Grizzly Peak Brewing Co.

September 2, 2008
Pretty decent - sampled eight or so beers (and willl enter ratings when I can find the sketchy notes). A bit load and crowded at dinner, but okay. Had a good sandwich and my brother did too. Of the eight beers two were okay but bordering on mediocre but a couple were pretty darn nice if not spectacular.

August 16, 2008
Sat on the sidewalk an a pleasant Thursday afternoon and went for their 9 5 ounce beer sampler, a steal at $10. With any luck, one or both of my daughters will attend college in Ann Arbor so I can visit regularly! The inside is well furnished and clean, very sharp looking. Two great bars. Looking forward to trying the food.

August 9, 2008
The place was packed at 9pm on a Thursday in late July. Found a couple seats at the bar and hung out there. Nice lodge theme here with earth tone wood and brick floor to ceiling. Beers are decent enough, 8 or so taps plus 2 cask handles pouring. The pizza was very good thin crust style. Reasonable prices, worth a stop.

July 9, 2008
Deceivingly large place. The many small makes it feel like a cosy resto-pub but when you add them all up this is a very large place. Lots of bricks and wood this is rather nice place. This is more a restaurant than a pub. Food menu is small but will have something for everyone. They offer some very affordable but interesting sandwiches as well as more “fancy” dishes (fish, steaks, etc.) in the $20 range. The had 10 taps when I was there, 7 regulars and 3 seasonals. I had the Saison (I’m a Saison sucker) and an Amarillo Pale from the cask and I was quite satisfied by both. A must stop, especially if you want a full course meal on with some decent brewpub beers.

June 16, 2008
Visited here recently. I was told about this place and agreed, the beers were mediocre with good food. I was not impressed that the men’s bathroom was only a one holer, way too little for a location of that size. Waiting in line at the bathroom is bad enough without doing it a crowded restaurant. The brick oven white pizza I had was pretty good. I would say more about the beer, but why? If in town, go for the food and then drink at Arbor Brewing.

April 7, 2008
I checked this place out with a buddy of mine because we wanted to sample both the food and the brew, by recommendation. The service was good and friendlywe got a table without having to wait long at all during a busy Friday night. Our server was both very knowledgeable and helpful (for example, we had no idea what their brew called Strang Wullie was all about, but they were very helpful with describing each one). They had about 8 or so of their own brews on tap. We ended up going with the 5 brew sampler which was pretty fun and tasty. Personally I liked their Pale the best while my buddy enjoyed the Porter. I also liked they offered growlers to go at a very decent price. Food-wise, their Cheddar and ale soup was to die for, and their Reuben was spot on. Overall, it was a very good experience and I would highly recommend it to others. Its location is quite a hike, however, from central campus, which would be the only reason that I do not frequent there more often.

January 17, 2008
(Visited 04/2007): Grizzly Peak is located on West Washington which is right in downtown. It is only a couple miles from US-23 off Rte 14. Parking should not be too much of an issue between meters and garages in walking distance. Speaking of walking distance, being only a block away from Arbor brewing is nice too. The interior is very large and open. There are bars on the far right and far left of the establishment, with lots of seating between. There is a lot of brick and natural light thanks to the windows in front. The beer selection is pretty good. There are around 9 different beers available, with 2 of them on cask. A sampler is available for $10. They also bottle at least 3 of their beers. The beers are pretty standard offerings for the most part, but the cask beers and unique creations like a Juniper Pale definitely add some spark. Service here was very good at the bar on a slow Friday afternoon. The bartender knew the beers very well and was happy to help point us in the direction of other brewpubs in the area. We did not order any food on this visit. There are only 2 things on earth that could get me as an OSU graduate to visit Ann Arbor: An away game at the Big House and a good brewpub. This is the latter.

January 2, 2008
More of a restaurant with a lodge theme, high ceilings, exposed wood, red bricks, etc, with a family/slightly upscale dining feel, the kind of place where the bar is secondary, a place to sit while waiting for your table. But the design and mood of the place was nice enough, probably helped by the place being empty. The two beers I had were less than stellar but interesting enough. Other than two seasonals it was only 4-5 common styles. Still, this is a solid #2 option in AA, below Arbor but well above Leopold Brothers.

June 15, 2007
We didn’t spend alot of time here, but we could have. The brick and wood interior was mood-lit and very cozy. Our bartender was both fun and helpful. We only had two pints (one was pretty good, the other was pretty bad), but there was a decent variety to choose from. If we come back to Ann Arbor, I’d like to re-visit Grizzly Peak to sit awhile longer, sample more beers and try out the food menu as well.

March 14, 2007
Not yet mentioned here is that Grizzly Peak has two bars: one that is non-smoking and the old Del Rio portion (now lamely called the Den) that is smoking and allows cigars after 10. If there is one criticism of the Peak that is appropriate it is the service. As with anywhere in Ann Arbor, servers are incredibly slow. Whereas I like the laid back feel, sometimes I just want a beer. As far as comparison’s to Arbor Brewing go, there isn’t any. Arbor Brewings beer is incredibly inconsistent and overpriced, not to the extent that Leopold Bros is, but not worth the money. The Peak does lack darts and shuffleboard, but their beer is above average. As far as Ashley’s comparisons go, it would be wise to eat before you go to Ashley’s and it would be nice if they cleaned their lines. I also don’t see how it is logistically possible for them to keep their beers at the supposed correct temperature. I’ll take the Peak anyday. Many of the recipes seem to have been adopted from the Brewer at the Jolly Pumpkin, a brewery that consistently is rated as one of the best in the country.