The Mitten Brewing Co.

steebo777

Michigan

3.72/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

My wife and I visited here the night before Winter Beer Fest. Atmosphere was cozy, not too bright (just right for night) and a cool baseball theme everywhere. Considering we are big baseball fans, this place fit right in for us. The bar has older baseball card prints underneath the lacquer with about 5-7 taps on behind it. Beyond that you can see their tanks they are using to brew with, and they are definitely not that big.

There were three stouts, one IPA and one Extra Pale on. The bartender told us it is usually hoppier beers, but they were experimenting with various stouts, which was right up my alley. I only had one stout, which was 'Bourbon Death to Flying Things' which was a barrel aged stout. Creamy, fluffy, slightly hot, tons of vanilla and a smooth backbone made this beer way too easy to drink at nearly 11%. For about $5.50 a 10oz pour, this beer was well worth it. They also did growler fills with prices on the board for everything, except the beer I was drinking.

We didn't eat any of the food, but it was the normal chips, peanuts, various snacks and pizzas. The pizza smelled incredible and nearly everyone there was eating one.

All in all a great time and well worth the trip.

02-25-2013 20:30:53 | More by steebo777

HarmonMW

Michigan

4.18/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Atmosphere: Mitten Brewing Co is in West GR in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood, although I'm an out-of-towner so I'm just comparing it to the other places I've been in the city. The brewery itself is a former firehouse. Inside it's brick and has a baseball nostalgia/Detroit Tigers theme. Small bar at the right front, standing tables at the left front, and then several small tables in the main part of the hospital. It's not that big, probably holding about 50-60 people total. Four large TVs, but unfortunately the only thing on was tennis. I really liked the theme of the place, and bet it's a pretty cool place to have a drink during a Tigers game.

Quality: I was impressed with the beers I tried. I had the '84 Double IPA which was very balanced and easy to drink. I also tried samples of the Peanut & Crackerjack Porter and the Imperial Stout. All were very good beers in my opinion.

Service: My waitress was very attentive, helpful, knowledgeable about the beer, and friendly. Couldn't have asked for anything more.

Selection: Probably the biggest downside. Only 5 beers on tap. A DIPA, ESB, Brown, Porter, and Stout. They also had a Raspberry Cider and Red Zinfandel wine available if that's your thing. I wish they had more beers available, but understand it's a small brewery AND they did offer a wide variety of different beers to hit just about everyone's taste.

Food: Menu is primarily apps and pizzas. I had a build-your-own pizza with italian sausage and was very happy with it. Pizza was plenty to split between two as well.

Value: My 12oz pour of the DIPA was $6. Each sample of the porter and stout were $1 each. The 12" pizza was about $11. If you wanted to buy a shirt, it'd be $25.

Overall: I was very impressed with this new brewery and would happily return. Although GR is absolutely stacked with great breweries, this is definitely one that should be given a shot and I really hope they continue to do well.

05-04-2013 20:27:06 | More by HarmonMW