Must-see nightlife in Michigan

  • Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters

    Detroit

    Pitch-perfect espresso drinks (try the lavender latte), pour-overs, outdoor seating and free wi-fi are hallmarks of this downtown cafe. Live music nightly…

  • Short’s Production Facility Pull Barn

    Gold Coast

    Beer buffs adore Short’s for its Huma Lupa Licious IPA and Juicy Brut ale, and they come en masse to this sprawling outdoor drinking yard in Elk Rapids …

  • Founders Brewing Co

    Michigan

    If you've only got time for one stop in Grand Rapids, make it rock-and-roll Founders. The ruby-colored Dirty Bastard Ale is good swillin', and there's…

  • Brewery Vivant

    Michigan

    Brewery Vivant specializes in Belgian-style beers. Set in an old chapel with stained glass windows and a vaulted ceiling, the atmospheric brewpub also…

  • Qahwah House

    Michigan

    The smell of cardamom-spiced coffee caresses your nose when you enter this cozy Yemeni cafe. Folks from the homeland chitchat and type on laptops while…

  • Beards Brewery

    Gold Coast

    A couple of hairy-faced home brewers got together to open Beards, and they know their stuff, as the hoppy IPAs, tart saisons and nutty brown ales flowing…

  • Standby

    Detroit

    Standby hides in the alleyway known as the Belt. Find it, and crazy-creative cocktails like Snake in the Grass (gin, lime, celery bitters and nitro…

  • Bell's Brewery

    Michigan

    Bell's started brewing in 1985, so it was doing the craft beer thing before it was a thing. Now it's one of Michigan's largest breweries. Bell's Eccentric…

  • Stormcloud Brewing Company

    Gold Coast

    Belgian-style beers are Stormcloud’s gift to the universe. Rainmaker Ale is its medal winner (bronze at the Great American Beer Festival), and there are…

  • Dark Horse Brewing Company

    Michigan

    Graffiti covers the walls and zillions of mugs hang from the ceiling in Dark Horse's no-frills, cave-like taproom. IPAs dominate the line up, but robust…

  • Odd Side Ales

    Gold Coast

    Odd Side brews some peculiar experimental suds, like the Mayan Mocha stout (with coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and habenero chilies) and Aestas sour ale (aged…

  • Ellison Brewery and Spirits

    Michigan

    Ellison hides in a no-frills warehouse in an East Lansing industrial park. Bowl up to the corrugated metal bar and order a Tiramisu coffee stout, 3 Stacks…

  • Low Bar

    Gold Coast

    Every city needs a speakeasy-style cocktail bar, and Low Bar checks all the boxes: it's dimly lit, oozes 1920s glam and is a little hard to find. Classics…

  • Bière de Mac Brew Works

    Michigan

    A welcome addition to the local drinking scene, Bière de Mac has around 11 house-made brews on tap, from French farmhouse ales to milk stouts, Belgian…

  • Virtue Cider

    Gold Coast

    Head to Virtue’s farm in Fennville and sip a pint while sheep bleat, pigs oink and chickens cluck around you. The taproom is in a barrel-strewn barn,…

  • Jolly Pumpkin

    Michigan

    Ann Arborites young and old come here for the house made sour beers (try the Bam Biere), pizzas and truffle fries. Eat in the cozy, antique-filled…

  • Transient Artisan Ales

    Gold Coast

    Even before this small but lively taproom debuted in 2016, founder and beer maker Chris Betts had established a reputation as a brewer's brewer for his…

  • Pink Pony

    Michigan

    Prepare for gloriously weird decor, as if Barbie designed an English pub in shades of her favorite color. Yes it's touristy, but it's also heaps of fun…

  • Blackrocks Brewery

    Upper Peninsula

    Beer geeks and mountain bikers hang out at Blackrocks Brewery, set in a cool refurbished house downtown that's like a community clubhouse. It makes…

  • Grand Trunk Pub

    Detroit

    Once the ticket hall for the Grand Trunk Railroad, this high-ceilinged space still buzzes, but this time patrons are content to sit and stop a while. With…

  • Journeyman Distillery

    Gold Coast

    Located in the old Featherbone Factory, which used to produce corsets and buggy whips, Journeyman cooks up organic whiskies, gins and other booze, and…

  • New Holland Brewing – The Knickerbocker

    Michigan

    The cavernous, echo-y building feels somewhat impersonal – it's vast enough that full-size barrels hang from the high ceiling as light covers – but hey,…

  • Grand Rapids Brewing Company

    Michigan

    Grand Rapids Brewing is one of the nation's few organic-certified beer makers. The rustic interior, built from reclaimed wood and other materials, jumps…

  • Mitten Brewing Company

    Michigan

    Mitten occupies a beautiful brick Victorian-era fire station. Locals chitchat at knotty wood tables in the warm, pub-like interior. Vintage baseball…

  • Thornapple Brewing Co

    Michigan

    Thornapple is like a friendly corner tavern, where patrons know each other, play cards and compete on trivia teams, though the vibe is slightly punctured…

  • Cherry Public House

    Gold Coast

    The pub is home to Cherry Republic Brewing Company that makes Leelanau Lambic, a dry, tart ale blended with local Montmorency cherries. It also produces…

  • New Holland Pub on 8th

    Gold Coast

    Destination brewery New Holland is known for its robust beers, such as Tangerine Space Machine and Dragon’s Milk stout, and its housemade gins and rums…

  • Greyline Brewing Company

    Michigan

    Greyline is a bit of an outlier, about 3 miles northwest of downtown, but it’s worth the trip. Set in a squat grey building at the edge of an industrial…

  • HopCat

    Michigan

    Ranked as one of the nation's best beer bars, HopCat draws beer fans young and old. They pack the vintage wood tables in the low-lit room, knocking back…

  • Perrin Brewing Co

    Michigan

    Perrin is far-flung from other Grand Rapids breweries – about a 15-minute drive north of town – but it’s one of the scene’s largest players. The cavernous…

  • Beer Church

    Gold Coast

    The Beer Church is a cheeky one. Housed in a former Methodist church, its incongruous facade – bold red lettering proclaiming BREWERY beneath a pristine…

  • Pigeon Hill Brewing Company

    Gold Coast

    A slew of eclectic beers bubble forth from the taps. The cinnamon French toast stout and oatmeal stout wallop the senses, while the double IPAs, hazy IPAs…

  • Keweenaw Brewing Company

    Upper Peninsula

    First point of note: quality pints cost $3. Widow Maker black ale and Pickaxe blonde ale are signature suds among the 12 taps. Young locals hobnob in the…

  • Jamesport Brewing Co

    Gold Coast

    Jamesport has been brewing crisp German-style beers and strong ales in a brick Victorian storefront downtown since 2000. The pub menu features a lineup of…

  • Workshop Brewing Company

    Gold Coast

    The wide range of beers on tap here are made with local and organic ingredients, just like the creatively named dishes on the menu (try the succulent,…

  • Right Brain Brewery

    Gold Coast

    The brewer makes some wild beers using unexpected ingredients, from pig’s head (Pig Porter) to asparagus (Spear Beer ale) to cherry pie (Cherry Pie amber…

  • Greenbush Brewing

    Gold Coast

    On Saturdays and Sundays in summer, tiny downtown Sawyer's main drag is dominated by merry weekenders who have drunk, are drinking, or will drink at this…

  • HopCat

    Michigan

    The East Lansing outpost of the regional pub chain has a bottle-cap-studded bar made from old gym bleachers, lights repurposed from a shuttered church and…

  • Ludington Bay Brewing Co

    Gold Coast

    There's an impressive range of beers on offer at this 2017 entrant to the Michigan brewing scene. Wheat beers, pales ales and double IPAs rock the 20-plus…

  • Lyon Street Cafe

    Michigan

    Cozy Lyon Street has a European feel. Grab a seat at one of the butcher-block tables, sip your latte with the swell foam design, nibble a sweet treat…

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