Dragonmead Microbrewery

alexgash

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$

Stopped by with a bunch of beer-appreciating friends on a cold Saturday night. Smallish, narrow, but long barroom was busy but not crowded. The servers hooked us up by putting some tables together and even asking another small group to move! Very nice. The walls were adorned with medieval-ish paraphernalia and clever posters. Nice lighting, cozy atmosphere, 2 real dartboards, and lots of games scattered about. Not smoky at all (thankfully!). The beer menu is huge and almost unbelievable. They listed 36 beers and one mead and our server disappointedly informed us that they were out of 3 of the beers. Only 33! Prices were reasonable and they offered a 5 x 6 oz. sampler tray for $8.50. All the beers I sampled were well-made and good. A few were forgettable, but several were very good. I especially liked the Copper Shield and the Dead Monk. They have limited food options: pretty much just crackers, pretzels, and some fried snacks. The venison sausage with cheese and crackers was tasty and went well with the rauchbier. They also let you order food from nearby restaurants for delivery and you can even bring in your own! All in all a very pleasant experience and well worth a stop if you're in the Detroit metro area.

12-02-2007 15:46:08 | More by alexgash

Kerrie

Michigan

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | $$

It's a small place, but the atmosphere is nice and bar-like.

The quality of the beer is top-notch, and the selection is enormous. I got a flight of 5 (out of 30+ to choose from; the biggest selection I've seen from a brewpub) and they give you a dry-erase card to write the beers you want on, which then sits behind your selections when you get it.

The service was prompt and our server was very knowledgeable when we had questions about a beer and gave recommendations based on what we normally like.

We didn't have any of the food there because there's hardly a selection (my high selection rating is based solely on the huge selection of their own beer, and would have been a 5 if they had more food). However, since they allow pizza deliveries and for people to bring in their own food, I give them credit for that. The beer is probably better because they focus on the beer itself.

Overall, the value is very good. I'd recommend starting with a flight. There's something for everyone with their selection.

05-09-2013 19:12:42 | More by Kerrie

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Hehe. It's kind of funny in Dragonmead. It has the whole medieval thing going on, but from my point of view, it's entirely too clean in there. I mean, it's almost pristine kinda clean in there. It somewhat doesn't fit imo. But it's a pretty chill vibe. And, shocking as it may seem, these guys have more beer choices than Kuhnhenn. Yes. It's true. Food is kind of bar nibbling kind of stuff. I must say that the opportunity to dine of venison sausages is always welcome in my book. Or any other non-traditional meats, for that matter.

08-25-2012 17:42:39 | More by RblWthACoz

jale

Michigan

2.78/5  rDev -33.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

Walking into this place, I was sure to be greeted by a court jester. Kind of a kids type amusement place, but hey whatever works. The service was very slow even though the crowd was thin. Small selection of snack type food so don't come hungry. They did have a wide selection of beer styles that are average in taste. Not really a destination for beer geeks like me. The medival theme seems like a gimmick but if it gets people into craft beer, so be it. I would prefer they concentrate on fewer beers with better quality then such a vast selection of average ones.

01-01-2012 02:11:01 | More by jale

detroiter

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 2 | $$

They do an excellent job crafting beers from all over the world using ingredients that the native brewers would use. You must try the ring of fire if you like spicy things.

The food sucks but you can bring in something else or have a pizza delivered.

To the guy below who said Sherwood or even black lotus *cough* are better than Dragonmead I'm sure most locals would disagree.

If you find yourself here you should also check out Kuhnhenns which is only about 5 miles away, they're another top notch operation.

09-07-2011 13:13:55 | More by detroiter

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.44/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

Stop #228 on my world brewery tour.

Located in a nondescript building on an interstate access road. Almost feels like you're headed into an auto parts distributor shop. The medieval interior reminded me of the Excalibur hotel and casino in Vegas.

Dragonmead has more beers than any other brewery I've ever visited. The best part is they are all well done. Our group of three shared a couple five beer samplers where you write the beers in ink on glossy stock so you don't ruin your sampler memento - excellent touch. We had...

Sampler 3
IPA, raspberry wheat, barleywine, Baltic porter, rauchbier

Sampler 1
Kolsch, nagelweiss, apricot wheat, hot pepper ale, cream ale

Sampler 2
trippel, abbey, quad grand cru, Belgian dark strong, golden (Belgian strong I think).

You can peek in and see the brewing operation on the way to the bathroom. It looked as if they did a lot of smaller batches.

The only downside to the place was the spotty service during our visit around 2:00 on a Friday. The bartender kept disappearing but did a fine job when she was there.

I would definitely recommend Dragonmead for any Michigan brewery tour.

08-25-2011 19:12:31 | More by Yetiman420

yankeej13

Florida

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This was the third stop on our Microbrewery tour and literally had no idea what to expect. We walked in and I was shocked with how cool the interior to this place was. Loved all the tap handles which they had a TON of with all different styles of beer.

One of the women that was working there gave my dad and I along with a few others that were in the brewery a behind the scene tour of the brewery. She brought us all over, and even let us try different types of malts. Which I have never gotten to try before which was great. She was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions.

I even got a chance to try to first Chipolte ale which I was pretty nervous to try. Over all I totally enjoyed it was well as the other 5 beers I got a chance to sample! If your ever in the area I highly recommend that you stop in and have a drink! Cheers guys loved the whole operation!

07-26-2011 00:54:36 | More by yankeej13

Preismj

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

cool little place i stopped at on my trip in MI.

Like an old mess hall at a castle, this place was decorated with old brick, armor, flags and fun! The people here knew their beers for sure and the amount of stuff they had on tap that they brew in house as a ratio of how large the place is was mind blowing. Tons of great stuff on the menu. complimentary pretzels and mustard to keep you from getting smashed (and they were a nice break in between brews too to cleanse the palette).

Overall, a great place. We didn't order food here, but it is also bring your own food if you like...cool concept since a lot of places get mad at you for doing this.

Fun, would go again and highly recommend.

05-26-2011 21:55:41 | More by Preismj

browna71

Michigan

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$

Great place, very unique atmosphere. Exactly what you would hope a place called "dragonmead" would look like- swords and midevil paraphernalia all over the place. Impressive amount of beers on tap, close to 25 I believe. Service was ok, food was bar food- got a decent burger with fries. Beer was great, and as I said, a great selection. We were able to get a sampler flight of 6 beers for about 10 bucks, so pretty reasonably proced for the quality of beer you get. Would highly recommend a visit to this place, very cool.

05-23-2011 01:58:38 | More by browna71

SeaUrchin

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

a great place to go on week day afternoons on my day off, the feel is very warming, cross between a family restaurant at a renaissance fair and a pub at the same fair, the beer is usually good if not great, and the wait staff has always been friendly and prompt. the variety of beer is normally pretty vast and the in house made pop is also a nice touch for the DD, never ordered any food from there so i cant speak on that. price wise you never feel like you were screwed over when you walk out. also the regulars i see there are more times than not kind people and some great conversations can be had

05-11-2011 18:14:58 | More by SeaUrchin