Pure Michigan Pints

Reed City Brewing Company

Reed City, Michigan

Small town. Big beer. That’s their slogan and I friggen love it. Even at beer festivals this past summer—Suds on the Lakeshore (Ludington) and Burning Foot (Muskegon)—their tent caught my eye. Something in the lettering and the simplicity of the message.

Of course, it’s not every day I find myself in Reed City, but I did stop by on my way from hunting this past fall. Locating this brewery in Reed City proved to be no problem.

But I had to wonder: How will this small-town brewery compare to other big city breweries? It always makes me wonder if their brewery is popular because it’s the only choice by default, or if the town truly has a great brewery with quality beer.

Selection

Reed City Brewing Company provided a respectable tap list. Nothing crazy but around a ten-beer tap list of various styles ranging from lighter to darker. A simple tap list was expected. It did the job, but they could have offered a few more interesting beer choices for my pallet.

Vibe

This place makes me feel split on its vibe. I liked the smallness of it (not that I expected it to be Founders). But I could see this being problematic on any night where twenty of the fifty people who live in the town want to fit in an establishment. Could they do more with the building? Honestly, probably not, but then again, I’m not a designer—some serious remodeling/expansion would need to be done to turn it into a more spacious area.

Then again, the simplicity of the place is nice on another level. It’s not trying to outdo itself.

Service

The server was fairly new. I appreciated the honesty of her knowledge when I asked questions such as the brewery’s origin. Luckily, someone else came out and talked to us. (I believe a brewer, but don’t quote me on that.) I felt welcomed and like my opinion mattered. (It’s what we all want, isn’t it?)

Quality

I’m a fan of their beer overall. Originally, I had their peanut butter porter at the beer festivals I attended this summer. This is an above average peanut butter porter, if I do say so myself. The blueberry hit perfectly as well. (I think I’m starting to see a trend in me liking blueberry beers recently—before, I was strictly only into the blueberry cream ale from Cheboygen Brewing Company.)

The IPA and cream stout matched up to what’s in the market but didn’t exactly stand out on my pallet.

Food

This is one section where the brewery fell a bit flat for me. The BLT looked like something anybody could have constructed at home. This isn’t bad, but there should be a difference between regular looking sandwiches and restaurant sandwiches. The nachos also lacked a bit of thought. On a simple level they worked—meat, cheese, chips—but they could have used a bit more complexity and creativity to give them more flair in not only presentation but taste. My overall impression of their menu is that it’s not fully developed yet.

Overall—Recommend

I’m glad I made my way Reed City Brewing Company. It’s a little brewery with big beer worth checking out. I can’t say I’ll frequent Reed City often, but I’ll definitely keep this place in mind on my Michigan adventures and recommend you do as well.

Rating: 15/20