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Ever notice that organic restaurants usually have an organic wine list but good luck finding an organic beer there? Or you can visit literally dozens and dozens of stores with a tremendous selection of beers to choose from, but not one single organic brand among them?
Three Michigan born and raised brothers certainly noticed the discrepancy and, with a commitment to community and the environment, decided to do something about it. Jack, Jamie and Sam LaGrow, three college graduates who grew up in South Lyon, founded Chicago-based LaGrow Organic Beer Company, in 2016. The small, family-run business (5 employees) is the only commercially certified organic beer company in the Midwest—and Chicago’s first USDA certified organic brewer.
“It all started when the brothers were at an organic restaurant,” said the company’s Michigan Sales Executive, Doug Britton. “There was a noticeable presence of organic wine but not a single organic beer. The brothers had a passion for craft beer and had been home brewing in the basement but that restaurant experience led to some serious discussions about opening their own organic craft brewery.”
BY Jon Becker
Michigan Brothers
Ahead of the Beer Curve
MIBREW TRAIL MAGAZINE
Summer 2022
In the beginning, they only brewed one beer, a Midwest Style IPA. Today they produce
5 beers, including an American Pale Ale, Citra Blonde Ale, an all Malt (no corn) Lager and an Imperial Stout.
“We’re small but we still have a lot of product,” Britton noted. “I think there are 9 beers licensed to be sold organically in the state of Michigan and we have 5 of them.”
Two of their beers, Citra Blonde Ale and the IPA, can be
found in about 90 Meijer stores across the state. They also distribute in Illinois and Puerto Rico, with plans to
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expand its distribution network to New York and Puerto Rico.
Their beers—which the LaGrows describe as “pure, premium and uncompromising”—are produced, seeds to suds, with 100% organic ingredients.
products make for a better tasting beer. Pure and simple. The way nature intended it.
LaGrow Organic Beer Company plans to be at the inaugural Great Lakes Beer Festival, scheduled for Saturday, August 20, at Dow Diamond, in Midland. Details and tickets at www.GreatLakesBeerFestival.com.
LaGrow Organic Beer Company
www.lagrowbeer.com
MIBREW TRAIL MAGAZINE
SUMMEr 2022
LaGrow Organic Beer Company is the only commercially distributed organic beer in the Midwest.Two of its products, Citra Blonde Ale and a Midwest Style IPA, can be found in about 90 Meijer stores across the state of Michigan.
(L-R) Michigan natives Jamie, Jack and Sam LaGrow, founded a Chicago-based Organic Beer Company that bears their name. The brothers, who grew up in South Lyon, embrace a clean lifestyle in food and drink, a commitment that is reflected in the five beers they produce (shown below) using only 100% organic ingredients.
“The LaGrow brand does something positive for the community and the environment,” said Britton. “It’s not just about making money. For every 4-pack we sell, there is a 4X4 plot of land that is preserved from herbicides, petroleum based pesticides and industrial fertilizer runoff.”
If more people gardened organically and the practice was more widespread agriculturally, “We wouldn’t have environmental disasters like the toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie. It’s pretty terrible.”
LaGrow Brewing Company
said its unadulterated
Ever notice that organic restaurants usually have an organic wine list but good luck finding an organic beer there? Or you can visit literally dozens and dozens of stores with a tremendous selection of beers to choose from, but not one single organic brand among them?
Three Michigan born and raised brothers certainly noticed the discrepancy and, with a commitment to community and the environment, decided to do something about it. Jack, Jamie and Sam LaGrow, three college graduates who grew up in South Lyon, founded Chicago-based LaGrow Organic Beer Company, in 2016. The small, family-run business (5 employees) is the only commercially certified organic beer company in the Midwest—and Chicago’s first USDA certified organic brewer.
“It all started when the brothers were at an organic restaurant,” said the company’s Michigan Sales Executive, Doug Britton. “There was a noticeable presence of organic wine but not a single organic beer. The brothers had a passion for craft beer and had been home brewing in the basement but that restaurant experience led to some serious discussions about opening their own organic craft brewery.”
LaGrow Organic Beer Company
www.lagrowbeer.com