By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Within the next several months Brighton may get its second microbrewery. Nick and Colleen Miller have plans to open Full Circle Brews micro brewery in a strip mall on West Grand River owned by DSN Associates LLC that contains Cottage Inn Pizza and several other businesses.

The storefront is currently the location of the Whey Better Bakery - which will be vacated soon — a space the Millers plan to extensively remodel during the winter months.

The Millers appeared before the City Council recently with a request for a "change of use” on the property — the only local approval needed — and that was granted. Colleen Miller says the couple is, in her words, “excited to have the opportunity to start our own business in Brighton.”

The Millers intend to apply to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for a microbrewery liquor license with tasting room permit.They must also get approval from the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB.

Currently there is only one microbrewery in the city of Brighton - Brewery Becker, in the former Western House and later, the Pink Hotel, owned by Matt Becker. Nick Miller says that Becker has been extremely helpful in showing him the ropes about how to start a microbrewery in Brighton.

Full Circle Brews will have several taps with beers and ales brewed on site, and will be getting most of its ingredients from suppliers in Michigan. “We’re hoping to stay as local as possible,” Miller says.

The microbrewery will have seating for 60 people inside and another 30 outside in a planned patio area. Among equipment to brew the beer the Millers will install are a mash tun, boil kettles, and fermenters. Nick Miller says they will be knocking a wall down in order to provide enough room to brew the beer.

Although he is now employed as an engineer, Miller has a background in the restaurant industry as a former kitchen manager, whereas Colleen Miller is a math coach in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.

While Miller says he likes “all kinds of beer,” his personal preference is IPAs because of the intense flavor of the hops. Miller says he won’t be satisfied with standard craft beer fare, and wants to do "more off-the-wall beers, do more experimentation.” Included in the category would be a beer that people might associate with Brighton.

The Millers have two daughters who both attend the Brighton Area Schools - one at Maltby Intermediate and the other at Scranton Middle School.