Going to Be In Traverse City, Where to Go?

Heading to Traverse City tomorrow for a few days. What beer should I pick up locally or places should I go? My buddy, whom is from MI is getting married, so I'm sure he knows the local cuisine. Just wanted some further input.

Natdavis777 said:

Heading to Traverse City tomorrow for a few days. What beer should I pick up locally or places should I go? My buddy, whom is from MI is getting married, so I'm sure he knows the local cuisine. Just wanted some further input.

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I never get to Traverse City. When I do, I like Right Brain brewery, and head over to Belaire to go to Short's. I also love the wineries on the peninsulas- both Leelanau and Mission peninsula have wineries and are great to visit.

If you're at a store, Short's is one of my favorite breweries in that area and they are available around there.

@Homercidal goes there far more often than I do, and can probably give you better tips.

The wife loves wineries so I will try to accommodate her while we are there. I also love some Shorts and try and get it when I can. I'll check out your suggestions. Thanks for the input!

I vacation up on the Leelanau Peninsula yearly...I second shorts...very good stuff. If you do end up driving up the peninsula then northport brewing and hoplot are new but worth checking out. Beers aren't amazing, but very good and the ambiance/experience is worth it. But...of all the wineries and breweries up the peninsula, don't miss tandem ciders. Exceptional experience and products. If you have never made cider, you will when you get home.

Sorry if spots 1 hr north are off topic, but I wanted to chime in.

+1 For Shorts in Bellaire, MI

Also nearby is a new winery also serving a couple sparkling ciders-
Torch Lake Cellars http://www.torchlakecellars.com/

They've even introduced a hopped wine variety -

My wife and I were up there over Memorial Day weekend and we visited The Workshop and Rare Bird. Both were good.

There are a ton of breweries in TC these days. What I would recommend really depends on what you like for beer and ambiance.

I haven't been to Right Brain since they moved. I loved the old place and Niedermaier's eclectic recipes. John has his own place, Brewery Terra Firma, but I understand Russ (the owner) still keeps an eclectic set of beers on tap. It's on my list of places to visit when I get a beercation up there again.

Brewery Terra Firma is a "farm brewery". John grows things on the farm to put in the beer, and they are very much into recycling anything they can and reducing waste. They use much less water than most other breweries and they use a lot of the waste water as irrigation. He likes to put a bit of a twist on his recipes as well.

North Peak is a large, hopping, restaurant/brewery. It's not my favorite place to go. Bigger and louder, generally. The beer is ok, but the place just isn't as intimate as I would prefer.

Mackinaw Brewing Company is a downtown corner brewpub. Good beer and good food. It's not really "special", but I can't really say anything bad about it either.

The Filling Station Brewery is an old railroad station building converted into a brewery. It still keeps a lot of the charm of the original building. Beer is solid, but when I've been there they didn't seem interested in pushing recipes too far. They also have a nice wood fired pizza oven. Which is awesome!

Brewery Ferment is a small side brewery not quite downtown, not quite residential. Last time I was there is was brand new and the beers were less than top notch. I've heard they've come a long way and I'm anxious to get back up there and check it out.

Never been to Rare Bird. I like the look of things from online and this is another place on my list of places to check out next chance I get.

Shorts is in Bellaire. I'll be honest, I am not hot for Shorts. I know a lot of people like them, but I find many of the flavors they offer are not to my palate, so a lot of what makes them special is lost on me. That said, the taproom has a HUGE variety of beers to check out, so there is no question you can find things interesting to try, and no doubt you can find whatever you are into. It's a cool little place at any rate, so I highly recommend anyone who likes their stuff to give them a visit. It's a great area to hang out in general.

I'm missing a few I'm sure. They are popping up like mushrooms in May!

Yes, if you have time to dive to Short's in Bellaire their beers are far superior to those that Short's bottles.

Directly in Traverse City my recommendations would be (in my personal order of preference)
Brewery Terra Firma (quirky well made beers)
The Filling Station (great pizza as well as beers)
Rare Bird (only 4 beers but all were solid when I was there)
Right Brain (used to be quirky but lost their edge in my opinion... Still solid beers though)

I enjoy Right Brain and head over there every year when I head up. I tried Filling Station last year. Good Beer, Great Pizza. I hear good things about Rare bird, but haven't been yet. They are on my list for this year, along with Short's. I stay away from North Peak. Bad experience with a server and the Beer wasn't good enough to overlook it.

Enjoy TC!

My new favorite in the area is Hop Lot. They are just north of TC near Suttons Bay. Great beer and atmosphere. On our last visit they had a blond and a pale that were mind-blowing. Both styles that are difficult to make exciting. They are now my 2nd favorite stop outside of Right Brain.

We have a large group going up there camping over Labor Day. Can't wait.

Yooper said:

I never get to Traverse City. ...I like Right Brain brewery, and head over to Belaire to go to Short's. I also love the wineries on the peninsulas- both Leelanau and Mission peninsula have wineries and are great to visit. If you're at a store, Short's is one of my favorite breweries in that area and they are available around there.

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Doesn't sound to me like you "never" get to Traverse City.

GHBWNY said:

Doesn't sound to me like you "never" get to Traverse City.

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Not as often as I'd like, then!

It's a charming town on Lake Michigan, with beautiful peninsulas that have wineries all along shooting out from it. It really is nice, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes are nearby. I like hiking in that area.

I sound like a travel agent, trying to sell a trip there. But it's great, especially in September when the kids are back in school and most of the other tourists are gone. In mid-September, the grapes are being picked and they are pressing, so that's fun to see too. The tastings at the wineries are fun, and there is excellent wine coming out of Mission Peninsula.

Sadly, we rarely get down that way. It's about a 6 hour drive, so not that far, but we have so many other places to go in Wisconsin before doing a repeat I think.

Made it to Hop Lot last night. Love the atmosphere. It's kinda hard to beat that outdoor setup.

Going to Jolly Pumpkin before the wedding for some lunch. Since there isn't a reception, I think we are going to go out afterwards.

The wife and I picked up a local Cherry wine last night. Pretty solid. Might have to pick some up to take back home

Natdavis777 said:

Made it to Hop Lot last night. Love the atmosphere. It's kinda hard to beat that outdoor setup.

Going to Jolly Pumpkin before the wedding for some lunch. Since there isn't a reception, I think we are going to go out afterwards.

The wife and I picked up a local Cherry wine last night. Pretty solid. Might have to pick some up to take back home

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If you like wines, my favorite wine from the area is cabernet franc- they make some excellent ones in the area. I particularly like the Peninsula Cellars version, at least the ones I've tried in the past. Cab franc is my favorite style, and that grape seems to do quite well in that area.

Yooper said:

Not as often as I'd like, then!

It's a charming town on Lake Michigan, with beautiful peninsulas that have wineries all along shooting out from it. It really is nice, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes are nearby. I like hiking in that area.

I sound like a travel agent, trying to sell a trip there. But it's great, especially in September when the kids are back in school and most of the other tourists are gone. In mid-September, the grapes are being picked and they are pressing, so that's fun to see too. The tastings at the wineries are fun, and there is excellent wine coming out of Mission Peninsula.

Sadly, we rarely get down that way. It's about a 6 hour drive, so not that far, but we have so many other places to go in Wisconsin before doing a repeat I think.

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My younger years were spent in Roscommon, MI, about an hour east of TC. Learned to swim in Higgins Lake. Fond memories of MI. Five of my cousins still live in MI, one in TC. She has encouraged us to come to visit. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about TC from her, so one of these days...

Another vote for Shorts even though it's about a 30-40 minutes from Traverse City. If you can't find a beer you like there (around 16 were on tap when I was there), you aren't trying. Also I was very impressed with the food menu. Definitely a step above normal bar food!

Homercidal said:

Shorts is in Bellaire. I'll be honest, I am not hot for Shorts. I know a lot of people like them, but I find many of the flavors they offer are not to my palate, so a lot of what makes them special is lost on me. That said, the taproom has a HUGE variety of beers to check out, so there is no question you can find things interesting to try, and no doubt you can find whatever you are into. It's a cool little place at any rate, so I highly recommend anyone who likes their stuff to give them a visit. It's a great area to hang out in general.

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I get that with some of their experimental flavors, but am I the only one who can't stand their hoppy beers? I'm as big of a hophead as you'll find, but it seems all of their APA, IPA, and IIPA are unbalanced by way too much hop bitterness. Like they forgot that they need to balance with the right malt backbone or tone down the hops.

That said, it's hard to beat something like Soft Parade on a hot summer day.

Natdavis777 said:

Made it to Hop Lot last night. Love the atmosphere. It's kinda hard to beat that outdoor setup.

Going to Jolly Pumpkin before the wedding for some lunch. Since there isn't a reception, I think we are going to go out afterwards.

The wife and I picked up a local Cherry wine last night. Pretty solid. Might have to pick some up to take back home

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The Hop Lot is awesome. Hasn't been open very long but a cool place. The Work Shop Brewery is in the old spot Right Brain used to be in. Pretty good beer and cool place. The Filling Station, Rare Bird, and Terra Firma are all worth the trip besides the other mentioned ones.

metanoia said:

I get that with some of their experimental flavors, but am I the only one who can't stand their hoppy beers? I'm as big of a hophead as you'll find, but it seems all of their APA, IPA, and IIPA are unbalanced by way too much hop bitterness. Like they forgot that they need to balance with the right malt backbone or tone down the hops.

That said, it's hard to beat something like Soft Parade on a hot summer day.

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I happen to love shorts. After reading your comments I believe you would love Terra Firma. Their beers are very balanced and including their IPA. But they focus on a lot of other style that I all really good.

Paul_Aris said:

I happen to love shorts. After reading your comments I believe you would love Terra Firma. Their beers are very balanced and including their IPA. But they focus on a lot of other style that I all really good.

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Thanks for the suggestion! If I ever get up that way I'll have to remember to check that one out. Plus, it seems like they may distribute down here in Detroit. Any good suggestions besides the IPA?

metanoia said:

Thanks for the suggestion! If I ever get up that way I'll have to remember to check that one out. Plus, it seems like they may distribute down here in Detroit. Any good suggestions besides the IPA?

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If you like fruit style beers, their Soft Parade is fantastic. In fact it was the first Shorts I tried when visiting Mackinaw. I had their Nicey Spicey seasonal a few months back and loved it. Unfortunately I only get to try the new varieties when we visit MI or I can convince friends/family to bring some back.

metanoia said:

Thanks for the suggestion! If I ever get up that way I'll have to remember to check that one out. Plus, it seems like they may distribute down here in Detroit. Any good suggestions besides the IPA?

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Well a lot of the good ones I've tried there may not be packaged for resale. I know they had some awesome porters and stouts. I know they can Manitou which is just a good amber but not as full of flavor as some of their one offs but still a really good beer.

Due to time constraints, ended up going to Macinaw Brewing and North Point before the wedding. I liked North Point. Got a solid pizza there too. After dinner, we got our full at Jolly Pumpkin again.