The Week in Beer: 2012 Already a Good Year for Great Beer

Witch's Hat Brewing in South Lyon is off to a busy start, working to keep up with high demand.

A new year of great beer is off to a rollicking start with a January packed full of new releases and fun events, and with the recent “heat wave” we’ve been having, what excuse do you have for not getting up and going out? Resolve to try some new beers, visit a new bar or brewery (or haunt an old favorite), and otherwise help support your local beer scene! The gym will still be there after happy hour ends.

Road Trippin': The Local Pub & Brewery

The Local Pub & Brewery opened in July at the former site of Zig's, which closed in 2003.

Note: A version of this article was originally posted August 11 at MittenBrew.com as "Popping into your Local Pub & Brewery." Reposted here with permission. 

With nearly 100 breweries in the state of Michigan, chances are no matter where in the mitten you live there’s at least one craft beermaker near you. The recently opened Local Pub & Brewery, despite its name, may not be one of them, but if you’re traveling the I-94 corridor near Jackson, it’s a worthy addition to a brewery-rich route that already features potential stops at the likes of Arcadia, Dark Horse, and Bell’s.

The Local Pub’s roadside location should be familiar to longtime Michigan beer mavens. It once housed the Jackson Brewing Co. and, more recently, Zig’s Kettle & Brew, easily the lousiest brewpub I’ve ever been to. When Zig’s shut its doors eight years ago, it was no surprise considering its trifecta of bad beer, crummy food, and surly service.

Happily, the Local does not suffer from any of the deficiencies of its immediate predecessor – quite the opposite. For starters, the service is prompt and friendly. There were three people manning the bar in front of us, and each was more than happy to make sure we were comfortable and taken care of. They actually seemed proud to be a part of a new and exciting business, and who can blame them? Craft beer is exciting.

The Week in Beer: New Beers and Breweries for Your Late-Summer Enjoyment

The recently opened Local Pub & Brewery in Jackson is worth the road trip down I-94 west.

New beers, new breweries, a wine vs. beer throwdown, and a dash of politics for good measure. Your Week in Beer has all the ingredients you need to enjoy a late summer celebration of everything that’s true and right with our little corner of the world, beginning, of course, with all that delicious, locally made brew.

The Week in Beer: Hard at "Work" in Traverse City

Pure Michigan sunset, pure Michigan beer.

Life’s a beach, my friends! I’m writing this from alongside a nice, sandy stretch of Lake Michigan whilst up in Traverse City conducting some “research” into the burgeoning beer scene here.

It may not yet rival our local scene, but having a big lake is certainly pretty cool. Here’s your latest Week in Beer to enjoy while I get back to my "research"... It's a rough job, I tell ya.