Great Baraboo Brewing Company

Brewery, Eatery, Beer-to-go

35905 Utica Road
Clinton Township, Michigan, 48035
United States

(810) 792-7397 | map
greatbaraboo.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.59
Beers:
26
Ratings:
79
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.63
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
30
pDev:
18.18%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by gmfessen:
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Reviewed by gmfessen from Michigan

3.55/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This brewpub was only a few miles from my friends house in Sterling Heights, so we had to go. Didn't spend much time inside the brewpub which seemed more like a sports bar/restaurant, it was a nice day so we elected to sit out on the patio which was modestly arranged. Snake Eye Canyon Red Ale, Boston Blackstone Porter, Shark Tooth Bay Golden Ale, Hoppy Heartland Pale Ale, Kings Peak Caribou Wheat and a "Summer Wheat Ale" were all on tap. I asked the waitress to tell me more about this "Summer wheat", to which she replied "It's kindof like Blue Moon" and I said, "So, it's a wit beer?" and she replied "Umm, I guess so, I really don't know anything about beer" - which frustrates me to no end, but that's another Springer show. The Wheat and Porter were my favorites but there really wasn't a bad beer in the bunch - none of them super outstanding either. With their 5 house standards and a seasonal, their selection is decent. Didn't have any formal food but we did order the Pizza sticks, which were an upscale version of a bread/mozzarella stick and were actually pretty good. Decently priced, not a bad place to stop and have a beer. I'm sure there are better ones in the area. It's my understanding that you can get beer here a little cheaper durring a Detroit sporting event (i.e. Pistons, Redwings, Lions, Tigers).
Sep 14, 2009
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +24%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
The Great Baraboo Brewing is located on a corner of some main thoroughfares. It kind looks like an old camping lodge. Inside was large bar and lots of surrounding tables for seating. There was a cabin like decor and feel....was decorated for Halloween. The quality of the food and drink were great. The place was hopping and we order flights which took long to get, but our server was really good. Food came out quickly. There was plenty of both food and drink to choose from. The food was excellent. One of the better breweries in the area.
Oct 24, 2021
Photo of gbiello
Rated by gbiello from Massachusetts

4.59/5  rDev +26.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Very enjoyable place!
Jul 06, 2020
 
Rated: 4.75 by Pluviophile from Michigan

Dec 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by JimboBrews54 from Michigan

Jul 25, 2019
Photo of Lahey
Reviewed by Lahey from Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +13.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
We stopped here for lunch after picking my parents up from the airport. Everyone enjoyed their sandwiches. No guest taps that I saw, but they had a beer of most styles. The couple of us that got beer enjoyed it. I had a russian imperial stout (only about 8.5 abv) and an extra special bitter. Both were serviceable, but not earth shattering. My fiancee had an ipa that was quite nice. There's so many breweries in the nearby area, I would try another next time. But this one was agreeable for my family. Btw, I believe they do growler fills if you like a particular beer they have.
Feb 19, 2018
Photo of Jim67
Rated by Jim67 from Michigan

3.2/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
More restaurant that makes beer than a brewery that serves food. Nothing too special
Dec 26, 2017
 
Rated: 3.82 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Aug 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.75 by ladyjess from Michigan

Jul 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.28 by chuckgietzen from Michigan

Sep 24, 2015
Photo of Ekoseck
Rated by Ekoseck from Michigan

2.44/5  rDev -32.8%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2 | service: 4.75 | selection: 1 | food: 2
It is just a "Sports" bar that happens to brew "some" beer.
May 09, 2015
Photo of drunkenmess
Reviewed by drunkenmess from Michigan

4.2/5  rDev +15.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
I have really come to like this place more and more. Great beer on tap. Good food. Also the employees are always willing to help with w.e. you are interested in. Plus the beer prices aren't too bad.
Apr 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by goast8127 from Michigan

Dec 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jas45678 from Michigan

Nov 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Extrajoker00 from Ohio

Jul 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by CaptainFleeker from Illinois

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by tommy5 from Michigan

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by klegos from Michigan

Jan 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by leadahmer from Michigan

Dec 12, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Pog-Mo-Thoin from Michigan

Dec 02, 2013
 
Rated: 5 by Hops4Life84 from Michigan

Nov 10, 2013
Photo of Kerrie
Reviewed by Kerrie from Michigan

3.73/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3
The atmosphere is a wide open room with the beer tanks right out on the floor- quite cool to look at. I guess there was another room but it was rented out for a private party when I went, so I'm not sure what it's like in there.

The quality of the beer was very good, but I ate before I came so I know nothing of the food or food selection.

The service was very good and my pints were refilled quickly. One cool thing is that the waitress recommended adding flavor to the Caraboo Wheat. It's good on it's own, but you can choose cherry or raspberry flavoring with it, too. The raspberry was the best by far and went down like liquid candy. I also highly enjoyed their porter.

The selection is fairly low. Being able to add two flavors to the wheat boosts it a bit, but not by much. I don't even think they had a stout, and we went in the winter.

It was inexpensive for me since I didn't eat, and I'd gladly come back for some pints.
May 09, 2013
Photo of smalenberg
Reviewed by smalenberg from Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -14.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Most recent visit about 3 weeks ago, but I've been in their mug club for 10 years. I've been a fan of the porter for all of that time - except for a period where the brewer was really inconsistent. The guy they have now is doing a great job. Unfortunately, the value for the money has gone down over the past 2 years, with shrinking discounts and increased prices. This is most likely due to economic conditions, but where I used to go here up to twice a month, I've only been there twice this year. There are other brewpubs offering better food, better value, and move variety in beer offerings.

I expect this will be my last year as a member.
Sep 08, 2012
Photo of 86sportster883
Reviewed by 86sportster883 from Maryland

3.45/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
As soon as I walked in I liked this place. A large open layout with four 15 BBL copper & steel fermenters situated around the bar and among the many tables. The bar area took up more than half the place with booth and dining tables filling the rest.

There were 6 beers on tap that included the Hoppy Heartland Pale Ale, King's Peak Caribou Wheat, Shark Tooth Bay Golden Ale, Snake Eye Canyon Red, Boston Blackstone Porter and one other seasonal that may have been an Irish red.

I started with the Porter as I played Texas Hold'em on the Buzztime play zone box and watched a stunt flying competition on one of multiple flat screen TVs. Pints were $2.75 and the 1st went down so quick I decided another was in order. The porter was quite good, but, other than that and the Pale Ale, there wasn't much to choose from.

The music was classic 70's and the service was nice to look at but somewhat clueless. Case in point: with more than 1/2 a pint, my tab of $2.75 and $16 on the bar, I went to take a quick leak only to find every thing gone when I got back to my stool at the bar. I got it all back but wtf, I couldn't have been gone for more than 5 minutes.

I followed the porter with the Pale Ale, which was also a very drinkable beer, had a nice hop bite, a pleasant aroma and left a tight lace on my glass. Of course, smelling anything other than cigarette smoke was a bit of a challenge in this place, but I didn't really mind.

I eventually ordered the fajita special for 10.99 and settled in to watch the Red Wings take on Edmonton. It was ladies night but at 7pm it was hard to tell. Overall, I found the time passed quickly and my beers disappeared even quicker.

I found the Baraboo laid back with good beer, decent music and plenty of distractions to keep you entertained.
Dec 04, 2009
Photo of tab021
Reviewed by tab021 from Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
First thing you will notice when walking in is that you are basically in one gigantic open room. A few Tanks are strewn about and tables are crammed all over the place. Seems to be a sports bar more than anything else but I guess its hard to find a straight brewery in Michigan... Only really bad thing is all the smoke. Usually the smoking section is smaller than the non but i think it is well over half the restaurant making the atmosphere struggle even more for me...

Service is ok. I asked about 5 times for a ketchup and never got the dang thing... I have been here a few times though, and never has it been anything more than just your average old servers...

Food is pretty good. Just the normals with nothing sticking out in particular. They do have a sample platter for their beers however. Its pretty cool to be able to try their offerings (plus it was my birthday so it was free). Their beers are nothing jaw dropping exciting, but they aren't bad. Servers didn't know anything more than the names of the beers... but that is to be expected.

Despite being a little down on this place, it is a pretty decent restaurant that runs some good deals. Not to sound cheap, but search some local papers for coupons and you can easily get 2 meals and a few drinks for under 20 bucks (usually weekdays). None the less, when out of options, not a bad choice
Mar 15, 2008
Photo of gotweid
Reviewed by gotweid from Michigan

2.51/5  rDev -30.9%
vibe: 2.75 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.75 | selection: 2 | food: 3
This is really a sports bar than a brewery. The atmosphere is good and the menu is large....it's a sports bar not a pub or brewery like I expected. The food is the typical sports bar/casual restaurant fare and the prices are average. They have your typical macro's, a small supply of craft brews and then a few (4 or 5)of their own brews. I thought they would have a larger selection of their own brews and more local/regional stuff. I believe they have 4-5 beers that they constantly brew and one seasonal to go along with them. Our server was very nice & attentive and the live musician wasn't too bad either.
Jan 12, 2008
Photo of CoSMoSYS
Reviewed by CoSMoSYS from Michigan

2.53/5  rDev -30.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5
Went to a friend's birthday party yesterday at this place.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the brewery was how completely open it was. It was just one giant room with 4 brewing pots out in the middle of the room. The tables were right next to them. Kinda cool. Brick columns were strewn throughout the room. To me this was more like a sports bar than a brewery. Flat screen TVs were just everywhere showing sport related subjects.The bar was against a whole wall with an extension of it coming out in the middle. The only thing that bummed me out a bit was that they do allow though it's not as bad as some other restaurants.

I only had one beer, the Caribou Wheat in a 16 oz glass, but it seemed like Pilsner to me. Don't get me wrong, the beer was decent but didn't taste like it was what it said it was. I looked around and saw a couple of my friends drinking the Porter in a huge 32 oz mug.

A couple of friends ordered food and it didn't seem to get to them for about a half in hour, though the waitress we had was very attentive to us. Though it could have been because her husband was sitting at our table.

They only had 5 craft beers there when we went and of course they had all the other different kind of macros you could think of and of course liquor.

I didn't try the food because we had to leave pretty early in the night but I would be willing to head back there for a dinner to check it out.
Dec 23, 2007
Photo of adams82
Reviewed by adams82 from Michigan

3.2/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
The Great Baraboo is a nice place to go to grab a decent meal and a few pints, but it certainly is not a typical brewpub for the area, but rather it feels more like a chain restaurant/sports bar.

There are TVs all over each wall and four 15 barrel fermenting tanks are spread across the dining floor. Imagine a trendy sports bar that added a brewery as an after thought... it doesn't work that well. The brewing system sits in a sparsely populated corner behind a glass wall, which keeps it safe from the lingering smoke. Yes, there is a pretty big smoking section, which kind of kills the atmosphere and makes the experience a little less enjoyable.

The quality of the food and beer is ok. As a restaurant/sports bar/brewery, they have a full food menu and five house beers on tap with a seasonal or two to fill in any gaps. The rest of the beer menu is sadly made up of your usual Macro fare and a few Micros... My most recent visit saw Coors Light being the "Beer of the Day". But, the food is pretty good while the house beers are just so-so. The wait staff was kind of attentive, but lacked any real beer knowledge, which was a little disappointing but not totally unexpected.

Again, a decent place to go, but as a brewery, I really wish they would begin to push their beers more than they currently do. Seeing Coors Light and other macros as the featured beer in a brewery makes me very sad, especially when said brewery offers a few decent craft brews at reasonable prices.

Overall, this place really lacks passion. Most other micro breweries in the area are exciting to go to and you can speak with the brewers and discuss... well... beer with the passionate craftsman that churn our the good stuff. Baraboo offers decent food and drink with flaky waitresses that can only tell you what colour a particular beer is and whether or not it tastes like Budweiser.

Update 4/16/12: Way to up the quality! A new brewer has revitalized the house beers; oh happy day! Baraboo still features the same 5 house beers, and there's usually a seasonal tap or two as well and they're all very tasty. It's amazing what a committed and empowered brewer can accomplish, or maybe they just gave everything a good cleaning...
Mar 22, 2007
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Reviewed by beerjournl from Florida

4/5  rDev +10.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3
Dropped by here on a Sunday afternoon to sample their beers and just be able to say that I've been there. It's a cool sports-bar oriented place with the Michigan Keno/Lottery on multiple TV's as well as sports. Fermenters are in the dining area which is a bit different from most places, and adds a bit of brewery to the sports-bar look.

We had the Porter, the Red, and a Scottish Ale. All were above average, but not remarkable or special in any way. The rest of the selections were a bit light for me and the guys I was with, so we didn't take the time to drink them. There are only about 6 types at any time, so no loss by missing the lighter beers.

Service was excellent, and the bartender friendly. This is a really decent family place as well. Lots of families in here for a Sunday get together.

If I'm ever in the area I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but I would probably not make a special trip out of my way. If they added an IPA or a cask-conditioned brew, this place could be great.
Apr 10, 2006
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Reviewed by marburg from Michigan

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Not 2 minutes from where I grew up as a kid, so going here is kind of a stroll down memory lane -- a road which includes an interesting date with the girl I took to prom. And no, it wasn't all that happy of a story. Doh.

Anyhow, there's a big sports focus here. After all, it is Macomb county. Food isn't too bad. I was coming here to eat long before I could drink. TVs all over the place. Big area spot to watch sports games. They also often have that trivia stuff going if you're into that.

Beer is reasonably priced, and they've got a good sampler deal as well.
Jul 27, 2003
Great Baraboo Brewing Company in Clinton Township, MI
Brewery rating: 3.59 out of 5 with 79 ratings