A long awaited brewery is opening this month in downtown Howell.

Aberrant Ales at 219 West Grand River will feature unique brews, brick oven pizza and artisan sandwiches and salads. Founder Clark Gill says they’re thrilled to be a part of the Howell downtown community and can’t wait to welcome people into the brewery, which has a warm and comfortable atmosphere to compliment historic-style beer. Howell DDA Executive Director Cathleen Edgerly is equally excited, saying the town is lucky to have the new business and an amazing transformed space. She says Aberrant Ales fits perfectly with their goals to develop a strong, vibrant downtown with a diverse business mix that positions downtown Howell as a destination.

The Howell Main Street and DDA Office assisted Gill in securing the location and, along with the city, provided counsel to Aberrant Ales on financing options as well as environmental clean-up of the historic building that the brewery now calls home.

City staff had been working with the Gill since 2015 to redevelop the western half of the Country Squire building where the brew pub is located. However, progress was slowed by the discovery of environmental issues from a former car dealership located on the site. The environmental cleanup work added substantial costs to the project and significant improvements had to be made to the building. It’s now poised to open and the public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, November 16th at 11am. Facebook Photo. (JM)