Santa Claus is making his rounds around the globe at the moment and he is coming to Clare, Michigan and as a result, we paid a visit to our Tenth Brewer of Christmas, Broderic Bender. Broderic is the head and only brewer at Four Leaf Brewing right in Downtown Claire.
Broderic started his journey to becoming a brewer back in 2018 when he started homebrewing. He attended college in New Jersey for a little while, and he worked at a bar that really pushed their craft beer selection. This is where he began to appreciate and learn more about craft beer. His manager at the bar took him to the Dogfish Head Brewing facility, and he was in awe of their brewery. At this point that is when he decided that he would like to take a job at a brewery in the future.
When Broderic got back to Michigan, he enrolled in Central Michigan’s fermentation sciences program. During his time in the fermentation sciences program, he did some brewing at Hunter’s Ale House as part of the curriculum. He also took a job at Mountain Town Brewing Company where after some convincing, they allowed him to come in and intern as a brewer on his days off. His next job in the brewing world came when he settled into the job that he currently holds at Four Leaf Brewing.
Broderic had some advice for those looking to get into brewing professionally, “find a teacher, someone who knows and understands the chemistry and the science behind brewing beer. You can brew good beer at home without knowing it. When you get to doing it on a larger scale, it’s important to know what you are doing, what is happening in the mash and what biotransformation does for your hops”.
One of the reasons that Broderic continues to brew beer after 7 years of brewing is that there is always a new style for him to dive into. His job at Four Leaf also allows him to be very creative, he has the ability to brew whatever he wants. “If I have a hankering for an Altbier, I can brew it and it will be on tap in a couple of weeks.” This ability to craft his creations when and how he wants keeps the passion for the job alive and well for Broderic.
Beers that Broderic enjoys brewing personally are Altbiers and Milds. He enjoys his beers a little bit more on the maliter side of the beer spectrum. These styles tend to be a little more balanced than a Stout or a Porter, where they are just sweet and rich, they also tend to not punch you in the face with hops like an IPA. In reality though, Broderic says that he really does enjoy brewing almost anything and he is up for the challenge of tackling new styles any chance that he gets.
The name Four Leaf Brewing comes from the Irish roots of the town of Clare. As Broderic says, “The four leaf clover is a good symbol and if you have good beer in your life then you are pretty lucky”. Clare was chosen as the location because the owner’s husband worked in the city of Clare, and there were no breweries in the area. They decided that Clare was the perfect location to serve high quality beers to the local community.
The brewery itself is a very quaint and cozy space, Broderic attributes this to their mug club members and the staff at Four Leaf Brewing. He says that “when you have good customers that come in regularly, it’s very easy to make the place feel good”. Broderic mentioned that the building being a historic site that is well over 100 years old also helps to create a friendly and welcoming environment.
As far as beers that you can expect to see on tap during your visit to Four Leaf, Broderic did mention that their water profile at the brewery does tend to lend itself to brewing beers that are a little on the maliter side of the beer spectrum. This leads to quite a few Stouts, Porters, and Golden Ales being on the menu. In addition, they keep a few IPAs on tap at all times. They don’t limit themselves to any one style though, and you will always see a varying array of options on their taplist at all times. You will always get a good balance and range of beers that span from light to dark.
For the holiday season, Broderic pointed out that a beer that he is currently working on is a Winter Sour, which will be sweetened with orange peel and feature cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. So for those of you out there looking for a little sweet holiday treat, make sure to stop by and check this one out when it hits the taplist in the near future.
As they roll into the spring and summer months, keep an eye out for a few of the Barrel-Aged products that Broderic is working on. These options include a Barrel-Aged verison of their Coal Cracker Stout, which will be out in time for St. Patrick’s day for the annual Irish festival that Clare holds. The other two Barrel-Aged options that he is working on include a Belgian Dubbel and an Imperial Stout that will be released later in the year.
On your next trip up North, or down South depending on where you live in our great state, stop off in Clare and visit our Tenth Brewer of Christmas, Broderic Bender at Four Leaf Brewing. This is one place where you don’t need the luck of the Irish to find a delicious beer, but a little luck never hurts anyone. Slainte!
#drinklocal #beer #beerlovers #michiganbeer #cheers #holidaybeer #craftbeer
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