Hi guys, Heading up to Charlevoix soon. Are there any good bottle shops around there? Or, perhaps any along the way (heading up 75, from Flint). Thanks in advance. Cheers!
Good question, heading up there myself today, also front the Flint area, although I'm brining a fully stocked supply of bottles. Visiting Shorts for the first time, pretty excited.
I just returned from 5 days at Boyne Mountain and 2 days at Shanty Creek. I spent parts of two days looking for bottles in Petoskey and Boyne City. I didn't make it to Charlevoix as I hoped. If Petoskey and Boyne City are any indication of what's in Charlevoix, my best advice to you is bring your own bottles. I've had luck at Toski Sands in Petoskey before but not this time. There are lots of great places with craft on tap but finding bottles besides gas stations is pretty limited. The places I didn't get to check out and I wish I had was Meijer and D&W. I've had limited luck at those places around the Grand Rapids area in the past. I should have checked them out but I didn't. I went to Short's on Friday and Short's Fest on Saturday. If you go to Short's on a Friday or Saturday night, you may have up to an hour wait so be prepared. Also, the best bottle shop I found all trip was a tiny place called the Bellaire Smokehouse. It's located about a half mile north of Short's. They only have two coolers full of craft beer but it was the best selection of craft I saw all week. I left three bottles of Woot Stout ($9.49 per bomber) there on Friday night so it may still be there for you guys if you get lucky. The very best luck I had all week was a place called Mackinaw Trail Brewery (more commonly known as Mackinaw Trail Winery). They are about a mile or two south of Petoskey on 31. They have a bourbon barrel aged Molasses Stout in 22 oz bottles that kicks ass. It's damn good. The bad news is it $25 and change out the door per 750 ml bottle. But hey, you're on vacation so treat yourself.
Great info, thanks much. Hitting Shorts during the day Tuesday so should avoid the crowds. Great tip on the BA stout too, will definitely seek one out.
They will give a small sample of the ba stout so ask for it before you put down $25 for it. If you do get it, let me know how you like it.
