After attending college in Grand Rapids, I became something of a beer snob. Grand Rapids has dozens of craft breweries, so the coming of legal drinking age was marked by outings to the finest breweries Michigan has to offer. But, being a beer snob doesn’t make one a connoisseur, it just makes that person annoying to drink with.
Moving back home, however, opened my eyes to the creativity of more local craft breweries. The Eaton Pub has its own brews with Charlotte Brewing Company. Along with some friends, I became a mug club member at Eagle Monk, a small brewery in west Lansing. Mason is the home of Bad Brewing Company, and Marshall is the home of Dark Horse Brewing Company. As it turns out, west Michigan isn’t the only place in the state to find artisan beer.
On Dec. 21, a new local craft brewery is opening. Chad and Michelle Rogers own Dimes Brewhouse in Dimondale, just across the street from the village offices. For the last two years they’ve been working on the small downtown building while working their own full time jobs as chemical engineers. Chad formerly worked for Dart Container, and Michelle still works for the Department of Environmental Quality. The couple is known around smaller communities of friends and beer drinkers to have finely made home brews, and soon Eaton County residents will get to have a taste.
“Once we got into home brewing our equipment got more and more complicated and advanced, and we just decided it’d be a good thing for this community, so we set out to bring it to Dimondale,” said Michelle.
According to Michelle, she and Chad have made several recipes in the last few years, or what she believes could fill their 12 taps. When Dimes opens Dec. 21, however, there will be four beers on tap to start; an amber, an IPA, a hoppy blonde, and a dry Irish stout. The four beers won’t be named by the time Dimes open, and Michelle noted it’s likely the recipes will adjust over time. She and Chad want to leave room for adjusting to what customers will enjoy, and leaving creative room for regulars to help name the beers. Soon Dimes will also have cider and wine options for customers.
In the last year Chad and Michelle have done work to the interior of the building, making updates and adding their own touches to the design. In Dimes customers will drink at tables and a bar made from a tree cut down in the Rogers’ back yard.
“We’ve had paper over our windows for three years, so everyone wants to see what it looks like in here,” said Michelle.
Dimes will be a unique bar experience for some. There isn’t a kitchen, or food menu at Dimes, but visitors are welcome to bring their own food from home or even local restaurants. Someday Chad and Michelle hope food trucks will be welcome to downtown Dimondale so Dimes customers can enjoy a nice taco with a craft beer.
Dimondale customers are also welcome to join the Dimes Mad Chemist Club. Club members pay a $50 lifetime fee to join, and they’ll receive a beaker that leaves room for a larger pour, as well as 50 cents off each beer.
Dimes will be open Thursday through Sunday. Thursdays 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturdays noon to 11 p.m., and Sundays noon to 9 p.m. To learn more about Dimes Brewhouse, readers can visit dimesbrewhouse.com.
“We hope people stop in over the holidays, and keep stopping in over the next few months as we bring in more beers and really develop our recipes,” said Michelle.
