The “English Drizzle,” Ramshackle’s only gluten-removed beer. Anna Broussard | Collegian
Ramshackle Brewing Company, located in downtown Jonesville, hosts an open mic night every Wednesday at 6 p.m. — and locals and musicians are encouraged to leave their mark on the walls of the brewery.
“We opened up Wednesday to break up the week a little bit for folks, and have a traditional open mic night,” said owner and operator Zack Bigelow. “You can play if you want to, go for a half hour. We’re really relaxed about it.”
Beginning in 2020 after COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted, Bigelow wanted to bring live music back to the community.
“My wife and I decided to start what we called originally ‘Final Friday,’” he said. “The final Friday of every month we had live music in here, because there was no live music in the area.”
Following the Final Fridays, Bigelow said Wednesday’s open mic night started as a way for locals to participate. When musicians were paid to play, they signed their signatures on the wall of the brewery.
“If we pay you, then you sign the wall,” he said.
Bigelow said the brewery’s exterior design was done at random — with frames, paintings, and decor scattered across the brewery. Murals by eight local artists, signatures of musicians and comedians, and sticky notes from those in the community cover the walls.
“And if anybody wants to paint a brick down the hallway, we have bricks available to be painted by anyone,” Bigelow said. “We got the paint and people can go for it, and make their mark.”
Local and brewery regular Clay Binkowski said Ramshackle has brought the community together in the greater Jonesville area since he first started going in 2019, especially at open mic night.
“I have been going since they opened the doors,” Binkowski said. “I was very excited to have a brewery open up within walking distance of my house. With open mic night on Wednesday they created the space specifically to attract first-timers. It’s small, and the Wednesday crowd is very supportive and loves to be entertained.”
Live music and tap beer are just two of the many things the brewery provides to the local community, according to Bigelow.
“Everything we sell is locally based,” Bigelow said. “The place we buy from is called Carneco Foods, nuts are from Cascarelli’s Pizza in Homer, anything else is the Jonesville local bakery, the honey is from a honeycomb that’s by Hillsdale College, and then any different local ingredients are from Cola Farms just down the road from us.”
The brewery, according to Bigelow, is filled with all things recycled. The bar is an old sushi bar, the tables are refurbished barn wood, and the paint is recycled from the Salvation Army — all intended to enlist the services of local businesses in town.
“I am a firm believer in recycling and reusing,” Bigelow said. “So starting in January, we’re opening back up on Tuesdays, and that’s going to be community night. One of the things we want to focus on is having different members of the community — different social clubs, groups, nonprofits — come in and tell the general public what it is they do and learn how to support them.”
Bigelow said the brewery was started to be a place for locals to congregate and build relationships.
“One of the big things is that you would be known when you come in,” Bigelow said. “Don’t be surprised that there’s not a TV. It’s on purpose. We want you to talk. We want you to get to know your neighbors.”
According to Bigelow, the brewery’s most popular beer, “English Drizzle,” was named second in Michigan for English IPAs and can be found in 18 different locations around Hillsdale County, including Rough Draft and Olivia’s Chop House, located in Jonesville.
For Binkowski, the “English Drizzle” is a staple during the fall weather along with being in the brewery.
“As far as the community, you couldn’t ask for better,” Binkowski said. “The beer slingers know all the regulars by name, even the dogs. Many people come in for two beers and a vent and leave happy.”
Binkowski said his favorite memory at the brewery was during COVID-19, when everything was shut down. The owners of Ramshackle would open their garage door and keep selling beer, which helped bring the community together.
“He would be sitting in the open garage door, strumming a guitar and selling beers,” Binkowski said. “It was a bright spot in a dark time for the community and something that I think contributes to their success.”
With Ramshackle opening in 2019, Bigelow said the onset of COVID-19 the following year was tough, but it was important for them to keep fostering the community, even with the restrictions.
“We did porch deliveries for folks, everything we could to get going,” Bigelow said.
The mission of the brewery has never changed, Bigelow said. Everything within the walls of Ramshackle has a story.
“One of our beers was inspired by Lauren, who painted one of the murals,” Bigelow said. “When she was painting those before we opened, she was extremely happy about talking about her upcoming wedding. And so the beer ‘Harvest for the Mrs.’ was born, and it’s on tap every Oct. 1, honoring those two.”
Curated by Bigelow, “Harvest for the Mrs.” always runs out before November, he said.
Junior Emma Kate Mellors attended the Wednesday open mic night and ordered “Harvest for the Mrs.”
“It was really good, and the honey around the rim added so much flavor,” Mellors said.
According to Mellors, everyone in the brewery seemed to know each other well and both Bigelow and one of the bar staff asked for her name.
“Everyone was so nice and welcoming, they knew I wasn’t a regular and they were so intentional about making me feel important,” Mellors said. “I could see how special the brewery was to the people in the community.”
For Bigelow, the purpose of the brewery was to allow him to do work that he loved and bring back live music to the community.
“When I was 21, there was a music scene here in town, you could go see a band play or see live music, not just a DJ, but it stopped for a while,” Bigelow said. “I wanted to bring that back.”
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