Ellison Brewery + Spirits in East Lansing, Michigan strives to make the best craft beer in the region.
But, its selectivity stops at the business door.
“We like to refer to ourselves as the Clubhouse,” said Eric Elliot, the brewery’s owner. “Ellison Brewery stands out because we envisioned opening up a brewery that invites everyone.”
Creating a quality brew and a place where locals feel at home is something that takes time — and Elliot emphasized this when sharing his brewery’s beginnings. He saw the need for something in the community and got inspired to create something new.
“We opened on October 2, 2015,” he said. “It took us about a year and a half from build-out until actually being open. We really wanted to bring a brewery to the capital city.”
In addition to the challenge of a booming craft beer industry serving up more competition than ever, Ellison Brewery + Spirits knows there needs to be an equal focus on both product and company quality to stay on top.
Liability is one of the biggest factors in any business and Ellison Brewery + Spirits takes the responsibility seriously.
“Insurance really helps us protect our assets and our business,” he said. “If there’s an unfortunate car accident, if there’s an incident in the brewery, if beer went bad, then there’s insurance in place to help us cover our loss like that.”
As Ellison Brewery + Spirits raises its glass to the locals they intend to serve, the company keeps its eye on the future, but its heart in the past.
“I see the future of this industry going back to pre-prohibition,” Ellison said. “You used to have breweries in every town, and the locals would come to the brewery, meet, watch the product being made in front of them and drink it as fresh as possible.”
Ellison Brewery + Spirits look forward to being that local brewery that serves customers for years to come.
Ellison Brewery + Spirits is a policyholder of the Cincinnati Insurance Company.
