We got going early hoping they would be open.  It was awesome to find them open and downtown was very busy with shoppers.  This building is also historic to Traverse City and Mackinaw Brewing Co and has been here since 1997.  They have a nice corner location which happened to be right next to the city Christmas tree (right in the middle of the road).  Click here or on the picture above for more pics!

Marco waited on us and he was great to talk to.  Marco knew a lot about the history in the area.  We also met the brewer Mike and enjoyed talking with him.  Mike’s been brewing here for 9 years.  He also told us about his former assistant and his endeavor to open a brewery/hair salon. 

They have their own smoker and smoke the meat for 8-9 different items on the menu.  To eat we ordered the Smokehouse Sampler (brisket, ribs, and sausage).  This was very good and the meat was so tender.  The sausage was quite spicy!  We also ordered the Cheddar Ale Soup and this was excellent.

In our sampler we had:  Winter Lager (seasonal), GT Golden, Penninsula Pale Ale, Red 8 Ale, Beadle’s Best Bitter, Harvest Moon Oatmeal Stout, The Bridge Nut Brown Ale, and Belgian White Cap.  We had our growler filled with the Nut Brown Ale.

Mackinaw Brewing also makes thier own rootbeer.  This is a nice brewpub and they have a lot to offer for the whole family.  Todd was glad to get a nice pint glass and a shot glass.

Based on our personal preferences, yours may vary

This is our second visit here and we wanted to get some pictures of the inside.  Click here or on the picture to see!  The décor is very unique.  Joe’s brewing is also unique and he does like the hops.

Jeremy waited on us and we had a lot of fun talking with him.  While we were here we heard from another patron that Fletcher Street in Alpena has opened. 

We sat at the bar and ordered a sampler and had:  Pretty N Pink Wintertime Shandy (pink lemonade and pilsner), Locals Light, Smoked Apple Ale (this is for smoke lovers, smells like a campfire and tastes like one too), Funkin Punkin (strong pumpkin season), Chocolate Wheat Stout, Wintertime Wheat, Raspberry Flanders, Bellaire Brown (sweet taste) and Jeremy’s special mix of Raspberry Flanders and Chocolate Wheat Stout.  We really liked the Chocolate Wheat Stout and got our growler re-filled with that.

To eat we ordered the Guac and chips.  The guacamole is made fresh to order (large chunks of advocado, tomatoes, and onions).  Jeremy said it was the best in the state and we would have to agree.  To go we also ordered the special pizza.  We have been wanting to try the pizza here and it was good.  Red was the cook and she did a very good job.

We were going to Wixom Lake to our friend’s cabin and we thought it would be great to bring the pizza along with our 4 growlers.  They had a special event planned to video tape ourselves with little doll bodies and lip sync to Christmas music.  We had a great time performing (we posted a couple pictures – click the picture above or here).

Based on our personal preferences, yours may vary

  Home  

  Sanford Lake & Mountain Town (June, 2001)  

  Big Buck & Alcatraz (Aug, 2001)  

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  Midland St. Ale Tour, Bay City, 2004  

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  The B.O.B., Founders (Nov 13, 2004)  

  Thunder Bay, Kings, Bo's, CJ's (Feb 5, 2005)  

  Great Baraboo, Dragonmead, Belle River (Feb 26, 2005)  

  Boyne River, Shorts (Apr 30, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 1, Tahquamenon, Lake Superior, Vierling, Jasper (Aug 24,25, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 2, Red Jacket, Keweenaw, Library, Hereford & Hops (Aug 26,27, 2005)  

  Mountain Town, Sanford - 2nd Trip (Sept 10, 2005)  

  Michigan Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Redwood Lodge, (Sept 24, 2005)  

  Livery, Saugatuck, New Holland, Via Maria (Sept 30, 2005)  

  Middle Villa, Schmohz, Hideout (Oct 1, 2005)  

  Redwood Lodge (Sep, 2004), Redwood Lodge (Oct 8, 2005)  

  Kuhnhenn, Bastone, Lilys (Oct. 21, 2005)  

  Bonfire, Etouffee (Oct. 22, 2005)  

  Cork 'N' Ale 11th Annual Fall Beer Tasting (Nov. 3, 2005)  

  Traverse City, North Peak (Dec. 2, 2005)  

  Mackinaw, Shorts (Dec. 3, 2005)  

  Lumber Barons' Charcoal Grill & Brewpub (Dec. 9 & 10, 2005)