Where is the Joe Louis fist located?

Is Toledo anything to bother with since it is not far from Detroit?

Are Flint and/or Lansing worth a drive?

IMHO, Toledo, Flint and Lansing are not worth the drive. The shore of Lake Michigan is very nice, particularly Saugatuck/Douglas but this is a long drive.

Here are the brewpubs/breweries I have found in Detroit and within a decent driving distance. We are interested in brewpubs that actually brew onsite or breweries that give tours/samples.

Detroit Rivertown Brewing
Franklin Street Brewing
Woodward Avenue Brewers
Arlington Brewing
Frog Island Brewing
North Channel Brewing
Arbor Brewing
Arcadia Brewing
Atwater Block Brewery
Bastone
Harper’s Brewing
Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse
Big Rock Chophouse
Black Lotus Brewing
Blue Coyote Brewing
Charley’s Brewpub/Timeout Brewery
CJ’s Brewing
Copper Canyon Brewery
Corner Brewery
Dark Horse Brewing
Detroit Beer Company
Dragonmead Brewing
Fort Street Brewery
Great Baraboo Brewing
Grizzly Peak Brewing
Helmar Brewing
King Brewing
Kuhnhenn Brewing
Labatt Brewing
Lansing Brewing
Liberty Brewing
Michigan Brewing
Motor City Brewing works
Original Gravity Brewing
Prison City Brewers
Quay Street Brewing
Redwood Lodge
Rochester Mills Beer Company
Royal Oak Brewery
Sherwood Brewing
Stoney Creek Brewing
Traffic Jam & Snug
Walkerville Brewing
Woodward Avenue Brewers
Ypsilanti Brewing

I believe you now need your passport to cross the border at Windsor. A far cry from the days when I worked in Detroit and you could pass into and out of Canada without even showing a license! If you do go and can fit this in, several of the Chinese restaurants serve wonderful dim sum----may not be a big deal for you coming from the Baltimore area, but was always a treat for Michiganders!

We are more into trying local dishes, something the locals eat, something that is a area tradition. Similar to cheesesteaks in Philly, beef-on-weck in Buffalo, blue crabs in Maryland.

We fly out of Baltimore but actually live right outside of D.C.

With the brewpubs, just found that Prison city is a brew club. Scratched that one.

Is there one of the big national brewers still in Detroit, not sure who it is/was. Stroh's maybe......

So far, I would say we are going to do Detroit, Ann Arbor, cross into Windsor for a bit and most likely make our way to Lake Huron. Most likely will cut out drives to Lansing, Flint and Toledo unless we end up with free time.

If we were to stay outside of the city, what areas are best? We travel on a budget as far as hotels, usually stay at the Choice Hotel chain.

The Wright Patterson AFB Airforce Museum, about 75 miles south of Columbus (on the way to Cincinnati)is well worth a visit. It has a huge collection of historic and modern aircraft that IMO beats that of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum annex.

For hotels, try Dearborn or Livonia. Both are just west of the city and have quick access to the airport and downtown with a selection or places that ranges from The Ritz to the Red Roof.

Unfortunately, Stroh's closed in 1999 and the brewery was demolished for an office park. For local restaurants, try Buddy's Pizza. There are several locations around the city and in addition to deep-dish pizza, they have sandwiches, salads and pasta. Dearborn is also home to many Arabic restaurants or you can have lunch at the Henry Ford Estate.

For a nicer dinner, the Roma Cafe in Eastern Market has been on the same corner over 100 years and has great food. If you like Jazz, head to Baker's on Livernois at 8 Mile afterward. It's only been there around 75 years, but it's still a great place to catch top acts.

If you'll be traveling after June 1, 2009, you will need a passport or passport card to return to the US from Canada. Also, make sure the rental agreement on your car specifies that you are permitted to take the car into Canada. Some companies charge big penalties if you do so without their knowledge and the Border Agents can give you a hassle about it if they want.

What great information on these 2 cities! The brewpubs in Columbus that come to mind are Columbus Brewing Company (CBC), Barley's, Gordon Biersch, and The Elevator. The first Saturday of each month is the Gallery Hop, where galleries, shops and restaurants in the Short North area of town stay open late. This draws a large and diverse crowd. Many of the city's best restaurants are located in this area. The Blue Jackets (hockey) may be going into the play-offs soon - not sure if tickets will be available to non-season ticket holders. The Columbus Clippers (AAA baseball) will be playing in a new stadium this year. No one has mentioned the art gallery or the Columbus Zoo - both top-notch. During the summer there are many outdoor concerts and festivals, including the Columbus Arts Festival, which is usually the first weekend in June. The first week in June also offers the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin. And let's not forget that Columbus is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes! Each Saturday in the fall on home football days will find 100,000+ fans tailgating at the university. I hope you enjoy your stay in Columbus!

I guess if I HAD to choose, I'd choose Columbus. Detroit is nasty. However, why would anyone want to go to either really? With the exception of Chicago, the Midwest is one giant sleeping pill with a boring "culture" if you can call it that.

I know Big Buck has been out of business for several years, so they can definitely be scratched off your list. I think Franklin Street's closed too.

Arcadia's really, really good, but they're in Battle Creek, which is a hike from Detroit (but might not be bad from AA).

They do have a Blue Tractor in AA- we're not sure whether they brew on site, but the food is supposed to be really good, and the beer is from Bastone if they don't brew there (we've been impressed by everything from this restaurant group). Bastone's Maibock is my absolute favorite beer.

Kuhnhenn failed to impress on the first visit, and the beer on their website just really pissed me off (they have a whole line of "Panty Dropper" fruit beer), so we won't be going back there.

Black Lotus was just horrible the when it first opened, but was not too bad on our second visit (we're guessing adapting a recipe from keg size to vat size took some tinkering). There's a great sushi bar/Japanese grocery two or three doors down if you want food (we eat there about once a week- the sushi is great). We haven't tried the food at Black Lotus.

Royal Oak Brewery, Rochester Mills Beer Co and Detroit Beer Co are the same company, but they do all brew on site. We haven't been to any in quick enough succession to know whether they taste the same or not. The beer is really good.

We have a large enough Middle Eastern population that we do consider schwarma a local food.

The "local American food" is a coney or a hani (breaded chicken breast with lettuce and tomato on a pita) from a coney place. It's just gross- I couldn't even finish when I was utterly drunk and really hungry.

There's also Loui's Pizza in Hazel Park, but I think they've changed something (I'm guessing the pepperoni), because it's not nearly as good as it used to be. It's not as spicy and greasier. Detroit style pizza is most like Chicago style, but I've always stopped listening by the time they get to the actual differences.

Whatever corli33. I would make an eye rolly icon if I knew how. Thank you so much for your helpful insight.

I'm glad you are scratching surrounding areas. You really won't have enough time for them.

What are your dates? That would help in finding hotels. Southfield is a good place to stay. You aren't too far from anything there.

Now for the breweries:

Detroit Rivertown Brewing - ?
Franklin Street Brewing - Might be closed
Woodward Avenue Brewers - About 8 miles north of Detroit on Woodward in an old brick warehouse. Nice place.
Arlington Brewing - Out in Brighton - pretty far away.
Frog Island Brewing - Out in Ypsilanti, easy to hit on your way to or from Ann Arbor. Haven't been, but I think this is a pretty good size label. They sponsor many things in the area.
North Channel Brewing - closed
Arbor Brewing - Nice place in Ann Arbor. Small, but good beer. Grizzly Peak might have better food, but Arbor's is good too.
Arcadia Brewing - In Battle Creek. Waaay too far. Other side of the state.
Atwater Block Brewery - Has changed hands a lot recently and depressingly gone down hill. But their Vanilla Porter is delightful.
Bastone - More of a restaurant in Royal Oak. But a good restaurant. Especially if you like mussels.
Harper’s Brewing - Lansing, too far.
Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse - closed
Big Rock Chophouse - Much more emphasis on the pricey steak house. Fairly far from downtown.
Black Lotus Brewing - Have been inside, looks more like a restaurant.
Blue Coyote Brewing - Lansing, too far.
Charley’s Brewpub/Timeout Brewery - Windsor, says they only brew 2 beers.
CJ’s Brewing - pretty far away I believe
Copper Canyon Brewery - In Southfield. Easy to get to if you are staying in Southfield. Not really my favorite place, but I'm not sure why. Has a big restaurant.
Corner Brewery - part of Arbor in Ann Arbor
Dark Horse Brewing - Marshall, Mi. Very far away.
Detroit Beer Company - They also own Rochester Mills and the Royal Oak Brewery. This is a good place to go downtown. Nice menu and lots of beers.
Dragonmead Brewing - One of my favorites. No food, but they do have menus that will bring takeout to the brew pup. Nice decor and live music sometimes. Non-smoking. Tons and tons of yummy beers.
Fort Street Brewery - Never heard of it, but looks great. Mentions tours.
Great Baraboo Brewing - Brew pup in a strip mall. I've been and nothing special. Pretty far away too.
Grizzly Peak Brewing - The other big one in Ann Arbor. Definitely hit this one and Arbor, but probably eat here.
Helmar Brewing - Never heard of it, but also sounds cool. This one would be good to hit if you are going to Bastone.
King Brewing - All the way up in Pontiac. Pretty far. And Pontiac isn't that great.
Kuhnhenn Brewing - Supposedly just like Dragonmead, but I haven't been.
Labatt Brewing - My husband and I did this tour last year. It is about a two hour drive from Detroit into Canada. It is a major brewery obviously, but the visitor's center really hasn't caught up to the times. It is actually their old break room. The tasting center really leaves a lot to be desired as well. It is just the other side of the old break room, and they have a set tasting menu out of bottles and it includes several Budweiser products since they are the Canadian brewers of it. Still the tour is cool, I just don't know if worth it for your limited time.
Lansing Brewing - I'm assuming in Lansing and too far.
Liberty Brewing - In Plymouth. Never heard of them. Could also hit this on the way to or from Ann Arbor.
Michigan Brewing - Too far. On the way to Lansing.
Motor City Brewing works - Downtown. Haven't been.
Original Gravity Brewing - Haven't been. Could possible do from Ann Arbor.
Prison City Brewers - I assumed this was in Jackson and I was right. Avoid.
Quay Street Brewing - Port Huron. I assume your Lake Huron destination.
Redwood Lodge - Flint. Too far. Avoid.
Rochester Mills Beer Company - Same as Detroit Beer, but farther away.
Royal Oak Brewery - Same as Detroit Beer, but farther away.
Sherwood Brewing - Out in Macomb. Could hit on your way to or from Port Huron.
Stoney Creek Brewing - Wait, Stoney Creek was the one with the great Vanilla Porter. But they might be or have been Atwater. I'm not sure about this.
Traffic Jam & Snug - Downtown. Never heard of it, but it looks cool.
Walkerville Brewing - Oooo, that looks great. We should try to hit that this summer. Okay, just remembered I'm pregnant. Drat!
Woodward Avenue Brewers - Mentioned at the top
Ypsilanti Brewing - Looks like this might just be a brewing supply store.


While in Windsor, definitely hit Little Italy on Erie Street. Wonderful homemade pastas at a decent exchange rate!

http://www.viaitalia.com/

There isn't a large brewery in Detroit anymore. Really the biggest brewer in the state is Bell's.

http://www.bellsbeer.com

That is in Kalamazoo, about an hour and a bit from Ann Arbor down a boring freeway. They also don't give tours. Probably the best thing to do is to just sample Bell's at local bars. They all have a Bell's tap. Oberon is the big summer brew. It is seasonal and Oberon opening day is a local holiday. It is this glorious, almost orange color. They call it summer in a glass. I can't believe I'm going to be pregnant all summer and not have any. I'm going to have a nice cold case waiting for me when I get out of the hospital.

Another place you might want to visit in Ann Arbor is Ashley's.

http://www.ashleys.com/

They have 70 beers on tap there. It is cool to see the taps lined up all along the bar.

I keep remembering places you have to go.

While in Ann Arbor, you should hit Zingerman's. They are the best deli in the midwest. They also sell amazing cheese, breads, meats, olives, etc. The owner travels the globe and brings back products or techniques and makes the items himself. The imported a gelato machine and started a huge bakehouse that makes bread the old fashioned way.

http://www.zingermans.com/

Wow! Great job on the list Kellie!

Kuhnhenn's is the same kind of place as Dragonmead, but Dragonmead is the better of the two.

Thanks for all the help. I think I've gotten more information on these two places than any other thread I've ever started.

~Travel date: May 28-31

~Big Buck is open but is located in Gaylord, MI. Sent them an e-mail and they got back to me very quickly. (http://www.bigbuck.com/index.html).

~Detroit Rivertown Brewery - 237 Joseph Campau Street but can't find much else on it.

~Is Pontiac and Rochester really that far away, they look like suburbs of Detroit. Also, kelliebellie, you mention Pontiac not being that great. What areas are the ones that should be avoided as far as crime/safety? As citylghts mentioned, every city has it's bad parts, but what are they so we don't end up in trouble. I live in a high crime county and just outside D.C, there are certain areas I know to avoid.

Kelliebellie, it sounds like you are like me and my wife with brew visits.

I will look at your travel dates this afternoon. I will be out of town all day.

There were two Big Bucks. The buildings have a giant bottle of beer on the outside. One is right by my house on I-75 near Detroit, and the other is in Gaylord on I-75 very near where we go up north. So my little kids love to look for the "big bottle of beer!" at the beginning and end of that trip. They actually went public years ago. Traded on the stock market and everything. It didn't go well. The one here near Detroit has been empty for several years. The one up in Gaylord is going well. It is about a 4 hour drive from Detroit though!

To get to Pontiac or Rochester, you are probably looking at around a half an hour drive. Maybe a bit more. When I say things are far, I am just meaning for what you get. Like why drive to Rochester Mills when the Detroit Beer Co. will be serving the same beer? It will be a nicer setting and you can sit outside in Rochester. Actually Rochester is a very nice little town. You just really don't have that much time for everything you want to do.

Definitely skip Pontiac. It is a charmless city. I wouldn't be afraid to go there (although their police force has been cut so drastically that they have no detectives, therefor they can actually investigate no crimes), but it just isn't a great place.

Detroit in general isn't doing very well. If you are scared easily, you might want to restrict your visit to the suburbs.

Yes, I love a good brew and brew pub. I don't understand the people that only drink Miller LIte!

"Whatever corli33. I would make an eye rolly icon if I knew how. Thank you so much for your helpful insight."

You're so welcome. Detroit is nasty as I said, avoid it like the plague. Choose Columbus even though it is a dull place. Better dull than dangerous.

Corli33.....we are going to both places.

Kelliebellie.....agree, I only drink domestic if there is nothing else. My wife and I keep a running list of places that we've visited that brew onsite and we are trying to break 100 this year. Should have no problem since we'll be able to add a few in Detroit and then another few in Columbus/Cincinnati. Plus, we are headed to North Carolina soon and will hit one or two down there, plus one in Richmond on the way.

Pontiac doesn't have much to offer and is pretty unsafe in my opinion, but Rochester is very nice. I love to go there. They are both about 25 mi from downtown Detroit. Not that far. I'd skip Pontiac unless you have a reason to go there. Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham are both very nice. I love the downtown area of Birmingham. It is busy and has lots of neat places. Also enjoy Ann Arbor. I agree, go to Zingerman's.