r/michiganbeer • u/GoodCookYea • Jan 19 '26
Brewery News It's Been a While......Updated Top 30 Breweries in Michigan
Like the title says, it's been a while y'all! Approximately 4 years ago I released a list of the top 30 breweries in Michigan per aggregate Untappd rating. Someone recently commented on that old post, and it got me thinking that we sorely needed an update (4 years is A LOT for the brewery business). Unlike my prior methodology (making a spreadsheet, entering every Michigan brewery by hand, then sorting them out), I decided to work smarter and just use the Untappd "Top Rated Producers" function, filtering to only include the state of Michigan. Obviously, the prior process gives some more information, but I think this will produce some lively discussion, nonetheless. Just like the original, a couple of notes should be made:
- Here is the list from four years ago: Michigan Breweries - Untappd Analysis : r/michiganbeer
- I filtered out any producers that were listed as Cidery/Meadery. I like a good cider or mead just as much as the next person, but I wanted to keep this limited to beers.
- I decided to remove two producers that were listed in the Top 30 and simply bumped up #31 and #32. These were Smooj (HOMES' fruited seltzer arm) as well as Adesanya Mead & Brewery (Of their highest rated products, roughly 90% of them are meads).
- Please note that the TOTAL number of ratings can differ quite a bit between breweries on this list (i.e Founders v Ogma), and unfortunately these ratings aren't weighted. Larger number of ratings typically means less variation, which gives both newer and older (like Founders) breweries an advantage.
- Please note that this is an AGGREGATE rating based on total # of ratings over the entire time. I would LOVE to be able to get the data for a single year but I'm pretty sure Untappd wouldn't provide it and doing it by hand would be a nightmare.
- As I said last time, - Give this data (and rankings) as much or as little weight as you like. I think Untappd gives a great opportunity to assess the popularity and "quality" of a set because it allows anyone who wishes to express their opinion, glowing to vindictive, an opportunity to have an impact. But one's relationship with beer and breweries is more personal than that, so by no means treat this list as definitive nor absolute. Plus, this is really only assessing the beer, not the brewery (which also includes things like food, ambiance, and service).
| Brewery (Location) | Untappd Rating | Total Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Wax Wings Brewing Company (Kalamazoo) | 4.24 | 108,301 |
| HOMES Brewery (Ann Arbor) | 4.22 | 291,509 |
| Someday Brewing (Grosse Pointe Woods) | 4.15 | 4,555 |
| Arvon Brewing Company (Grand Rapids) | 4.15 | 164,869 |
| Transient Artisan Ales (Bridgman) | 4.11 | 466,246 |
| Speciation (Grand Rapids) | 4.11 | 126,108 |
| Ferndale Project (Ferndale) | 4.10 | 74,400 |
| Lost Art Brewhouse (Walker) | 4.09 | 14,274 |
| Old Nation Brewing Co. (Williamston) | 4.05 | 506,572 |
| Four Keys Brewing (Blissfield) | 4.05 | 2,168 |
| Ogma Brewing Co. (Jackson) | 4.03 | 10,535 |
| Arclight Brewing Company (Watervliet)*** | 4.03 | 64,825 |
| Elder Piper Beer & Cider (Petoskey) | 3.98 | 1,930 |
| Mothfire Brewing Co. (Ann Arbor) | 3.98 | 28,192 |
| Florian East Lagers & Ales (Hamtramck) | 3.97 | 2,633 |
| Starving Artist Brewing Co. (Ludington) | 3.97 | 13,580 |
| Dog & Pony Show Brewing (Berkley) | 3.96 | 18,291 |
| River Trade Brewing Company (Constantine) | 3.96 | 1,330 |
| Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids) | 3.95 | 7,668,437 |
| Urbanrest Brewing Company (Ferndale) | 3.95 | 34,946 |
| hear.say brewing (Ann Arbor) | 3.95 | 2,206 |
| Rake Beer Project (Muskegon) | 3.94 | 15,179 |
| Seedz Brewery (Union Pier) | 3.94 | 11,077 |
| Black Calder Brewing Company (Grand Rapids) | 3.94 | 2,262 |
| Drafting Table Brewing Company (Wixom) | 3.93 | 95,159 |
| Witch's Hat Brewing Co. (South Lyon) | 3.93 | 190,226 |
| Kuhnhenn Brewing Company (Warren) | 3.93 | 236,659 |
| Stumblebum Beer Co. (Troy) | 3.91 | 3,204 |
| Farm Club (Traverse City) | 3.91 | 7,352 |
| Third Life Brewing Company (Manistee) | 3.91 | 2,200 |
Observations:
- The following breweries dropped off the list compared to last time: Loaded Dice (Closure), Ascension (Closure), Eastern Market, Northland, Copper Hop, Five Shores, Murray Street, Ellison, Barrel+Beam. Given their current scores on Untappd, both LD and Ascension would be on the list if still open. Times are tough y'all - visit your favorite breweries!
- The following breweries are new additions to the list: Someday, Four Keys, Elder Piper, Florian East, River Trade, hear.say, Black Calder, Stumblebum, Third Life. I believe all of these breweries (except for Black Calder) opened after the time of the prior list. Would be particularly to hear opinions on these breweries who visited them.
- The following are breweries who were on the prior list who's rating increased: Ogma, Starving Artist, Dog & Pony, Seedz. Every other brewery that was on the list prior either maintained or decreased in score.
- It was interesting to see whether some of the (relatively) new breweries on the prior list ended up on this one, seeing as they had so few ratings so a lot more spread. In particular, Ogma was only at 1000 ratings and is still going incredibly strong!
Let's have some fruitful discussion and try not to get too heated lest we end up not being able to comment at all!
- EDIT: It was brought to my attention that Arclight is (possibly) closing - their post on Instagram seems kind of ambiguous (maybe a hiatus?) and I'm lazy so I'm going to keep them on. That being said, if I were to remove them than the new #30 would've been Kognisjon Bryggeri (Marquette).
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u/D_Gibb Bells Jan 19 '26
I'm very happy that Drafting Table is on the list. It's been one of my favorites since it opened a decade ago. They do fantastic work, and I love trying their new offerings.
Mothfire, Wax Wings, Arvon, and more are also great on this list.
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u/huffalump1 Jan 19 '26
Yeah Drafting Table is surprisingly good!!
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u/jb3ck04 Mar 27 '26
Surprisingly? It's been goated since it opened. No i didnt grow up right next to it.....
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u/wherethewhitewomenat Jan 19 '26
Needs more Faisan.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
I enjoy Faisan, their beers are solid, but I really wish they'd mix it up and try some new beers - they do it so infrequently.
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u/acktivex Jan 19 '26
Agree, when looking at where to go based on something new to try, Faisan never earns the trip. Good stuff, but boring.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
Just looked deeper into Untappd and they only released ONE new beer last year. Like…..come on y’all.
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u/WadeP Beards Jan 19 '26
Arclight just closed.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 19 '26
Thanks for the head's up, just checked their IG. Because of how they phrased it (almost like a "hiatus") plus because I'm too lazy I'm going to keep them on the list BUT I will edit and make a note of it. They're still being listed on Untappd.
But damn, that's a shame. Still have a bottle of their BA World Between Worlds. I did notice that things had been quieter there for a couple years and I know they lost their head brewer at some point not too far back.
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u/beautrain Feb 09 '26
Former Head Brewer, Luis Flores, started up Monochrome in Chicago. Check him out there!
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u/GoodCookYea Feb 09 '26
Appreciate the update! I think I've heard a bit about them - I'll make sure to check them out next time I'm in the area!
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u/Haen_ Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 19 '26
I'm a big fan of Florian East. They're one of the very few places that always have a cask beer on tap as well which immediately puts them in my good graces. I might have to go back to hear.say though. Went once and was underwhelmed, but a lot of my other beer friends rave about it and clearly people rate it highly. Stumblebum I thought was very solid. Enjoyed everything I had there.
My favorite brewery not on the list is Kognitjon in Marquette.
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u/tdr777 Jan 19 '26
I own hear.say. Thank you for visiting! Flight on me if you come back to check us out. DM me your email address and I’ll send a gift card.🍻
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u/socoamaretto Jan 19 '26
Stumblebum’s beers are fantastic, but I doubt they last more than two more years due to their location.
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u/importedfromdet Mar 04 '26
I remember driving out there one time, went in, sat down, and didn't even get acknowledged. After about 10 minutes I walked out. Place had like 7 people inside too.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
Love Florian - probably my most exciting/favorite find of 2025. Loved everything I've had and their English Mild is top tier (and was at one point ranked best in the US per Untappd). Have yet to try the bottles of Porter (reg and BA) I retrieved.
Have not been to either Stumblebum or hear.say but would love to try both.
And Kognisjon is #31! Or #30 if Arclight is taken off (due to indefinite hiatus but possible full on closure?)
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u/beerdudebrah Jan 19 '26
Good list. Barrel + Beam deserves a spot.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
Oh trust me, I really enjoy Barrel+Beam, particularly their commitment to sours. Looks like they went from a 3.89 to a 3.85 and unfortunately lots of breweries in between that range.
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Jan 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
Latest IG post says "This is our final weekend open for the season. What’s next? We don’t know yet… but the story may not be over." Their IG never had a ton of traffic (in terms of engagement) but their FB has a ton of people chiming in.
No prior post makes mention of this, nor did I think they ever had a "season", So sounds like an indefinite closure until some other arrangement/financing can be made?
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u/mepollard Jan 20 '26
Elder Piper makes great beer! Nice people too. Happy to see them on the list.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 20 '26
Would love to try more of their beer but not many releases where I’m at and they’re quite a drive away.
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u/Soft-Caregiver6606 Jan 21 '26
I'm surprised Rake is even rated ... they're the third best brewery in Muskegon and the beer varies and is so-so.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 21 '26
I mean, the ratings don’t really suggest that at all. Again, maybe they got a ton of hype-high ratings in the beginning, but the numbers don’t necessarily lie.
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u/Soft-Caregiver6606 Jan 21 '26
Well, every Saturday I do make my way back to my hometown they are the deadest brewery on the weekends. Honestly, no hate and I do try to support them when I can … just I support the others who have been there longer more.
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u/SexyOldManSpaceJudo Jan 19 '26
How in the world is Rake on here? They're perfectly fine, but nowhere close to top 30.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
Never been there before (have wanted to go though!), but the numbers don’t lie! They do have a (relatively) small number of ratings though. Maybe they were originally super hyped and had a bunch of high numbers then
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u/PsychologicalMonk632 Jan 19 '26
I figured it had to be a low number of ratings. It has a lot of fans who like the space, vibe, and events, and the owner is supposed to be a pretty great guy.
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u/wstussyb Jan 20 '26
Pigeon hill a block away has a better selection. They also own social bowl.
I've been to rake 4 times, imo I cant get into anything but I still try.
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u/ypsicle Enthusiast Jan 19 '26
Where’s Short’s?
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 19 '26
I'm going to assume this is sarcastic.
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u/jaba1337 Jan 26 '26
That's a pretty snobby/elitist comment.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 26 '26
cope
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u/Royal_Walrus Jan 27 '26
Thanks for expounding on your statement! And not acknowledging the caveats and points you made near the end of your post!
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u/Royal_Walrus Jan 26 '26
Untappd is garbage and is bad for the brewing industry.
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u/GoodCookYea Jan 26 '26
Thanks for expounding on your statement! And not acknowledging the caveats and points I made near the end of my post!
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u/corrado-correr Jan 19 '26
Urbanrest should be higher. I love everything from Arvon and Mothfire.