Traverse City area recommendations?

Hit 7 Monks.

 

Drive up to Bellaire and go to Short's.

 

http://www.shortsbrewing.com/beer/on-tap/
As of right now, quite a few it looks like. I'm driving there tomorrow, PSYCHED!

 

Yes, generally several things on tap that are brewery only. Even if they didn't, you'd have to go anyway. Great place.

 

Couldn't agree more

 

Shorts is a must. I was there today and had a few stouts that were brewed for the fist time. Best part was the case of Liberator that I walked away with. Amazing DIPA!

 

If you like beers brewed to style, try the Filling Station, not far from Right Brain.

 

Right Brain is a must, plus you should be able to get bottles of CEO Stout to go still. Their Looping Owl and Sour Owl are personal favorites, along with their Cherry Brule.

7 Monks has a killer tap list, and their food is really, really good, but they are often busy and seating can be hard to come by occasionally.

Filling Station has some very good beers as well.

Brewery Ferment opened a month or so ago, and is about 3 blocks south of 7 Monks. They have ZERO atmosphere, but their beers are pretty good. I still like RBB more, but it's worth trying.

Jolly Pumpkin is out on Old Mission Peninsula, and they have a full assortment of JP and North Peak beers in bottles and 8-10 beers on tap. They also have outstanding food. It's actually one of my favorite places to go out for dinner.

North Peak in downtown is a good place for dinner and they usually have a couple specialty beers on tap. I tend to go there for the food more than the beer though. Same with Mackinaw Brewing Company.

Brew is a beer/coffee house downtown. They usually have a good selection of beer, and it's a much quieter place than any of the other bars/breweries if you and your wife are looking to find a place to get away and talk/relax for a bit.

Shorts is a hike but is totally worth it. For being in the middle of nowhere, they are amazingly busy. They have a big tap list, and over half of it is comprised of pub exclusives. If you like stouts, they have 4 or 5 good ones on tap right now. Feel free to bring me a growler of their smores stout as you drive by.

Beverage Company is the best bottle shop in town. If you are looking to take some stuff home, that's the place to get bottles. Tilly's Market and Bayside Market also have good selections. Bolt Cutter should be in stock at a couple of those places if you wanted a bottle, and I know Bayside had Stone Lucky Bastard in stock too. Tillys and Bayside tend to have rarer beers on the shelf longer than BevCo since BevCo is far and away the busiest craft beer store.

If you want to swing past my place, I'm happy to open something with a fellow BA'er, as I don't have enough friends that actually appreciate most of the beers I have. Just let me know if you want to do that.