Southwest Michigan

As long as you are staying the night in St. Joseph, hit the Livery in neighboring Benton Harbor. I love that place.

 

Greenbush is in Sawyer just a half-mile off I-94 at Exit 15? and is very worthy of a visit. Then you can hit Transient, Tapistry (right across the street) and Haymarket (about 3/4 mile away) all in Bridgman a couple exits north. Then further north is The Livery in Benton Harbor that was mentioned above. North Pier and Silver Harbor are in St. Joe or close by. I liked both. Arclight Brewing get a lot of hype, especially for their sours, and is in Watervliet (just east of where I-196 splits from I-94).

In Holland, Our Brewing is just two doors down from New Holland. Big Lake gets some hype, although my only visit there was not to that level. It was better than any of the other places that I have visited. I have not been to Macatawa Brewery or 4 to 4.

Enjoy your visits.

 

We did this tour last year and you won't be disappointed. In order of stops, we hit Arclight, Watermark, Tapistry, Transient, and ended the night at Greenbush and grabbed dinner. As Mothergoose said, The Livery and Haymarket are also decent options but didn't make the cut this time. I've been to Roundbarn many times because the wife likes their wine and it is close by. You can literally hit 5-6 breweries all within 10 minutes of each other.

 

The family was up there recently and we all enjoyed North Pier.

 

Transient tops my list. If you enjoy sours, Aclight sours are fantastic. I would skip Tapistry. Greenbush Annex is nice way to spend an afternoon.

I haven't been to Watermark but am curious...

 

Full agreement on this point.

Yeah, it's across the street from Transient, but the beer is so mediocre, it's not worth wasting your palate on.

YMMV.

 

Me as well. I’m at Transient at least a couple of times a month and never bother with Tapistry. Have been twice since they opened and see no reason in going back.

I will second JohnnyHopps opinion of The Livery.

Round Barn (the estate in Baroda, not the tasting room in Union Pier, or Public House) is a cool destination on weekends to people watch, listen to some music and chill. Hop Dealer and some new NEIPA they had are ok. They also make a very good vodka distilled from grapes

Journeyman also does legite spirits.

 

I'll echo Transient, Watermark, and the Livery as must hits.

The rest are fine, but those are the headliners in the area for me.

 

Arclight makes some very good sours, and they usually have a solid selection of bottles to-go. One word of warning, though: If you intend to sample, bring a friend. They only do the sours in 6 oz pours, and they're kind of pricey. I was there a couple of weeks ago, ordered four tasters (three sours and one bba porter), and walked out with a $30ish tab. It was a bit of a surprise because I'd asked the bartender if they did "small flight-sized" options since I was solo and driving, then he brought over 24 ounces of 8-10 abv beers. I felt guilty that I had to leave a good portion on the table, but I really wasn't planning on drinking so much sour by myself.

 

I think there are lots of solid options, with Transient probably being the best in terms of beer quality (although I've never been to Livery or Arclight). Most of the options are good for hanging out at with good beers, but nothing too great in terms of beer quality. Watermark, Greenbush and Haymarket all have good atmospheres with better beer than many of the others in the area, and the latter two have good food (I believe Watermark usually has a food truck option around as well).

I've been intrigued to check out Silver Harbor in downtown St. Joe as a place for some lunch and beers, but have yet to make it there.

 

Exit 12 for Greenbush
Exit 16 for Transient
Exit 41 for Arclight
All of them are off of I-94 & all are very close to the highway

 

If you feel like driving just a tad further north, odd side ales is a good stop. Plenty of different beer on tap, to go beers and some of the cheapest t shirts I've seen.

 

Comments on downtown Holland. Big Lake moved to just east of River on 7th. Macatawa Breweing is now located in the 8th Street Grill. Hops on 84 is next to Our Brewing and has a good tap list. Have fun!

 

Wife and I are staying in st joe for our first wedding anniversary the last weekend of September. Initial plan is journeyman, transient and livery. In addition to the aforementioned, any decent bottle shops to stop at? And any suggestions for dinner and drinks Saturday night that will have nd vs Stanford on.

 

Hit the Liquor Cabinet right in St. Joseph.

 

Any help on boss tweed cans around st joe or south? Liquor cabinet only had m43 and cart horse

 

I would try Meijer or Martins in Setevensville .