A local enthusiast's take on craft beer near the shore
Life has never been better for a beer drinker on the shores of Lake Michigan. Two decades ago, there wasn’t the faintest whiff of wort in the air. Now we have a brewery for every day of the week—and then some. Here’s a shout-out to eight local favorites, specializing in crispy lagers to hoppy ales. All within 30 minutes of New Buffalo, great small-batch beer really is just around the corner.
Seedz Brewery
A modern brewery with an old-fashioned ethos, Seedz crafts delicate, European-style beers from artisan and locally sourced grain, with a singular focus on quality. The resulting brews are among the tastiest lagers in Michigan—you may have to leave the continent to find this level of nuance and attention to detail in a half-liter stein. But be warned, flights and growlers aren’t a thing here. Seedz believes their beer tastes best slow-poured from the tap. One taste of the foamy head, and you’ll understand why they make such a fuss. (Read our 2024 interview with Seedz founder, Ryan Ziarko.)
16321 Red Arrow Hwy
Union Pier, Michigan
Mangata Beer Co.
Rub your eyes. You’re not dreaming. This slice of Scandinavian cool really exists on the shoulder of Red Arrow Highway. An Americanized take on the Swedish word for ‘moon road,’ Mangata refers to the shimmering, road-like appearance of moonlight reflecting off a body of water. Here, the design is modern. The mood, mellow. And the beers, approachable and self-assured. Pours are pitch-perfect representations of their respective styles, which can be chalked up to experience: Mangata’s part of the Transient family of brewers (more on Transient below). Off the hand-pull, try Kinda Special, an English-style extra special bitter brew, or Preen, an English-style summer ale. Both go down as easy as the vibes on the brewery’s sunny patio.
15936 Red Arrow Hwy
Union Pier, Michigan
FULCRA BREWING CO.
If a steampunk spent years holed-up in a log cabin deep in the woods, reading esoteric home brewers’ screeds and surviving on foraged food, then decided to remerge as a craft brewer… we imagine they’d open something like Fulcra. Rough-hewn lumber and copper intermingle throughout this cozy taproom, and the beers have the same intriguingly askew quality as the interior design. A British-style bitter with all-German ingredients. A pale ale with hops from New Zealand and Michigan. A Northern English-style brown ale rarely seen in these parts. Overall, it’s delightfully unexpected—and clear Fulcra has a distinctive, and delicious, way of looking at the world.
13400 Red Arrow Hwy
Sawyer, Michigan
Transient Artisan Ales
If the words ‘Double Dry-Hopped Double IPA’ cause a stirring deep in your soul, Transient is your Southwest Michigan mecca. The hop-related output from this boutique brewery is mind-blowing. We’re not sure what’s more impressive: the sheer number of IPAs or their ability to name them all. Though the hops get all the press, do not sleep on other styles in the taproom. Rotating fruited sours, like the lingonberry-tinged Swedish Smolverine, are some of the tastiest tart ales in the region.
4229 Lake St
Bridgman, Michigan
Watermark Brewing
If you’re headed to Watermark, throw on a pair of sunglasses and crank your speakers way up because the party at this taproom never stops. We’re talking pro wrestling, polar plunges, live music, bike rides, ‘duels’ for free beer… The list goes on. With 10 years of beermaking under their belts, the Watermark crew’s freewheeling ethos spills directly from the brewhouse. A lager with lemon zest here, a gose with spicy dill pickle juice there. As many as six Mexican lagers on tap at a time, with habanero, jalapeno, cherry, and more garden-variety ingredients. Even the mad scientist-sounding Floro Jelly, a foeder-aged sour with local strawbs and rhubarb, is as delicious as it is unorthodox.
5781 St Joseph Ave
Stevensville, Michigan
River Saint Joe
Like a beer-themed Field of Dreams, River St. Joe rises, mirage-like, from the pastoral hop yards of Flatwater Farms. And just like the fantasy ball field, there’s some magic at work here, as a short stop easily becomes an all-afternoon adventure. Lean into the agrarian theme and opt for one of the saisons, where the house yeast’s bubble gum and clove flavors mingle with hops recently found swinging in the breeze on trellises just visible in the distance.
15475 Walton Rd
Buchanan, Michigan
Haymarket Brewery
New England-style or ‘hazy’ IPAs are all the rage for young beer drinkers. But these murky, juicy hop-bombs lower on the bitterness scale tend to elicit dismissive ‘back in my day…’ comments from more seasoned craft fans. Sound familiar? Don’t fret—we’ve got a place for people like you. Haymarket—fueled by classic west-coast style IPAs and plenty of summer-camp vibes—is the perfect place for drinkers of a certain age to post up. With plenty of outdoor space for parents and progeny to play, you may even be tempted to try something new. Hay-Z, a hazy-fied version of their flagship IPA, is on a mission to change the minds of the most stubborn hazy-haters.
9301 Red Arrow Hwy
Bridgman, Michigan
Beer Church Brewing
The bright colors, big murals, and Napoli-built pizza ovens of Beer Church would shock the German immigrants who built this house of worship almost 200 years ago. Though their attitudes might soften over 350 mLs of Anonymous Confession, an American-style porter. The juicy haze of Pontius Pilate IPA and corny sweetness of Crooked Cross cream ale continue to win converts, but devotees look a little further down the beer menu. From Calabrian chile red ales to Italian-style pilsners, even a signature sour series brewed with pineapple and peaches, there is a restless spirit at work in the brewhouse that rewards repeat visits.
24 S Whittaker St
New Buffalo, Michigan
words Joe Lindsay
images Jodi Bodtke, Jaclyn Simpson, Alexander Kramer
updated October 2024
Joe Lindsay is the co-owner of David’s Delicatessen and The False Front, an (almost) nightly pop-up bar. He fell in love with craft beer as a college kid drinking west coast IPA drafts and rare imported bottles at the legendary Moan & Dove in Amherst, MA. In addition to making creative, locally inspired sandwiches at the deli, Joe and team curate an ever-changing local tap list and international beer cellar at the bar.
