The col­le­giate waste­land moniker and indict­ment to col­lege stu­dents’ better-known nightlife may cease to be the Big Rapids bar scene with the bud­ding of Cranker’s Microbrewery.

A quaint, hos­pitable bar and restau­rant just a walk through Cranker’s diner por­tion of the con­joined restau­rants lies await­ing those who quench a smooth and delec­tably brewed local treat with a pro­fes­sion­ally made meal or mug.

Cranker’s Microbrewery, which owner Jim Crank opened in May 2012, offers six freshly pre­pared sig­na­ture micro­brews year round that have titles which entrench the brews in the Big Rapids community.

The micro­brew­ery also brews sea­sonal spe­cialty beers with names like “End of the World IPA” and “Crankenstein” or the deca­dent “Coconut Porter” for their cus­tomers. Soon, locally pro­duced Michigan wine will be offered in the restaurant.

The brew­ery offers deals for any­one who pays to be a Mug Club Member, with $1 off reg­u­lar pours any­time, $2 off on Tuesdays and $2 off stan­dard Growlers.

Since estab­lish­ing the Mug Club at Cranker’s Microbrewery, local bars like the Gypsy Nickel Lounge have fol­lowed suit with a sim­i­lar offer. Of the 300 club mugs offered, 235 have been claimed.

A patron at Cranker’s noted bars like the Gypsy Nickel Lounge don’t serve beer as local and pos­si­bly as fresh as Cranker’s Microbrewery.

Hopping into the fore­front of Michigan’s bet­ter brews will be a goal for the micro­brews pro­duced by Cranker’s head brewer Adam Mills of Grand Rapids and newly brought-on brewer Bill Gerds. Mills’ fruition for brew­ing began at his home before becom­ing a bub­bling pro­fes­sion since his addi­tion to Cranker’s.

Cranker’s sole ambi­tion is to assure con­tin­ued suc­cess with the local brew­ery in the micro­brew­ing scene.

“The fact that some­body cared enough to bring that here, the fact that he had the vision to see this area needed this and that [Jim Crank] is will­ing to invest him­self in the com­mu­nity like this, I’m very appre­cia­tive of that,” Ferris graphic design grad­u­ate and Big Rapids native Phil Neumann said.

Cranker’s recently attended the eighth annual Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival of 2013, Feb. 23 at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, where employ­ees min­gled with some of the 75 micro­brew­eries’ staff in atten­dance and served sev­eral fes­ti­val goers with a well received response, accord­ing to Cranker’s serv­ing staff.

Cranker’s micro­brew­ery should help per­suade any young adult into a night of finer taste, rather than guz­zling gal­lons of Bud Light.

“When I drink Bud Light now, it’s just not the same. It tastes like water,” Ferris junior in man­u­fac­tur­ing tool­ing Samantha Harris said.

Ferris stu­dents should come to enjoy what Cranker’s owner Jim Crank has brewed for his home­town and community.

“He saw some­thing in the world that he liked, and he decided to bring that to a place that he loves. He could have gone any­where. The fact that he wanted to bring this kind of thing to Big Rapids, every­body should take a step back from that,” Neumann said.

Bands have been wel­comed warmly to pro­vide ambiance and mood for the establishment’s patrons. Saturday nights fea­ture the bar’s weekly rota­tion of musi­cal guests, while Thursday night is open mic night for those with liq­uid courage due to half-off pitch­ers, shame­lessly buzzed tal­ent or a voice that needs to be heard.

If bars or restau­rants don’t suit your fancy for alco­hol indul­gence, Cranker’s has been able to offer two of its select beers in bot­tled six packs, Professor IPA and Bulldog Red, at Grunst Brothers Party Store and other liquor stores in Big Rapids.

Pint insight

Bulldog Red
An invit­ing deep amber and ruby-colored Irish Red brew which pours with a min­i­mal head. Smells of sweet malt that imparts a caramel, tof­fee and dark fruit arrange­ment of notes tempt the nos­trils. The taste plays to the aroma, with medium sweet­ness pro­vided by caramel, tof­fee and toasty nut. Paired with medium bit­ter­ness, a sweet after­taste is allowed. Any issues with bit­ter­ness resolve.

Dambreaker
Big Rapids home­town American Brown Ale pours with a sig­nif­i­cant and last­ing head. The Ale smells like a slightly bit­ter mocha roast, with height­ened sweet malts and caramels hid­ing the fruity back notes. Tastes sim­i­lar to the aroma with a toasty over­tone on each fla­vor and fin­ishes mod­er­ately dry and bit­ter. This is an excep­tion­ally well done cof­fee brew.

Professor IPA
A fruity IPA that main­tains a strong blend of cit­rus and herbal hops wafts to the nos­trils. The scent of orange, grape­fruit and apri­cot titi­late the tongue before first sip. A 50/50 blend of flo­ral and cit­rus hops sur­prises the taste buds. The brew’s slight sweet­ness is dom­i­nated by grape­fruit. Carbonation makes the brew prickly quickly. A crisp bit­ter­ness sub­sides as a pint emp­ties. It’s under­stand­able why this brew is a best seller.

Strongarm Stout
A deep, cof­fee black brew cap­tures the essence of espresso upon smell, and taste holds onto a medium sized head after pour. The brew plays against its name by being a smooth, creamy stout that makes it very drink­able. Appearance and name are meant to deter at first, but notes of malted nut, caramel and choco­late com­bine effort­lessly to remove its bit­ter pro­file and allows a patron to enjoy a well-made brown ale.

Torchlight
A light beer with an ini­tial but­ter and grain taste fin­ishes with a nutty fla­vor. This Munich Blonde ale lacks bit­ter­ness to pro­vide a smooth, tasty and easy fin­ish. It is unlike any light beer I’ve tasted before. This will cause dry mouth; I sug­gest pair­ing a cool glass of water with the beverage.

The Local
This California Common inspired brew seems out of place in West Michigan, until you taste what Adam Mills has cre­ated. Mills devel­oped a deep burgundy-colored fla­vor and scent-loaded brew that relin­quishes bit­ter­ness after a gulp. A malted back­bone of toasted nuts and caramel hide behind a flo­ral, fruit punch to the senses. The flo­ral notes pre­dom­i­nate in taste, which leaves all bit­ter­ness to be cleaned by a lin­ger­ing hint of mint.

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5. A Taste of Something Different