20 Spring + Summer Stops for Your Great Lakes Bay Beer Tour
Sipping citrusy IPAs or meeting parched lips with the soft foam of a fruit-forward, easy-drinking ale — you'll find smooth spring and summer pours flowing at breweries and taprooms across the Great Lakes Bay.
And imagine drinking it in on a breezy patio, a pedal trolley with a cold one in hand, or at a picnic table in an outdoor beer garden while you listen to live music or sample from local food trucks! Come pull up a seat and savor the season, one perfectly chilled pint at a time:
Midland Brewing Company
PedAle Trolley
Enjoy These
Brew Bikes
+ Beer Gardens
+ Beer Gardens
From trolley bikes where you can pedal while sippin' to beer gardens where you'll toast under the stars — summer's always a little bit sweeter with a few brews and some fresh air.
Drydock Beer Garden | @zentxmediagroup
Drydock Beer Garden (Bay City) Seasonal, outdoor beer garden under the string lights in Unity Park — with low-key vibes and a prime location, smack dab in the center of Downtown Bay City's dining district.
Larkin Beer Garden (Midland) Old shipping container turned outdoor beer garden — with local food trucks, live music, and life-sized board games. Every Thursday and Friday night from late-May to late-September, enjoy thirst-quenching sips under the stars!
Schnitzelbank Biergarten (Frankenmuth) Inviting outdoor biergarten in front of Bavarian Inn Lodge, with live entertainment each night — May - October, weather permitting.
PedAle Trolley and Sunrise Pedal Trolley (Frankenmuth, Bay City) Eight- to 15-person pedal trolleys that'll have you biking between local breweries and pubs — and sipping on the good stuff as you go! Not enough riders to book the whole trolley? Buy single seats on PedAle Trolley's Thursday or Saturday 9 p.m. tours, or try their Circle Cruiser, made for four to six!
Midland Brewing Company
Find Places to
Patio Up with
Cold Pints
Cold Pints
At a Midland brewery with lush lawns, a fire pit, and plenty of picnic tables — or a Frankenmuth one with heated decks and gorgeous riverfront views — you'll be drinking in the scenery with your sours and IPAs.
Midland Brewing | @midlandbrewingcompany
Midland Brewing Company (Midland) Microbrewery with its Red Keg Beer Garden backing up to the Pere Marquette Rail Trail — boasting fireside seating and lawns that host summer cornhole leagues. Try flagship brews like the Three Mile Marker Hefeweizen — a past World Expo of Beer Gold Medalist with notes of banana and clove, plus nuances of pineapple.
Tri-City Brewing Company (Bay City) Microbrewery that hosts events from food truck takeovers to charcuterie pop-up events. Try flagship brews like the bright, full-bodied Hell's Half Mile German-style Helles Lager or enjoy the crisp hoppiness of their Charity Island IPA — on a patio with picnic tables, fire pits, and s'more kits!
Oracle Brewing | @oraclebeer
Oracle Brewing Company (Saginaw) Old Town 3.5-barrel brewhouse with pub-style, gratuity-free service and artisan touches all the way from grain to glass. Order in food from local spots that'll deliver straight to your table and try inventive brews like Happiness Not Guaranteed, a passion fruit raspberry sour blend.
Frankenmuth Brewery (Frankenmuth) Michigan's oldest microbrewery, crafting signature suds since 1862. Try the Little Bavaria Pilsener — past World Expo of Beer Silver Medalist and a favorite among locals — or Batch 69 American IPA, with four hop varietals and notes of citrus and pine. Any pour you choose, enjoy the wraparound decks and river views!
The Maple Grille Restaurant and Microbrewery (Hemlock) Off-the-beaten-path microbrewery, serving farm-to-table fare and wood-fired brews. Pints, flights, and growler fills — try favorites from "That'll-Do" Pilsner to Electric Pig IPA, and enjoy from a seat at their outdoor barrel grills or at a nearby picnic table!
Loggers Brewing Company (Shields) Former church turned microbrewery with rustic log cabin vibes and selections like Section 37 Red IPA — dry-hopped, with tropical and stone fruit aromas.
Lumber Barons Brewery (Bay City) Sprawling brewery with live entertainment and a fire bar on weekends — serving up core beers like 1842 Bohemian Pilsner, brewed with Saaz hops from the Czech Republic.
Tavern 101 | @tavern101restaurant
Taste at Taprooms
Pouring Pints
of Summer
of Summer
With taprooms serving up hard-to-find suds — and some offering beer menus in the triple digits — you'll have no trouble tracking down your favorite sips of the season!
WhichCraft Taproom | @blackbrewbabe
WhichCraft Taproom (Midland) Serving only made-in-Michigan craft beer, cider, mead, and wine — with 100+ craft beer and cider selections, and 40 of them on tap! Drink down summery pours like Short's Strawberry Short's Cake or experiment during one of their regular tap takeovers.
Tavern 101 (Bay City) Rustic-modern, beer-forward restaurant overlooking waterfront Wenonah Park. Try interesting pours like OddSide Ales' Blueberry Raspberry Lime Fruitsicle from a rotating lineup of 54 taps (and enjoy with one of the signature flatbreads they're known for).
Woody's Draught House (Saginaw) Old Town Saginaw tavern with over 100 craft brews and ciders on tap! Sip summer favorites like Founders Rubaeus and New Holland Tangerine Space Machine — or try whatever jumps off the page of this always-changing beer menu.
The Taproom at Stardust (Saginaw) Try a flight of four premium pours or discover new favorites from a selection of 41 drafts, with new kegs always waiting in the wings to be tapped.
Governor's Quarters (Bay City) Enjoy the craft of some of Michigan's best brewers, with 30 taps on constant rotation.
Zehnder's Tap Room (Frankenmuth) 20 craft beer handles, tap takeovers, and beer and food pairing dinners — plus live entertainment and craft beer specials every Friday night — all inside Zehnder's of Frankenmuth.
Michigan on Main Bar & Grill (Frankenmuth) Bar and grill inside Bavarian Inn Restaurant with 17 rotating Michigan taps — some from well-knowns like Bell's and Right Brain, and some from smaller Michigan brewers.
Author
Blair Cook
A Great Lakes Bay native, Blair is the Founder at Brandscape — a boutique creative company specializing in content. Her favorite part? Sharing stories about the Pure Michigan places she loves!
