Hop Lot Brewing Company

 

Lots of parking. Huge outdoor seating area with fire pits and they are building a bandstand. Good size seating area indoors with a decent sized bar. Merchandise available. Friendly staff. Average selection of beers but wine and cider available.

 

Wow! This place is a hidden gem as far as atmosphere. Outdoors under the trees is a fairly big “lot” that just screams “up north Michigan summer.” So glad I took a flyer on this place.

Huge outdoor picnic area (no indoor seating during the summer. There's what appears to be an enclosable tent if they are open in the winter months). Food/beer ordering from your tables, service is fast.

 

Beautiful property with outdoor fire pits, picnics tables and room to roam. They have clear plastic igloos that seat 8 for colder temps. The inside is a bit small, but a sign said they were expanding.

I had the IPA and the amber. IPA was good and the amber was ok. My wife had the blond and enjoyed it. Solid brews, but nothing earth shattering.

You order both food and beers at the bar. Encountered 2 different bartenders, both were pleasant, answered questions and freely provided recommendations.

Selection is somewhat limited, but the place is small. They brew on premises. There’s a decent variety, but it’s pretty basic. IPA, session IPA, blond, amber, stout, brown, impy stout, a few ciders and a few wines. I applaud them for having cider and wine as alternatives. My wife is not always in the mood for a beer, so this is a plus for us.

We both had the turkey Reuben, they very good. Very limited menu, but again it’s a small indoor space, so likely a small kitchen.

We visited on a Monday afternoon in late October, so it wasn’t very busy. The outdoor space is the highlight by far. We definitely will be back in the summer when there’s more people.

stopped here twice while on vacation with the misses a week and a half ago. pretty nice place. layout is kinda small in the inside but with the big outdoor seating area it's definitely where they want ya especially with the two firepits. food menu was limited but looked and smelled good. they do bbq and the meats do sell out. taps I felt were kinda limited but still not too shabby. for vibe it's Sutton's bay. if you don't know Sutton's bay imagine white people with money who want the town shut down when the street lights come on. what brewery closes at 9 or 10pm? had a couple ipa's while I was there and the misses really liked their cider. she was bummed they don't do cider in a growler or to go. employee's seemed like they care about the service at least the ones I came across. I didn't like how the first time we went which was around 5 or 6pm everything was open and staff seemed more attentive. second time we went which was around 8 and you're corralled in with the firepits which were barely going cuz heaven forbid anyone throws one of their logs on the fire and lighting was dim. I wanted to go off and smoke a cigar and throw my light up frisbee but NOPE!! place has potential but I think the area hurts it. they have signs about parking overflow and smoking. like who cares if you're outside 50 feet from anyone and want to light up (especially at a brewery). you could go to any other brewery and step outside and have a smoke and no one cares but this place is seems like the sheriffs will be there immediately. or their parking.... the first time we went there which was around dinner time parking sucked and the place didn't even seem half full. the sign said if you park anywhere else sheriffs will give out tickets. which to me says if this place seems like it's hopping and bringing heavy attraction we can't have that. I guess in the winter they make igloo's which are heated that you could go in and enjoy your beer. I guess they have to offer something cool for the drive in sh^tty weather.

positives: has potential, food seemed good, staff seemed on the ball.

negatives: area is kinda stuffy, closes early, Uses michigan hops!!

fyi; my beef with Michigan hops... I get it. you're trying to help out the economy especially with the beer craze. factor in the tax cuts if you use Michigan ingredients but the problem is they suck. they're tame. make an ipa with Michigan hops and use the same recipe but with west coast hops. you get soooo much more pungency. more fruitiness as to Michigan's more tame and floral quality. just like the wine (grape) economy around the traverse city area. Michigan grapes are different then any other place (cali, france, Australia, ect). if Michigan hops are so great tell bell's and founder's to switch. to those who would say it's volume I say bs. hop farms would kill for those contracts. they don't use them cuz they suck. any other style they're fine but ipa's they're very unidirectional.

Stumbled upon this place the day after their 3rd Anniversary Party. Couldn't have found a better place. This place is in the middle of the woods. The grounds have plenty of long tables and umbrellas, open firepit, games, and hops growing. This place makes me want to model my backyard after it. Inside, much less seating but still ample enough. They had 10-12 taps of beer (I think), 1 mead, 2 wines and possibly a cider. All beers had were solid to great. Food was from an onsite smoker. Get the wings if you're a wing fan. Fall off the bone and juicy. They were killer. Service was great, one of dudes stopped and talked to our group for a few minutes about the area. I'll definitely be back. Looking forward to a winter trip. They bring out plastic, heated igloos for the outdoor area.

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful place to have some food and drinks. Pulling into the dirt lot, the first thing you see are dozens of hop bines climbing up ropes in front of a wooden pub with an outdoor BBQ area. Behind the pub is a large outdoor seating area, a small stage, and an ever-burning firepit. The aroma is pure Michigan summer: trees, Lake water, burning wood.

The inside of the pub is small and somewhat cramped, but the outdoor seating is ample and comfortable. Orders for food and brew are placed at the bar, and brought to you at your seat. Smores packages (two marshmallows, two graham crackers, and a third of a Hershey bar) are available for a buck. Place is kid friendly.

Only downside is the food took a little while to get to us. If the place wasn't so beautiful and interesting, it might have been a bigger issue.

 

Took the family there while vacationing in Sleeping Bear Dunes. --Bonus points for extremely family friendly. Such a great summer time outdoor space. Decent number of tables with umbrellas for shade. 2 fire pits the kids enjoyed making s'mores at. Very nice tree lined space next to seating area for corn hole, frisbee, etc...

Beer selection was solid. TC Whiskey BA stout, Leelanau RIS, and An IPA w/ no name were the ones I tried and all were very enjoyable.

Food all looked good. We were there for taco tuesday so i had one of each...pork, chicken, vege. All four of us (kids are 9 and 7) hit up the tacos and thought they were good.

Staff was friendly and knowledgeable but wait could be long. Food, beer, samples, etc are all ordered at the bar and was at times being tended by 1 person. Other times weren't bad but could have used a little extra help.

If you're in the area, especially during the summer months, it's definitely worth a stop.

We get to Traverse City a couple times a year. We went to HopLot a week after opening and there were the expected growing pains. ran out of beer, a bit chaotic. I never would judge them on this as it is to be expected to some extent. We went back in the fall and we enjoyed it a lot. The indoor area is OK. Kind of small and nothing to write home about. Truth of the matter is that we want to be outside there. It is a beautiful setting. Lots of tall trees, fire pits, and lots of outdoor games (ladder ball, cornhole, etc). Although I haven't been there, I know they have bands, outdoor movies, bingo as well if you are looking for events. My wife is not a beer drinker. She normally humors me and lets me pop in for a couple beers and then she is ready to go. When we went the first time, we sat outside, she looked around and said she could stay there all day.

I have not eaten there (I am here for the beer) but it looks good. As for the beer, I thought most were well done. I stayed away from styles I don't care for. I don't want to judge a beer that I don't care for in the first place. I forgot the names of the ones I tried but the IPA's were well done and there was a bourbon barrel stout that was tasty. The wheat was OK but my wife enjoyed it (I like wheats but not my preferred style).

Overall, Hop Lot is an excellent addition to the Traverse City area (North a little in Suttons Bay) beer scene. Solid beer and a beautiful outdoor area makes it a winner. We will be out there this weekend and I can't wait to head to Hoplot for a pint or 3.

 

 

 

 

 

Hop Lot has a great summer vibe, with outdoor games to play and a nice outdoor seating area. Great place to bring a group of friends for an evening. I happened upon the place during a solo bike ride, it was a pleasant surprise. the 2 IPA's i had while i was there were both great!

This was stop #1 on a 6-day pub crawl that would take my wife and me to the Brewers Guild UP Beer Fest and back. This brewery was a great start to the trip. The pub is located inside a new building that is rustic inside and out. A gorgeous beer garden is next to the building, but we did not avail ourselves of sitting out there. Our goal was to try the beers and move on.

We ordered a sampler flight of 5 of their beers (a sixth beer was tapped out), and we enjoyed each of them. All of them were brewed to style, plus a tweak above style to add to the experience. Our scoring of the beers was an overall grade of a B minus. There are 20 taps installed behind the bar, so hopefully more beer is coming.

The pub has a few BBQ sandwich or dinner offerings plus some chip-style snacks. We ordered some chips and dip, and they were very good. Would have loved to try the BBQ, but it will have to wait until the next visit when we can plan to stay longer and enjoy the beer garden with the BBQ. We will be back.

Cool place on the Leelanau Peninsula (Sutton's Bay) with decent/good beer and a great vibe. Fire going out back, lots of outdoor games, friendly staff who we enjoyed talking to for a while, and Smores kits!

 

The Hop Lot features a HUGE outdoor seating area/beer garden that is surrounded by hops, once the plants get established this will be one heck of a summer hangout! Beer selection is somewhat small, but it covers all the bases, when I was there they had two DIPA's a stout, two wheats (one cherry) an amber, a brown, and a pale ale. Food selections are limited as well, but what they have they do very well. Fantastic barbecue, solid beers, and the place has a good atmosphere. The people that work there love what they do, and it shows.

Inside vibe = meh. Very cool outside space though. Only one place to order, no service. Meh selection, two adjunct stouts, two flavored wheats. Did not eat - small menu BBQ centric. Beers were average.

I found the head brewer very informative, and the staff very nice. They have a large and scenic outdoor beer garden. Inside is well lit with natural light and open. They are growing some of their own hop vines. Visit them when you can.