Michigan Breweries, Bars, Eateries (2025)

Just seeing this. Folgarellli's Italian Deli. Great sandwiches. Get the Godfather and thank me later.

 

At Farm Club now. The beers are spot on. The Pinot Noir farmhouse ale is near perfect. The food and service was exceptional. Thanks for the recommendation. I brought a bunch of Hoof Hearted brew if anyone can meet up.

 

Loco boys, Identity and North Peak today. 7monks on the walk back. Nocturnal Bloom, Terra Firma and Filling Station tomorrow. May try for Earthen ales. Thanks for all the BA advice.

 

Terra Firma, Earthen Ales, Nocturnal Bloom and Rare Bird. My favorite by far is Nocturnal Bloom. The place may be a bit sterile but the brew is excellent. Another beautiful day in Traverse City.

 

Need to hit Traverse this year still. Sounds great.

Was out at Gingerman over the weekend. Stopped at Rusty Rocket Brewing. Interesting place, beer is ok but view out back is stellar. A nice place to stop and have a beer but not worry about how it tastes. Not awful, but not the calling card. Also hit Tantrick in Allegan. It was pretty good, great service, lots of variety. One and done, so not a full review.

 

Back in the CLE and have had time to reflect. Here's the skinny:
Farm Club: great food and ambience. Service was perfect. Brew hit the right notes and was clean, crisp and fresh. They have a nice, farm-to-table freshness which includes their beer and food offerings.
Loco Boys: friendly, efficient service. More hits than misses when it came to their beer. Great variety of beer options. I didn't try the food but the Mexican fare looked delicious.
North Peak: one of the OG craft breweries and I stopped in mainly for the history. Everything from service to ambiance to beer was fair to poor.
Terra Firma: great indoor/outdoor site that welcomes all, including parents with children. The beer is malt heavy and all looks the same, amber/red. The hop forward offerings are also malty. Earthen Ales: great location within the old psychiatric/mental hospital grounds. Awesome space, indoor and outdoor, and the service was friendly, and the hospitality went above and beyond. The brew was 80/20 perfect with a few misses. The Octoberfest was exquisite.
Rare Bird: reminded me of a happy hour/bro craft-like place and the beer followed suite. The variety of beer was nice but much was fair to poor.
Nocturnal Bloom: sterile, new, bright, square tables and long bar. Many young patrons on laptops. But the beer was exquisite. Multiple styles, all spot on and pushing the envelope on flavors. The brewmaster was there, worked the bar, and fielded questions, including hop/malt content, aging process and water specifics. He has a true craft beer pedigree and it shows in his offerings.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the Michigan BeerAdvocate members who provided me with the advice and knowledge for this trip. If you all are ever in the the CLE area, please look me up so I can repay the favor. Cheers!

 

Sorry about that!

Once saw an old Rolls Royce screeching around out there. It didn't last long, not a car built for pushing to the limit.

 

Might need to swing by yee olde Mega-Bev on my next trip to Menards now. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Mustn’t forget Wolverine State Brewing, they focus on lagers and do excellent work.