s menu will jump on the Made in Michigan bandwagon with Kowalski hotdogs, Traverse City cherries, and cheese from the Michigan State University dairy. Michigan Cherry salad and the Traverse City cherry burgers are two menu items sure to be popular, Krueger said.
“With our state’s employment rate the way it is, we want to do anything we can to help Michigan’s economy,” Krueger said.
Offering live music Sunday through Wednesday, Crunchy’s will feature Michigan-based performers and bands for the month. The lineup includes Bloomill from Detroit, The Northern Skies with members from Grand Rapids and Detroit, and Cloud Magic, of Lansing.
