This piece is a sample from my new website called Jack Detroit Blog. The aim of this site is to inform you about and keep you updated on all things Detroit. If you live in the Metro Detroit area then check it out! There is a lot of good information, tips, and stylish prose to keep you entertained. If you have something about Detroit that you would like to see written about, or what to write a guest post yourself just contact me here!
Michigan is quickly becoming known across the country for its craft beer culture and brewery scene. The focus is typically on Grand Rapids with its numerous breweries and title of “Beer City USA”, and to a lesser extent on Kalamazoo which has given the world the gift of Bells (for which we can all be thankful) along with other breweries and beer-themed restaurants like The Beer Exchange. But for those of us in Southeast Michigan and the Metro Detroit area I say, who needs them?
Detroit is quickly becoming able to hold its own as one of Michigan’s top beer cities. With existing breweries expanding and more opening up in recent years, Detroit has brought back its vibrant beer culture started over a century and a half ago with Stroh’s. From Corktown in the west, to the historic Rivertown in the east, and all the way up to Wayne State at the northern end of Midtown, the heart of the city is filled with numerous breweries and brewery-restaurants.
Atwater Brewery
One of the best and most well-known is Atwater Brewery. Located just east of downtown in the city’s Rivertown district, Atwater is just over a mile from the Renaissance Center and about a mile and a half from Greektown Casino. Nestled within what looks like an historic, yet revamped industrial area the original Joseph Campau location is thriving with an authentic Biergarten and a full scale tap house. Complete with its German pub-feeling atmosphere is a food menu full of wieners–with sausage concoctions ranging from pretzel dogs, to seoul bulgogi, to falafel, to traditional ballparkers. For those not so keen on wieners there is a wide selection of pizzas and greens. The staff is fun and this is really an awesome place!
Motor City Brewing Works
If you’re in the mood for something a bit smaller and for delicious brick-oven pizzas, then look no further than Motor City Brewing Works. Right near Wayne State University, Motor City is within easy walking distance of many of Detroit’s cultural treasures such as the Detroit Institute of Arts, Opera House, Detroit Science Center, and the Max Fischer Theater. Opened in 1994 this brewery was a pioneer in the resurgence of Detroit’s beer scene and boasts an array of delicious, hand crafted brews. If you find yourself in northern midtown then this is a great place for lunch or dinner!
Brewery Tours
There are many other great breweries in our city that I listed below. In case hitting multiple breweries at once mixed with some history and culture is your forte, I have an article talking about some really cool beer tours that you can find here.
So if awesome beer, great food, and fun times are your things (and for your sake I really hope they are) then come down and see Detroit’s flourishing beer scene in action!