Ann Arbor brewery hopes new location will bring creative flair to area – MLive.com

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- An Ann Arbor brewing company is set to pass another hurdle this week as it continues to pursue opening a new campus.

Mothfire Brewing Co., currently at 2290 S. Industrial Highway, has plans to move to a new location at 713 W. Ellsworth Road in Pittsfield Township.

The Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees is scheduled to hear a resolution recommending the approval of a permit for the companys on-site tasting room on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Local approval is required for the state-level permit for an on-premises tasting room. The preliminary site plan was approved in June 2022.

Owner Noah Kaplan said he hopes the new location will bring a creative flair to the area, with hopes of making it a makers corridor. He also owns the neighboring Leon Speakers.

We have a big vision for the campus, Kaplan said.

The 6,000-square-foot location will have a patio and tasting room, as well a customer-facing really beautiful brewing system, Kaplan said.

The brewery is currently slated to open in March 2023.

But we are ready to be pouring, Kaplan said.

Formerly known as Pileated Brewing Co., Mothfire debuted in its current space in 2020 in what Kaplan called a thousand-day experiment. The Mothfire owners bought the business and brewhouse from Pileated Brewing Co. in 2019.

We created over 40 brands of beers there. We literally brewed hundreds of times, Kaplan said. We really worked out that location to be a test kitchen and kind of a trial so that we can really hone in on the quality of beer, figure out what people loved around here.

The new location will serve both beers and non-alcoholic cocktails in a space featuring 16 taplines, a dramatic faade and a central fireplace, Kaplan said. Rather than continuing the moodier feel of its current tasting room, the new Mothfire location will be bright and high contrast.

The Ellsworth Road location, which has parking for 80 people, will also be able to serve more people and be a step forward for the company, Kaplan said.

The vision we always have is about evolution from a moth standpoint. We definitely think about the stages of the moth of where we are, he said. That stage is kind of a cocoon, and were about to get a flight and take wings.

Mothfire Brewing Co. plans to open its new location at 713 W. Ellsworth Road in March 2023. Although hours are not yet finalized, the brewery currently plans to be open from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Find the brewing company online, on social media or by phone at 734-369-6290.