Pure Michigan Pints

Snowbelt Brewing Co.

Gaylord, Michigan

Stopping in Gaylord, Michigan gave me more Frankenmuth vibes than I remembered or expected. It’s not a place I find myself regularly, even this was out of my way to my family’s cabin. But I’m a beer adventurer, and I had visited Snowbelt Brewing before; it was time for my return.

Beer Selection—3/5

While the number of beers won’t blow you away in their versatility or unlimited options, there’s enough selection to touch bases on everything: a light lager similar to Bud Lite, Miller Lite, etc, a stout, an IPA, a scotch ale.

I liked that it ranged across the board, but compared to breweries I went to recently: the selection lagged a bit.

(I’m also not a firm believer that there has to be 20 beers on draft either, although, I must admit; it’s nice.)

Vibes—4/5

I felt more than a typical “restaurant” vibe here. The seating was a bit more warm and welcoming and they had plenty of space. The bar felt more separated than the other seats which I found worked better than the usual blending of the two.

There’s nothing crazy unique but it felt better than average.

Service—5/5

They were dead when I came in. Props to them for opening their doors five minutes early. As someone whose worked in the industry, I am used to restaurants being sticklers to this; after all, the general public sucks. Any time you can spend less time serving them, the better. For this reason—and my personal experience in the industry—I understand not opening up early.

The bartender definitely checked in, asked questions, and made sure I had a good experience here.

Beer Quality—4/5

All four beers in my flight were solid. I even liked Brew Me Up Scotty, a 4.5% Scotch Ale, and this is one of my least favorite styles of beer. This backs up what I said about a brewery not needing to have 20 beers on draft. If you can do a handful of solid beers, quality goes a long ways to enhance the patron’s experience.

The star of the show proved to be the Chocolate Covered Potato Chip Milk Stout, 5.8% abv. The beer is exactly as the name sounds; it uses chocolate covered potato chips from Alpine Chocotat Haus—a store a little bit down on Main Street that I highly recommend checking out. The chips give the beer a bit of a salty taste but the chocolate still shown through.

Points for uniqueness with this beer.

Food—4/5

The food here brought me back to high school with the heavenly goodness of a Crunchwrap Supreme; except here it’s called a Tacobelt Crunchwrap (see what they did there?). And it’s amazing. I opted for brisket (the options were brisket, chicken, or black bean burger) and it came loaded with queso, salsa, and tortilla chips.

It tasted like an adult version of high school. I’m glad the crunch wrap lives on in all of its blissfulness. I highly recommend ordering this.

Overall—Recommend

This brewery is worth checking out. The food is good and they have some good beers on tap. For me it’s a bit of a hike up state, so I know it’s not a brewery I will be able to frequent too often, but if I find myself in the area, I won’t hesitate to stop in.

Rating—16/20