![\"Lansing](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2015\/10\/Lansing-Brewing-Company.jpg\")
<\/a>Ideas for import: LBC’s Poutine dish is a hearty Northeastern Canada staple (Photo: Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n
“Jen and I went to Chicago and hired an Uber car in order to experience 21 brewpubs in one day,\u201d Gillespie said while standing in front of the giant stainless steel vats that brew, among 11 others, Amber Cream Ale, a reproduction of the beer of choice in town over 100 years ago. \u201cWe went to craft breweries in Frankenmuth, Nashville, Madison, and Columbus, and spent some time in Dublin, Ireland, too, looking for examples of ambience and atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
They must have really soaked it up in more ways than one, because Lansing Brewing Company is a creative carnival. And though they searched high and low for where to park the hi-lo, the incorporation of everything from local barn doors as walls to automobile piston rods as beer tap handles is delightful.<\/p>\n
The names of the beers add local flavor to the varied flavors: \u201cAngry Mayor IPA\u201d is named for, you guessed it, Lansing\u2019s leader Virg Bernero (\u201cwith a hint of bitterness under the surface,\u201d according to the tasting notes); while \u201cJoe in Black Lager\u201d is an homage to Father Joe Krupp, the thirsty pastor at Sacred Heart Parish, in Hudson, and Gillespie\u2019s personal confessor.<\/p>\n
The $1.5-million dollar renovation of the building created 75 new jobs, including those of Brewmaster Sawyer Stevens and Chef Chris Carrington, who both bring hospitality and culinary experience from Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. The original menu items are well-traveled too: Chicken and Waffles straight out of the South; and Poutine (French fries with gravy, cheese, braised pork and a fried egg in this version) from Northeastern Canada, to name two. A Quinoa Burger can, perhaps, offset the celebrated calories in the Apple Cider Donut Bread Pudding. Many of the dishes are made with LBC\u2019s Amber Cream Ale or locally produced \u201cHard Nosed\u201d rum or rye liquors \u2013 but don\u2019t worry: the kids menu includes a \u201cbottomless cereal bowl\u201d with straight milk.<\/p>\n
Travel back in time to when a beer tasted best right out of the barrel in the back room of the brewery. And don\u2019t forget your flannel shirt and beard. www.LansingBrewingCompany.com<\/a><\/p>\n Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at\u00a0<\/em>InviteYourself@aol.com<\/a>\u00a0or via TravelTattler.com\u00a0His talk show can be heard weekday mornings in\u00a0Lansing\u00a0on 92.1 FM.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"