Pure Michigan Pints

Ghost Isle Brewery

New Buffalo, Michigan

If you’re looking for this brewery, you can’t miss it. From the outside, the building is huge. On a Sunday people arrive right when they open—I’ve witnessed this on two different occasions. My first visit was in the summer of 2022, and my next one was this past Sunday (4/28/2024).

To my surprise, the brewery is semi-seasonal. They close normally on New Years and re-open St. Patty’s Day weekend. (Or at least this was their trend this year.)

A little background information: the brewery opened in 2019. Their name comes from local folklore of supposed haunting and paranormal activity on the isle nearby. Their website says the brewery “takes its name from generations of residents who played there as children and teens, and claim it hosts supernatural activity.”

Beer Selection

There’s a lot of unexplored territory under this one. Sure, they have light beers and about 8 different house drafts, but it falls flat in the realms of offering true variety to the craft connoisseur. Newbs will be impressed with the two IPAs on draft.

To be honest, I was hoping for a little bit more here.

Vibe

Spacious. That’s the first word that comes to mind when describing Ghost Isle Brewery. The parking lot is huge, the building is huge, and inside it’s huge as well. Mass seating galore. The bar loops around, providing a square that has many seats. The outside area overlooks the wetlands.

Me being me, I sat at the bar on both of my visits. It has a decent vibe, and the space works here. Do I wish they had something more to tie it all together? Absolutely.

Service

The service was great. It was speedy and the two bartenders were hustling. They even offered entertainment when one of the younger kids who worked there pretended the bartender was his long-lost father who abandoned him when he went to get “a pack of smokes.” The bartender assured me they were joking; the “son” assured me they were not.

Both bartenders were willing to answer questions, beer recommendations, and provide a little background information about the brewery.

Beer Quality

The beers are not bad. But I must admit the beers don’t stand out to me either. When I visited in 2022, I only stopped for a flight; I didn’t order a full pour. This time (2024) I felt the exact same way. The beers didn’t make me cringe or gag, but none of them made me want to revisit more of them, and when deciding what—and even if—I wanted a full pour it was a difficult decision.

All of the beers are light, including the stout, which wasn’t necesarily a bad thing. They’re all crushable. That means if you just got in from a day at the beach, or out on the boat, or anything were you were frolicking in the sun, this would be a great place to grab a refreshing beverage.

The IPA and pilsner were about what you’d expect. If asked to pick them from a blind taste test, I wouldn’t be able to do it; they might as well be any other pilsner or IPA in America.

The Minas-Tea (4.8% abv), described by them as a “shire shandy with white tea and local honey” hit the mark. My favorite here: Abbey Someone (4.6% abv), a light Belgian beer that’s “bright and effervescent.” The Belgian yeast does shine through, which offered something different for my pallet. Would I have ordered it if I didn’t order food? Honestly, probably not. And I wasn’t compelled to get any beer to go.

Food

This one is hard to judge. On my two visits I only ordered an appetizer this last time: an order of buffalo wings—which I thought was fitting since I was in New Buffalo (get it?)— proved to be run-of-the-mill, which in all honestly isn’t a bad thing when ordering wings. They were good.

Overall—(Barely) Recommend

I’d recommend stopping at this brewery. Do I think it should be the first on anybody’s list? Absolutely not. That would be Beer Church Brewing Co or Transient Ales. But it’s worth the stop, especially if you’re looking for a light, crushable, beer.

Rating—13/20