Overnight visit - DETROIT

I’d suggest keeping it simple and staying downtown, which is closest. Batch, Founders, 8 Degrees Plato. Those are a good combo. I would not recommend Kuhnhenn - don’t want to come off hating, but they’ve never impressed me. It’s OK if you’re right there in the area, but I think staying in the city is better. I have enjoyed Griffin Claw as well if you make it to the north suburbs. I’ve wanted to make it to HOMES but it’s not where I’m usually nearby so haven’t made or yet.

 

This one http://www.mibeer.com/find-mi-beer looks pretty good. It includes all of Michigan - 262 breweries listed.

 

I'm with you on Kuhnhenn, can't recommend them because their quality is hit or miss too often.

The beauty of HOMES is that it's right off of I-94 so easy off & back on when traveling to the D

 

I suggest Founders and Hopcat Detroit only because it's in Detroit. However if you're going to make the drive to Ann Arbor for Homes I strongly suggest hitting South Lyon for Witch's Hat.

Homes has good IPAs & sours whereas Witch's Hat seems to have some of the freshest tasting variety beers I ever tasted.

If you're into Belgians have to try Witch's Hat Demon Cleaner and recently had a NE IPA brewed with lobster and oysters which sounds disgusting but was actually the best NE IPA I ever had.

 

I also agree about Kuhnhenn. For someone coming from out of town and staying in Allen Park, that's a good 30 minute drive through the not so scenic environs of Warren. It's not like there are many other stops around there, and he has a limited timeframe. I'm just not a huge fan of Kuhnhenn anymore - they have a huge list of so-so beers that I don't feel the need to sample anymore, especially now that so many other breweries are doing IPAs that I feel are the equal of DRIPA. About the only time I go up there is for a special event when I know the eisbocks will be on.

I'd support the suggestions of " general downtown" (Founders, Batch, 8 Degrees, plenty of good food options in Midtown and Corktown), Royal Oak/Ferndale (ROAK, River Rouge, B.Nektar, Schramm's, Urbanrest, Axle, and Griffin Claw a bit further), or the further drive to Ann Arbor (HOMES, Witch's Hat).

 

The most complete list of all 325+ Michigan breweries is at http://www.michiganbeerguide.com/. There is also a map too, but it does not zoom in to the resolution to show precise locations. The other link provided above does zoom in close but it will list only the breweries that are members of the Michigan Brewers Guild, which is probably 80-90 percent of the breweries in the state.

OP, if you are driving into Michigan you can stop at the Michigan Welcome Center just inside the state line and pick up a printed copy of the Michigan Beer Guide or the Michigan Brewers Guild directory/magazine (if any are left they are usually in the wineries section of the brochure racks).

 

I was unaware of this aspect of HOMES...are they kid friendly?

This is a great suggestion.

 

I would say yes, I've taken my daughter but she's 15 so a little older. I've seen kids almost every time that I've been there & there's a good amount of room there especially in the summer

 

Thanks. Our kids are younger, but we play it smart when we go to places and make sure to go at more kid-friendly times (i.e. before 6 pm). Generally I like to go to places for lunch, so maybe this will be an option...although their cuisine is certainly not going to win any praise from my 5 and 7 year olds!

 

I've not been to this location, but based on my visits to the three other locations, I'll bet that the Detroit location is a very worthy visit too.

 

I believe they specialize in sours, so beware if you're not a fan of the style. I'd like to put in my two cents and agree with whoever said griffin claw. I haven't been to their location, but I've had some good beer from them. Especially their flying buffalo BBA imp coffee stout.

 

It feels more like a pizza place than a brewery, and I'd prefer the reverse, but the beer is top notch. Jolly Pumpkin is a pioneer of sour and wild ale brewing in the United States and always has received high ratings. Jolly Pumpkin deserves a lot more buzz than it gets around here.

 

Yes. Jolly Pumpkin is a good visit. They have a good selection of beers, and occasionally have some brewery-exclusive small batch stuff on tap. Solid food as well, if you have any room in the belly after Slow’s.

 

I would also add that if you're going to Plato, it's just a couple minute walk to Founders, so that's a no-brainer, IMO. And if you're brave, it's probably only a 10 minute walk down to Jolly Pumpkin. Next to JP is Jack White's record store, which is kinda cool, even if you're not a fan of his stuff. And that Shinola store next door is interesting, especially if you haven't run into enough hipsters while in Detroit. They'll all be gathered there.

 

Plato is a solid recommendation- they have a solid tap list to try something and you should get at a minimum decent customer service for local bottles/cans to purchase.

You can look up the tap list currently at the Detroit Founders to see if there’s some stuff that doesn’t get distributed to try.

As already noted Jolly Pumpkin is all about sours/wild ales. They have one off’s pretty much every month of the year (although I can comment if these will be on tap in Detroit).

Hipsters in Detroit - hmmmm I can’t say I’ve ever noticed (extreme sarcasm)

 

Jolly Pumpkin also pours North Peak beers. So you got that if you aren't a complete sour lover.

 

Yes, Jolly Pumpkin and North Peak, along with the Grizzly Peak Brewpub are all under the Northern United Brewing Company umbrella. The production brewery in Dexter MI makes the JP and NP brands. The NP beers are on tap at the JP locations, if one does not like sours.