Petoskey Brewing Company | Petoskey | MI
Beer Trip: Petoskey Brewing Company in Petoskey, Michigan
We made an impromptu stop at Petoskey Brewing Company on our drive from Mackinaw City to Traverse City and, boy, are we glad that we did! This place has a fantastic history with awesome food and equally impressive beer, just a stone’s throw (get it? Petoskey Stone?) from Petoskey State Park!
The Brewery
The building is actually what lured us in, as it is located in a gorgeous, 4-story, brick structure standing tall amidst all other buildings around. We soon learned that this place was built in the late 1890s as a brewery, where the 4th floor housed the water, the 3rd housed brewing and heating, and the 1st and 2nd floors were for fermenting and bottling. It was close to 100 years between the time the original brewery closed and Petoskey Brewing Company opened, breathing new life and fresh beer into the storied walls once again.
Views of the bar inside
An impressive mug club at Petoskey!
Beautiful scenery and the rack full of biker patrons
Today the inside likely looks much like the day it was constructed, with the red brick remaining throughout the entire interior. The owners have done a great job of keeping that history alive, while still adding neat features like rustic wood, corroded metals, and ceramic mugs from their “mug club” lining the walls. The place is very spacious with lots of tables and chairs or bar seating available. Depending on the weather, they also have a decent-sized outdoor patio overlooking a small lake. During our visit we noticed many people dressed in bicycle gear and quickly realized that there is a very popular bike trail running directly behind the brewery, making it the perfect pit stop for food or beer fuel.
Shaded back patio area
Extended patio space including what appeared to be an outdoor bar or food truck
The Beer
Unique flight presentation that we were afraid we’d spill!
Petoskey maintains 14 different brews on tap at a time, with 8 of them being flagships. Their offerings during our trip included 3 IPAs, multiple wheats, brown ales, and cream ales, along with a few other varying styles. With so many solid options to choose from, we both decided to get a flight - which is pretty rare for us to both do!
Everything that we tried was well above average as far as beer quality; however, there were a few that really stood out. The Juicy, their flagship New England IPA, was the best hazy IPA we’ve tried in a while, with a juicy taste combined with a rich malt and graininess (rather unique for this style). Their Rescue Ale is a wheat beer infused with peanut butter and this brew gets its namesake from the owner’s “rescue” dog named Franklin. They can and ship this brew all across Michigan and donate 10% of the proceeds from its sales to the regional animal shelters where the beer is sold. This really made us miss our rescue dog Barley while we were away!
Food, Merch, & More
The most delicious burger Morgan has ever had, a feta burger!
In addition to serving great beer, Petoskey had some of the best food of our entire trip! Their menu specializes in sandwiches, smash burgers, and salads, but we suggest you come extra hungry and also order the soft pretzels. These come with cheese, mustard, and a delicious peanut butter and jelly dipping sauce that Morgan can’t stop thinking about weeks later.
Pretzel sticks with the triple dip combo
Chris’s olive burger - something he had never tried before!
Their merchandise section is robust for a brewery of this size, occupying a full section at the front door. They have numerous shirts, hats, tin signs, glassware, ceramic mugs, growlers, and coasters. With a place this cool, we tried to talk them out of one of their tap handles from the bar, but unfortunately, they said they weren’t for sale.
Robust merchandise section
Plenty of to-go beer options
Warren was not the most patient patron
He was much happier once he had a pretzel
