5 Award Winning Craft Breweries in Michigan That You Shouldn’t Miss!
Aside from the great views and sceneries, Michigan is also popular for its world class beers and craft breweries. You can find different award winning IPAs, German-style lagers, French-style ales and mead made with Michigan honeybees.
Below are some of the best and finest craft breweries around the Mitten State that produces some of the finest beers you can find at the state.
Founders Brewing Company
Also known as Canal Street Brewing Co., L.L.C., is a craft brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founders Brewing Company philosophy states “We don’t brew beer for the masses. Instead our beers are crafted for a chosen few, a small cadre of renegades and rebels who enjoy a beer that pushes the limits of what is commonly accepted as taste. In short, we make beer for people like us.”
The company produces eight year-round beers and several seasonal and limited production beers. Throughout the course of the year, Founder’s produces a large number of other beers that can be had at their Taproom and beer festivals.
The company has been ranked in as one of the top breweries in the world by Ratebeer.com and they’ve won six World Beer Cup medals, four European Beer Star medals and three Great American Beer Festival medals.
Bell’s Brewery
A brewing company based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a second facility in Comstock, Michigan. The company has grown into a regional craft brewery that distributes over a 22 state area, including Puerto Rico and Washington DC.
In 2011, the American Homebrewers Association rated Bell’s Brewery’s Two Hearted Ale (an India Pale Ale) the second-best beer in the United States. The AHA publishes an annual list of 50 ranking beers in its magazine, Zymurgy. Two Hearted Ale is an India pale ale named for Two Hearted River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
They currently brew over 20 beers for distribution as well as other small batch beers that are served at their tap room, the Eccentric Café, where you can stop by to taste unique beers, while enjoying the live music in their outdoor beer garden.
New Holland Brewing Company
Located in Holland, Michigan, this company operates a microbrewery, located on the city’s northside, and a distillery, specialty brew house, restaurant, and pub in downtown Holland.
The company’s beers are sold at its restaurant and are distributed throughout Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North Dakota, North and South Carolina, and Connecticut.
Short’s Brewing Company
A brewpub and microbrewery housed in a refurbished, 100-year-old hardware store located in Bellaire, Michigan. Short’s Brewing Company set a world record for the largest tap takeover when it served 100 Short’s draughts for the August 22, 2013 grand opening of HopCat’s new location in East Lansing, Michigan.
Short’s Brewing Company set a world record for the largest tap takeover when it served 100 Short’s draughts for the August 22, 2013 grand opening of HopCat’s new location in East Lansing, Michigan.
Short’s Brewing Company is distributed only in the upper and lower Michigan peninsulas. Short’s believes this is the best way to give back to the state that made it all possible for them to flourish as a company. Short’s beer is found in over 3,200 locations statewide including restaurants, bars and big box grocery stores, along with liquor/party stores.
Dark Horse Brewery
A brewery and tap room in Marshall, Michigan. The company brews a variety of beers and beer styles, including the Crooked Tree India Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Raspberry Ale, Sapient Trip Ale, Boffo Brown Beer, and Black Bier. The brewery has won several medals at various brewing competitions.
Dark Horse Brewery’s Taproom is located on South Kalamazoo Road in Marshall, Michigan. Unique features of the taproom include 3200+ mugs that fill the ceiling and walls owned by its mug club members. Members must purchase their membership with one, non-recurring fee. The members keep their mugs in a designated spot within the pub and are able to drink beer directly from their mug. Dark Horse employees claim that the mugs of mug club members are larger than the pint glasses by which beer is served to non-members, and thus, mug club members receive a higher value for their purchases. Only the owner of the mug is able to drink from his mug and members are required to verify their ownership with a recognized form of identification. Mug club members at Dark Horse have a punched-card system where every sixth mug is .50 cents.
The craft beer-rating website RateBeer ranked Dark Horse 29th in its 2013 list of Best Brewers in the World. More than 13,000 breweries were involved in the contest.
For more of the best craft breweries in Michigan, visit the following posts.
Top 10 Craft Breweries in Michigan
10 Killer Breweries That Helped Get Grand Rapids Named Beer City USA
I haven’t been to any of these! Though of course have heard of most. Short’s is pretty good.
I have been to Founders (I used to live in Michigan). It was a great place to try stuff and a good atmosphere too.
I love craft breweries. We have hundreds of them here in New England.
Now I’m thirsty! LOL I think hubby has met up with some friends before at Short’s, but I’ve never been. Thanks for the list 🙂
Being from SOCAL I am all too familiar with breweries. This sounds like great fun for when I visit family in Michigan!
I’ve actually heard of New Holland Brewery! My cousin said it’s her favorite! What a cool list, if I ever visit Michigan! Thanks!
Nice list here! I’ve been to a few breweries; but none yet from Michigan.
My son’s favorite brewery was Dark Horse. A lot of these other Breweries have fans outside of Michigan too. Founders and Bell’s are pretty famous!
My husband liked it there too (Dark Horse). I didn’t realize there were so many.
I didn’t know this about Michigan. It’s always nice to learn new things about places I’m not familiar with.
Great list! I live in MI, and we love MI brewed beers. Short’s is one of our favorites!
Interesting places and brewery will share with friends.
If we ever go to Michigan, these are the places my husband would love to visit. I will bookmark this.
I haven’t been to some of these but been to Short’s Brewing Company. They have great food!
I’m not a beer fan but I enjoy checking out restaurants. Great list, love food!
I didn’t know there were so many breweries in Michigan. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know about any of these brands. Thanks for sharing. I might make a beer enthusiast very happy for Valentine’s with this list
I am not from Michigan, and haven’t heard of any of these breweries so thanks for sharing! I love trying different kinds of beers.
Great list! I’ll be sure to check these out if I am ever in Michigan.
I’d love to visit these if I’m ever in the area. I’ve done a brewery tour in Boston and it was neat to see how all the local beers were made.
Now I know where to go when in Michigan!
Thanks for sharing!
These are places that I should include in planning a future trip to Michigan. My hubby would absolutely love it! Thanks for the information.
I’ve been to a few of these with my parents there because we use to live in Wisconsin and use to go over there for family.
I have never been to any brewing facility so this is kind of neat. HOpe to do that someday.
I haven’t been out to Michigan since I was little. I would love to take my family on a road trip and visit many landmarks along the way.
These craft breweries are a big deal these days. I hear so many people talking about them.
My husband loves trying new beers out. If we are ever in some of those areas, we will definitely try some of those breweries out. There is a new one opening up in Canton, Michigan called the “World of Beers”. We can’t wait until it opens up.