Craft beer in Troy MI?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ryan_george

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
227
Reaction score
29
Location
Fergus
Hey all,
I'm heading to Troy this week for work and I was wondering if you can recommend any good microbreweries, brewpubs, craft beer stores, etc in the area. I'll be there for a few days so hopefully I can sample a few :mug:

I'm from near Toronto so it will be nice to see the great selection of beers that we don't have access to north of the border.

Cheers
 
Not sure of any in Troy but there is a good craft Michigan beer in cans by Keweenaw Brewing.
 
If you're just going to Troy, there's not much to offer you. Probably the closest to Troy is Copper Canyon, I haven't been there in a few years, but it's not a place I'd drive across town for. OK beers if you work in that area and are getting off and want to grab something other than a budweiser with friends, but nothing spectacular.

If you're looking for Brewpubs in the Metro Detroit area I can steer you to a ton of great brew pubs. But you're going to drive a half hour of more away from Troy. But everything's pretty connected via the three major freeways, I-75, I-94, I-696 or usually a short combination of two or three.

One of the best in Michigan is Dragonmead, about 30 minutes east of Detroit. In fact that usually where when hbt'ers come to town, we usually get a bunch of the local guys from here to meet up with them.

In Detroit Proper, the VERY FIRST brewpub in Michigan is on Wayne State University's campus, called the Traffic Jam and Snug, they also make their own cheese, sausage, bread, etc. It's an interesting place, though I'm not a fan of their food. Right across the parking lot from TJ-s is my favorite micro brewery actually in the city- Motor City Brew Works; MCBW is most famous for their Ghetto Blaster English Style Mild, which is listed in the BJCP as a classic example of the style.

Closer to Downtown The Detroit Beer Company is on Broadway, they have some great beers as well. And here's the link from Atwater Brewing

If you go to Dragonmead, you might as well try Kuhnhenn's which is only a couple miles away. I personally prefer Dragonmead over Kuhnenns but GQ magazine or some such just ranked it high in North America

There's also some breweries around Royal Oak and Ferndale, I think they're all owned by the same company. Such as Royal Oak Brewery, And the Woodward Avenue Brewery These places I think are more geared to the "trendites" that frequent Royal Oak, Birmingham and Ferndale, than actual beer geeks...More style over substance. Some folks like them, but they're not "destination" brew pubs to me....Places I go out of my way to drink at.

Destination wise, THIS place, Black Lotus in Clawson I think is worth a try...Not over Dragonmead per se, but they do interesting beers with unique ingredients. They usually have a couple odd seasonal or experimental beers on tap.

There's several more I can rattle off in the general area around Metro Detroit. But I think anyone coming into this area Really needs to hit up Dragonmead- They are know around the country for having either the first or secondmost highest amount of their own beer on tap at any one time. They try to have at least 1 beer for every BJCP category on tap. Plus several of their beers they will also have on Cask or even Nitrogen Dispensed.

Hope this helps. If you want more info let me know.
 
In terms of Stores, just like breweries, it depends on where you want to drive to.

Probably the closest to Troy would be 8 Degrees Plato Beer company in Ferndale.

If you hit Dragonmead/Kuhnen's then the closet store would be Champane's Wine and Beer.

In Dearborn is Merchant's Wines, which has an amazing beer selection and was one of the first places to have a graduate from the Cicerone program, AND the first and I think only woman Cicerone in the country.

In Detroit itself there's one store I go to, they have a small selection of craft beer. But it is still decent. Plus the atmosphere of the area is cool, especially if you're there on the weekend, Detroit's Eastern Market is pretty cool it's a big outdoor market with surrounded buildings with interesting shops and resteraunts. If you want a place near the border with Canada to get a few Micros or wine, Cost Plus Wines in Eastern Market would be the place to stop.

I have about 10 different stores in a 10 -15 mile radius that I frequent, depending on where I am.

Parkway Beverage has the biggest selection of beer in BOMBERS, I've ever seen, as well as a large selection of Michigan Micros ACTUALLY COLD....and just a huge selection overall.

My new favorite place is this Drugstore near my butcher's. They have the lowest prices I've seen, and let you do mixed sixers as well. And they do tastings on many Fridays.

The Wine Garden in St. Clair Shores is another favorite of mine.

Oxford Beverage in Grosse Pointe has an great selection as well.

Also Embassy Wine which is just off the I-94 freeway in Roseville, has an insane and varied selection of beer, organized from around the world. They have a lot of obscure and hard to fine beers, including dusty bottles....It's probably the largest selection of ANY of the stores I've listed, but their prices are kinda high...It's a hidden gem though. If you just happen to be in the area, I would definitely pop in there.

Hope this helps too. :mug:
 
You're obvously NOT from Michigan. Keweenaw is indeed pretty good, but it is 538.2 miles away from Troy....About 9.5 hours away. :fro:

You're right. That's why I said "not sure of any in Troy" but I referenced a Michigan beer that I've had.
 
Revvy, thank you very much for that comprehensive list! I will do my best to get to some of those top picks. Hopefully I can grab a few growlers to take back home as well.
 
Back
Top