Pure Michigan Pints

HopSide Brewery

Alpena, Michigan

HopSide Brewery has appeared at beer festivals; they made their way to Burning Foot in Muskegon in the summer of 2024. I visited the brewery once before, but it was a quick visit.

Austin Brothers was closed on Sunday, so this left HopSide Brewery as a viable option for Lion’s football. (The T.V. in the cabin had suspect service, and I needed reliable viewing options to support the Lion’s run—have not missed a game the entire season.)

Of course, I called ahead to ask if they’d show game. They assured me they show every Lion’s game that falls in their hours of operation.

Beer Selection—5/5

They almost had too many beers to choose from. Selection is normally a great thing, but I always ask myself if I chose right or if I should have asked for different beers. Of course, this is a good problem to have.

The range really stretched across the board.

But it’s important to remember: having a ton of beers doesn’t necessarily mean they will be great beers; I’d rather have a brewery with five crazy good beers than 50 mediocre beers.

Vibe—4/5

The bar is badass, almost in a full circle. To top things off, it has something I’ve never seen before: phone chargers at every seat where you just set your phone on it and it charges. The atmosphere the bar gives off is great, and it helps customers see different T.V.s, ensuring this is a great place to watch any game. (I don’t think they’re necessarily going for a sports bar vibe, but as an avid Michigan—not getting into the whole state versus regular debated as I cheer for both—sports fan this is awesome.)

The rest of the place seems more typical in the sense of it’s a brewery with food.

Service—5/5

The service here (as with the majority of places I go) was great. They were attentive, provided extra samples, made sure we got what we wanted, and most importantly: watched the Lions game with us.

The bartender gave his honest opinion on the food and steered us towards their monthly special (which he didn’t expect to like: a BBQ chicken pizza with red onion and apples. The BBQ was tangy and the apples blended in perfectly making this the perfect late autumn pizza.

They even asked, “Where you the ones that called about the Lions game yesterday?”

Beer Quality—3/5

As with most breweries with a shit ton of beers, some stood out more than others. It’s hard to make them all winners when there are so many. (Not everybody is Brewery 4 Two 4 after all.)

My favorite beer was probably the Creme Brew La (5%), a cream ale with madagascar vanilla beans. The vanilla really shown through in this brew. I tasted a Double IPA, Hopsocket, that came in at 9.7%; their website claims, “This DIPA drinks extra smooth.” I agree. It was great and almost tasted too smooth.

Food—4/5

As stated: the pizza rocked. The crust was just right. Generally, I favor a thinner crust but they really did the Detroit style right.

The wings were crispy and correctly sauced (meaning generously, not skimpily).

Overall: Recommend

This brewery is worth checking out. I didn’t run out of good beers to try during watching an entire Lions game, the food kept me satisfied, and the service never disappointed. Can I guarantee it’s on your way somewhere? Most definitely not. I mean Alpena isn’t exactly the tourist destination in the world. But I can almost guarantee you will not regret stopping at HopSide Brewery.

Rating—17/20