Lansing Brewing Co.: Representing the 517 statewide

Since beginning his professional brewing career in 2012, Jon Wagner has found himself at operations large and small, from one-barrel systems to 200-barrel behemoths. He’s found a happy medium at Lansing Brewing Co., where he’s been head brewer for about three months.

“We have a 10-barrel brewhouse and 10 fermenters,” he said. “We’re a little bit larger than a normal brewpub because we distribute kegs and cans across the state. We have two larger distributors, and then some other distributors throughout the state sell beer for us.”

Though the past few months have been a “whirlwind,” Wagner is already seeing his hard work pay off.

“I’m really starting to get some traction under me,” he said. “We just put in a new canning line and just rolled out a couple of brands: the blood orange blonde and a peanut butter beer that was inspired by Velvet Peanut Butter in Detroit. I stepped in and really hit the ground sprinting.”

He noted that over his years in the industry, he’s seen tastes shift away from exceedingly bitter and hoppy beers and toward low-calorie, lower-ABV options.

“When you look at the alcohol sector, people want to do things while drinking — you know, go camping, go hiking, bowl or whatever and have a beer with you,” he said. “I call them ‘lifestyle beers’ because you can do these things while having a beer. I think that’s pretty cool.”

Fans of stronger styles of beer haven’t disappeared, however.

Courtesy photo

“You see lagers on the rise, which is awesome, but then you also see these really high-ABV IPAs still cranking out,” he said. “People are like, ‘I want low alcohol or super high alcohol.’ It’s kind of a fun dichotomy that’s going on, but it does make it challenging and keeps us on our toes to keep bringing out products that appeal to the wider consumer base as well as our particular customer.”

He believes the secret to a good beer is balance.

“I think that’s depending on the type of beer you’re drinking, that balance can be shifted,” he said. “If you’re drinking a Belgian-style beer, that balance might lean more toward yeast. If you’re drinking a West Coast IPA, that balance is going to lean more toward hops. A German-style lager, which is one of my favorite styles, is going to be cleaner, crisper and more about the malt bill.

“It’s dependent on the beer, but I think it’s just balance and paying attention to details throughout the process. We’re very tuned in to pH, we’re very tuned in to the quality of our malt and hops, and it’s all kind of a harmonious thing that goes into making a good beer recipe.”

On the other hand, the secret to a successful brewpub, in his experience, isn’t just the beer.

“I think it’s largely about building out a space that your customers, regardless of background or who they are, feel welcomed, and I think it’s catering to the local community, doing things and events that resonate with the local community,” he said. “It’s important that you have really great beer, but you also have a really great experience.”