Pure Michigan Pints

Beer Church Brewing Co.

New Buffalo, Michigan

New year, new blog. These reviews are broken up into different criteria: beer selection, vibe, service, beer quality, and food. The three possible ratings are “Yay,” (meaning “yes”) “Nay” (meaning “no”), or “Ehhh,” (meaning “so-so”, or “okay”.)

Go to church!

One of my missions in life is to spread the good word of the gospel. But you can’t go to just any church, you have to go to Beer Church Brewing Co.!

You don’t even have to go to this church on Sunday; I went on Saturday.

The fact that this place used to obviously be a church is exciting. I pulled up and the building just screamed church and the crooked cross on top added to my elation! I immediately felt giddy (more excited than I’ve ever been to go to church). Church was busy on this day, but luckily, I snagged one of the few available spots at the bar.

Beer Selection—Nay

If you’re looking for a place that has something for everybody and are going with a diverse group of beer drinkers, this place is not it, especially if the people you are going with are picky. In fact, when I went, there wasn’t even a single dark beer on tap. Since it was summer when I went (2022) and I’m very much a seasonal beer drinker, this was okay. Not to mention it was the second of my six-brewery day. (After the first three I walked and did not drive, so thou shalt not judge!)

This is the first time I’ve EVER seen a taplist without a single dark beer!

Even though they only had 8 beers on draft, I wasn’t disappointed. They had a range from a cream ale, a couple IPAs, a Saison, a seltzer, and a sour. I ordered a flight so I could get the whole experience, and the waiter graciously gave me another sample.

Vibe—Yay

From the outside the place looks exactly like the name suggests: church. Obviously, it has a theme. The inside of the place surprised me. Instead of smelling like old people and having wooden uncomfortable pews from the early 1900s, it was modern.

Inside, the place is chic. The bar gave off futuristic vibes. It made me feel like I’d been teleported to the future. The sharp juxtaposition between the rustic old-school style church from the outside to the very modern take on a restaurant/brewery fit perfectly.

Service—Yay

The servers were busy but would still stop to answer questions I had about the beer. They were willing to give me backstory on the place and just rocked it out the entire time. No complaints here. Like I said before, I even got an extra sample for free!

Beer Quality—Nay

They took a risk. For me, personally, it didn’t pay off. None of the beers were outstanding; they proved mediocre at best. I was hoping with such a limited beer menu that they really immersed themselves in making the beers they put out.

I could just be missing the nuance here … But this is my take on the beer. There’s much room for improvement in this area.

Food—Yay

Their specialty is hyper focused: Neapolitan style pizza. Here the risk does pay off. The pizza caught my eye the second I noticed waiters delivering it to the tables. I wasn’t planning on eating here, but I just had to try it. I got the classic Margherita pizza; they nailed it. It’s perfect in every sense of the word.

A simple pizza, with simple, fresh ingredients. And you can taste every element—the tomato sauce, the cheese, the tomato itself, and the fresh basil.

Overall—Recommend

While for me, the beers missed the mark, maybe they won’t for you. Remember everyone’s pallet is different. If you only like dark beers and not light ones, this may not be the place for you. But if you’re already here, I’d recommend expanding your pallet further.

If you are in the area, you have to check this place out for the building alone. If I lived in the area, I would go here every single Sunday regardless of the beers. I really want to go back and give this place another go. Besides, I could probably use another spiritual journey. We all worship in our own way, right?

It’s a sight-seeing attraction. Every trip you have historical landmarks to add to the list because of their significance—Church Brewing Co. should officially be labelled as a culturally significant landmark in New Buffalo.