All the Brews Fit to Pint: Main Street's about to get a little jollier with Jolly Pumpkin

As anyone who’s recently walked by 311 S. Main St. knows, there’s a sign in the window announcing the impending arrival of a Jolly Pumpkin cafÃ©.

This is great news for fans of the Dexter-based microbrewery’s barrel-aged sour ales, expertly brewed by beer artisan Ron Jeffries. But Jolly Pumpkin is just about beer, isn’t it? What’s this cafÃ© thing going to be like?

Up to now, details have been somewhat sketchy, so your correspondent went deep undercover to get some intel on what we can expect.

(That is, I spoke with general manager and head chef Maggie Long over a beer at Grizzly Peak.)

The first thing to note about the cafÃ© is how passionate Long is about the project. She joined Grizzly Peak as executive chef 12 years ago, eventually becoming a corporate chef in the growing Grizzly empire (see, e.g., CafÃ© Habana, Blue Tractor, Bastone, etc.). When she learned of plans for the cafÃ©, she jumped at the chance to work with Ron Jeffries again, who brewed for Grizzly before striking out on his own. (The Jolly Pumpkin brand is also a part of Northern United Brewing, Grizzly's parent company.)

“I have the utmost respect for Ron and what he’s been able to accomplish,” said Long. “I’m truly proud to be working with him on this.”

What has Jeffries accomplished? Depends who you ask. If you ask Men’s Journal, his farmhouse ale, Bam BiÃ©re, is in the top 25 best beers in America. If you ask Beer Advocate magazine, Jolly Pumpkin is the 8th best brewery in America. If you ask me, well, I’d tell you that anytime you see a Jolly Pumpkin beer—any Jolly Pumpkin beer—on tap, you should order at least one.

Which brings us back to the cafÃ©. According to Long, it will have eight taps, five or six of which will be the Jolly Pumpkin beers we local beerovores know and love (such as the aforementioned Bam BiÃ©re as well as Oro de Calabaza, La Roja, Luciernaga, and Calabaza Blanca) and the others will be brews from an affiliated Jolly Pumpkin facility, the Bowers Harbor Inn, located on the Old Mission Peninsula. (Brewer Mike Hall reportedly is creating some great beers with Michigan-grown hops.)

In addition, the Ann Arbor cafÃ© will have a small on-premise brewing system, which Jeffries will use to create seasonal and “funky” beers, and—in case you’re in the mood for a cocktail instead—the cafÃ© is licensed to serve spirits produced by the microdistillery up at Bowers Harbor.

Right, so the drinking’s taken care of. What about the food? Long wouldn’t share menu specifics, but she did tell me a little about her vision for the kitchen.

“The menu will have somewhat of a vegetarian and vegan slant,” she said. “We’ll have a variety of pizzas, sandwiches, and appetizers—all of them beer friendly, of course.”

The cafÃ© will also enthusiastically participate in the growing trend toward local food and seasonal menus.

“Our food will be locally sourced as much as possible, with an eye toward sustainably produced products,” said Long. “We’ll have a chalkboard featuring entrees—five or six a week—and rotate the kinds of things we serve seasonally. Above all, we hope to have fun with it.”

In addition to the main floor, the cafÃ© will include an upstairs lounge area with its own bar, a condensed menu, and late-night hours. The entire facility will be nonsmoking.

I, for one, am excited that Ann Arbor will soon have another option for great beer downtown. What else is there to say? I’ll give Maggie Long the final word:

“It’s going to be a really cool space. Or at least I’m going to die trying to make it that way.”

David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest ~~ramblings~~ insights.