The owners of Frog Island Brewing Co. in Ypsilanti have resurrected their brewery under a new name.

Frog Island closed in January 2009. Since then, Dave French and Sharryl Sullivan have rented space at a tucked-away facility on the outskirts of Ann Arbor for U Brew, a company that will produce beer and wine.

The partners have resumed production, albeit at a slower pace than before.

“We’re gonna have a real small system. Smaller than a microbrewery, it will be like a nanobrewery,” French joked. “We’re gonna make small barrel batches, but do it often.”

French and Sullivan have moved into a 6,000-square-foot facility at 7879 Jackson Road. The building, owned by another partner, Rob DeAngelis, has the décor of a vineyard, complete with a large mural and imitation vines. DeAngelis also has created his own new wine company out of the facility.

U Brew will distribute the same products as Frog Island Brewing, but with a more focused business plan. Unlike Frog Island, U Brew will not have retail space - at least, not initially. The building would have to be rezoned for that to happen, French said.

“We’d like to apply to get a tasting room eventually, but we just want to get open first, because that can be time consuming,” French said.

Focusing more on production and distribution will allow U Brew to flourish, he added. U Brew will continue to brew its signature Frog Island Beer, along with about seven other labels, and four brands of wine.

“We decided to change our model - get out of the whole brewing part and into the production part, making wine and beer,” French said.

French has spent much of his adult life in the beverage industry, working for both Miller Brewing Co. and Budweiser. Sullivan recently retired from the Taylor school district after 25 years of teaching.

“I’m going from grades to grapes,” she said.

The products already are available at places like Aubree’s Pizzeria & Tavern and Sidetrack Bar & Grill. U Brew has outsourced its brewing while awaiting a final inspection from the Liquor Control Commission.

Even when its production facility is fully up and running, U Brew will distribute within a 15-mile radius, French said.

“We don’t intend to go much further than Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti,” he said. “We’ll basically stay small and local.”