“Drink, eat, repent, repeat” is the easy-to-follow motto of this New Buffalo brewery, built into a former church (in case you couldn’t guess from their name). Beers like the Crooked Cross cream ale and the Pontius Pilate NEIPA keep close to the liturgical theme, while other options like the Tinderella creme brulee blonde ale skew a bit more modern. The wood-fired pizzas are a major draw, but you shouldn’t go to Church without getting an order of “Communion Bread” the brewpub’s fresh-basked flatbread.

This brewery (opened in February 2021) focuses on marrying Midwestern agriculture with Belgian, Nordic and German-style beers — a coupling of international flavor and local focus. All their malts and hops come from Midwestern providers, and drinkers will find familiar styles like kolsch, hefeweizen and pilsner on the blessedly lager-heavy menu. Another fun find: Czech-style side-pour handles that create thick, creamy, foamy slow-pour beers. 

If you’ve visited the Haymarket Brewpub in the West Loop, you’ll be familiar with some of the beers coming out of Pete Crowley’s production facility just off of I-94 in Bridgeman, like the Speakerswagon Pils, the Blood Orange Blonde, and their Chicago Tavern Beer. The wood-fired pizzas will come as a friendly surprise, though, as will the sounds of nature in the beer garden instead of departing Metra trains and the constant din of freeway traffic. 

Running the gamut from session IPAs and porters to Czech-style dark lagers all the way to wilder things like foeder-aged sours infused with a variety of fruits, Watermark offers a beer for almost everyone. Despite an in-town location, they’ve also got a wonderfully spacious outdoor patio and green space to drink those beers in, with everything from fire pits to a rotating array of food trucks.

Megan, Carrie, and Amanda — the three sisters that make up the ‘Blondes’ — opened their brewery in their hometown in June 2018, a rare woman-owned brewery in the area. Since then they’ve delivered beers ranging from a brown sugar infused Imperial IPA to American light lagers and a 3B Bubbler line of hard seltzers… and yes, they also serve a blonde ale.

Located in a 110-year-old former military armory building steps from the West Michigan waterfront, Grand Armory believes in the “Right to Bear Craft,” and proves it (along with an obvious appreciation for Pauly Shore jokes) in beers like their delicious Wheezin’ the Juice hazy IPA, popular Mango or Pineapple Grindage IPAs and their Crop Duster Citra IPA. If you find a tap handle that looks like a huge artillery shell, you’ve found a Grand Armory beer.

Located just a couple minutes off of I-196 very close to the Lake Michigan waterfront, Waypost is a farm-based brewery doing things a little differently than most other brewers out there. The sprawling patio and a Nordic-feeling taproom serves up farm-to-kettle beers and other thoughtfully off-kilter options like a blueberry porter, sea-salt stout, and an IPA with key lime and candied pineapple.

Any trip to tourist-haven Saugatuck is incomplete without at least one of Saugatuck Brewing’s famous Neapolitan Milk Stouts that artfully blends chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Don’t sleep on their other beers, though — its Bonfire Brown, Peanut Butter Porter and Oval Beach Blonde also deliver the goods. Don’t feel like fighting Saugatuck-area summer traffic? They’ve got another pub in Kalamazoo and a new location coming to Grand Rapids sometime this year.

Mostly known as a producer of hard ciders like Percheron and Lapinette, Virtue added beer to the menu this year when owner/founder Greg Hall — formerly Goose Island’s head brewer and famous as the creator of Bourbon County Brand Stout — returned to beer making with a Nordic-inspired lager with rye, caraway, and juniper called Vestland. If you need more of a reason to come check it out, you can also wander their 48-acre facility while you visit, and also hang out with their farm animals including goats, chickens, and pigs.

This brewery has an unusual origin story: It was started by a family of dairy farmers. This is a full-service restaurant with steaks, burgers, and sandwiches. The beer list pairs well with the food with sours, lagers, IPAs, and a section devoted to malty brews. The Short Sleeves, an Irish red ale, is a highlight.

During the pandemic, Lost Art began serving smash burgers from a food truck and that business took off. Ownership still pays plenty of attention to its core business, serving delicious beer. Find (milkshake) IPAs, lagers, and other ales. Highlights include the flagship Dune Climber (a hazy IPA) and their sweet ice cream series. This year, Key lime pie is the basis.

A beer road trip around Southwest Michigan isn’t complete without a visit to where so much of Michigan’s beer culture originates from. The Eccentric Cafe is Bell’s original pub and home to iconic brews like Two Hearted and Oberon, as well as an ever-changing array of house beers that might go on to be the next big Bell’s beer. A burger-focused menu and a spacious beer garden round out the experience. 

This small rustic-feeling brewpub on the outskirts of Kalamazoo is actually the highest-rated brewery in the state according to beer-rating app Untappd. They’re clearly earning high accolades for the huge variety of beers, mostly focused on the adjunct stouts, hazy IPAs and sours that make beer nerds crazy. Even though they rotate through beers quickly, reliable favorites include the dozens of varieties of Condor Valley fruited sours and their flagship IPA, Pulled Into Nazareth, which has also been amped up into Double and Triple IPA versions.