Loaded Dice Brewery took a chance and opened in the fall of 2020. A pandemic wasn't going to stop the life long dream of owner Jef Smith.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

If you have a long time dream, you don’t let something as little as a pandemic to stop you. Loaded Dice Brewery in Troy pushed on, and has now become a popular little spot for locals to enjoy hand crafted brews and a rotating line-up of food trucks in an unassuming spot.

Originally scheduled to open in spring of 2020, because of Covid Loaded Dice pushed their opening to September. “We’ve been pivoting ever since,” said owner Jef Smith.

“I got into home brewing about twenty plus years ago,” Smith said. A computer software developer by trade, Smith moved out to California from St. Clair Shores to work at a start-up company. “I basically did three things: work a ton and write code, play poker and home brew.” Every other weekend, he and friends would get together to barbecue, play games, and home brew. They were “trying to forget about the stress of working at a start-up.”

“Ever since then, I’ve had the dream,” Smith said. “I’m going to open up a brewery.”

Dreaming big is something that Smith learned from his father, David C. Smith, who passed away a few years ago. He also learned to love games from his father, including gambling. “I don’t really want to say that, because it has a kind of negative connotation,” Smith said. “But, my dad had a racehorse, and growing up I was always at either Detroit Race Course, or Hazel Park with him as a kid. We always played poker together as a family, we’re a family of bowlers.” Smith decided to tap into this family fun when he was branding his brewery.

Smith’s wife Jennifer works in marketing, and he explained that “We were both really big on defining a brand.”

“We knew we wanted to do something unique,” he said. “And for me, I wanted it to be a piece of myself. So back to the poker playing days.” After working through all sorts of terms associated with gambling, the couple hit the jackpot when they landed on Loaded Dice. “I jokingly say that I play craps to fund my poker habit, so that’s where the dice comes in.”

Opening during a pandemic has meant that the brewery has been constantly changing plans. They quickly figured out how to can their beer, so people could grab and go. They added a parking lot patio, so guests could enjoy beers and food outside, and during the winter months, had igloos and fire pits as well.

Located in Troy, Loaded Dice has already become a popular spot. “This area has been very supportive, that’s been the most incredible thing,” Smith said. “I expected my family and friends to be in here once a week supporting us and getting us through this, and it hasn’t. It’s been the locals, which blows my mind.”

“The organic growth has really been encouraging,” Smith said. “That people want to come here everyday.”

Beers are always changing at Loaded Dice Brewery. Owner and brewer Jef Smith is using a one barrel system at his new brewery in Troy.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

Smith is brewing on a very small system, just one barrel. This means he is brewing something almost every day, while still maintaining a full time job in software design. A major expansion is planned for the next few months, he’ll be upgrading to a two and a half barrel system. “It’s just too hard on me to keep up,” he said. Loaded dice typically has between four and eight taps flowing.

As a former, avid, home brewer, Smith is essentially rolling through all of his old recipes to see which ones rise to the top, before deciding what beers will end up being Loaded Dice’s flagships. “I’m probably about fifty recipes in,” Smith said, referencing the one hundred beer recipes that he has to go off of. He’s been narrowing down the potential flagships, and now tries to have one of them on every week. Contenders for now include the Side Bet Series, featuring New England IPA’s, Heff’s Smoking Jacket, a smoked hefeweizen, and Field Bet Wheat, a lighter beer brewed with orange zest and coriander.

“I like the idea of going in to a place, and it’s always something different,” Smith said about his rotating beers.

While there is no kitchen at Loaded Dice, they do bring in an ever rotating cast of local food trucks for guests to enjoy. There are a few regular trucks that come by a couple of times a month, but Smith is always looking for new ones, and follows social media to see what kind of foods are proving to be popular, and then invites those trucks to visit.

“We find that a lot of people like that concept,” Smith said of the food truck. “It pairs well with our beer concept too.” You can find who will be at the brewery by checking out their Facebook page.

Loaded Dice is calling themselves an “open source” brewery, reflecting Smith’s experience as a software developer. Open source in the computer world means code source that is available to all, and that can be modified, redistributed or built upon. To Smith, at the brewery, it means “sharing, and giving people a base to build off of.”

As a home brewer, Smith used many clone recipes to brew his beers. “When we opened up, it was kind of a no brainer to use some of these data things that I know from my programming background, like the concept of open source,” he said. “I’ll share my recipes.” While he tried to post each and every recipe online for a while, that proved to be a bit overwhelming. But any recipe you would like, he’s happy to share it with you.

The other thing that mattered to Smith was having a “two-way conversation with my customers.” It is important to Smith to know what his customers are interested in drinking. “It’s almost a give and take relationship I want to have,” he said. In addition to recipes, Smith is happy to share pretty much any other aspect of the brewery with interested customers. He owes a great deal to other brewers and owners, and feels that sharing knowledge is a way to pay it forward to give back.

“The leap from home brewer to professional brewer is big,” Smith said. “Let alone from individual contributor at a tech company to a business owner which is an even bigger leap.” So far, taking a gamble and rolling the dice has paid off for Smith, and for Loaded Dice Brewery.

Loaded Dice Brewery owner Jef Smith, and his wife Jennifer, rolled the dice when they decided to open their brewery during the pandemic.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

Owner Jef Smith painted Slow Down on the back wall of his brewery as a reminder.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

Loaded Dice Brewery is an 'open source' brewery, which means they will share any of their recipes with you. The brewery is located in Troy, MI.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

More info: https://www.loadeddicebrewery.com/ or Facebook

Loaded Dice is currently open Thursday through Sunday. To see what food trucks will be visiting, head to their Facebook page.

During the pandemic shutdown, Loaded Dice set up a tent and fire pits outside on their patio for guests.Photo provided by Loaded Dice Brewery, used with permission.

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