OK, let me start by saying that I go to a LOT of breweries. As of this writing I'm at well over 125 and counting with about 120 of those being Michigan breweries. I can say, unwaveringly, that Northport Brewing is making a sound approach into First Place territory. First, the beer is phenomenal! There were 10 beers on tap during our visit and, naturally, we ordered all of them (this took 3 flights, but since each flight consists of 4 beers, we got an extra pour of two favorites). Much to our amazement, almost EVERY beer was great, not just passable, or even good, but GREAT (I will say the Nitro Northern Queen Stout was perhaps just shy of great, especially for being a nitro tap, but was still very, VERY good). My two favorites were the Nonny Belgian Pale which had a fantastically strong banana like flavor (typical of Belgians in addition to clove) and was super smooth, and the Fox Island Common which claims to taste like a Kentucky Bourbon, but (to me) tasted EXACTLY like a Glen Livet (Scotch, but still in the Whiskey family) that had all the booziness removed and mellowed over ice. FANTASTIC!!! My wife's favorite was the Pyramid Point Porter, although I thought it had an almost fruity, peppery flavor, which was good, but not Porter like. Even the IPAs were good, and I tend to hate IPAs for the excessive and unnecessary amount of hops. these were smooth and likely had IBUs under 40 (sorry, hop addicts!). the Black IPA almost tasted like it had a coffee stout mixed in. Yummy.
Anyway, the atmosphere was great, also. The building is open to the outdoor patio area which is beautiful and super relaxing and was fairly full with a mix of families, couples and small groups of friends having quiet, pleasant conversations. The only drawback is that being in a resort town that attracts wealthier vacationers, you may encounter the kind of people that happened to be seated behind us. You know the type: The super-douchey trust-fund children of Buffy and Chaz. The bratty twenty-somethings that have verbal diarrhea and can't utter a sentence that doesn't involve how much money they have or how cool they (think) they are. One member of the quartet of nouveau-riche numbskulls behind us interjected an F-bomb every other word (so cutting edge!) even though there were several children within ear shot. Proof that cash =/= class. The employees, however, were all super friendly, accommodating, and helpful as well. They were pretty busy, but never seemed stressed or snappy. If you're hungry, they do have a small selection of snack type foods like pretzels and dips. We got the pretzel with beer cheese (its made with the Morazan Amber). The pretzel looked great, but turned out to be very dry, which made sense when we saw that they hang in one of those rotating pretzel warmers. The beer cheese was OK, but not really anything amazing. The food highlight was the food truck (Earth, Wind, & Fryer) that is sort of a permanent fixture on the patio. The menu is impressive not in size, but in content. I don't want to hijack this review with my ravings about Earth, Wind, & Fryer so be sure to check out my review of them, too!
I can't say enough good things about this place. It IS a heck of a hike to the tip of the peninsula, but GO! If you're a beer hound you can break up the trip with a stop at Hop Lot in Suttons Bay, but don't fill up or YOU WILL REGRET IT! Northport Brewing gets my official Seal of Approval and a hearty two thumbs up! read more