Latest reviews from Dexter
| 76 /100 8080 GRAND STREET “Nice facility with live music on a Saturday night, didn't eat. Had a couple of flights. Several sours on that were pretty good. In addition to the sours had a pretty good pale ale, dry stout, and Oktoberfest.“ |
| 74 /100 The Beer Grotto- Dexter (Bar) 8059 MAIN ST “Went with a large group on a Thursday night. With some shuffling of chairs, we were able to sit outside (inside was strangely empty). Servers were working hard, and delays weren't too bad. Pretty nice beer selection with a decent range of styles and a balance of regular vs. seasonal/one-off beers. Food was fine, though the menu is fairly limited and doesn't seem to have any vegan options.“ |
| 92 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “This is the large modern production facility that houses both Jolly Pumpkin and Northern United Brewing. Taproom is also large, with a serving bar, restaurant tables and old fashioned diner style booths. There is a big outdoor space too, with umbrella tables and a couple of huge foeders too. Half a dozen each of the JP beers and the NULL beers are available, plus some very creative appetizers and pizzas. At the moment, you sit down at a table, scan the QR code, order and pay and your beer and food show up - service is quick and efficient. Lots of parking, lots of kids but strangely I saw no dogs, perhaps the only outdoor space in America without them. For brewery history buffs, the original location of the 10 barrel brewery where Ron & Laurie Jeffries started JP is in a former bank building (now a dance studio) at 3115 Broad Street in downtown Dexter.“ |
| 90 /100 8080 GRAND STREET “What a fantastic place. Right near the river walking path in a light industrial building surrounded by half a dozen parking lots and an atmospheric old cemetery. Inside is a long bar with a serving area in the center and a few restaurant tables. Brewhouse is visible behind the bar. Nice patio with picnic tables and smaller tables, tiny umbrellas with inadequate shade, especially at sunset. Really good live music. Food is grilled cheese sandwiches and snack items plus food trucks. Beer is mostly funk - including a fantastic saison that reminded me of being in the Payottenland - but they also had some clean styles. Friendly staff. I could live here.“ |
| 94 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “They added some pretty good food and dumped the Nl Taphouse name , and are back to JP Artisan ales and kitchen. Still in the industrial park ala Three Floyd’s. Nice space, roomy a few tvs ,pool table. They have the Funkmaster’s beers, also North Peak as well as Michigan based wine and spiirits. Major drinking destination come and have dinner!
Ron Jeffries was doing sour beers before it was cool. He’s one of the best brewers in the US IMO. Having had his beers before he went to the funk (Grizzley peak,Bonfire) it is clear this guy can brew any beer he wants.“ |
| 78 /100 The Beer Grotto- Dexter (Bar) 8059 MAIN ST “Nice establishment with 48 taps of beer. Limited food choices They sell growlers. Really good tap list over time with solid prices can have outside seating.“ |
| 60 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “did not eat but menu looked ok little pricy. and the selection was a lot smaller then i thought it would be. the building is cool did not go upstairs though“ |
| 50 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Visited last spring (’09) with some other beer loving friends.
We quickly found out that this is not a place to go for a visit they just expect you to love them, buy their ales and leave. Sales counter dude did not seem anything about the beers.
We were there during the posted visiting hours and hoping the brewer would be wiling to chat a bit about his ales and the brewing process. Brewer talked a bit about his casks, but seemed very cold.
Still trying to like sour ales, but this visit did not do anything to help warm me to them.“ |
| 88 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Ron Jeffries was nice enough to give us a private tour of the brewery. He showed us around -- the place is mostly full of barrels since they barrel-age everything. At the end, we got a taste of the Bam Weiss. They had all the basic JP stuff to purchase at great prices, but we also were able to score several bottles of the Biere de Mars Grand Reserve, both aged 16 mo. and 27 mo. Great stop on the trip. Too bad we were there only a few months before his pub is opening.“ |
| 78 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Took a mini road trip from Novi to Dexter(about a half hour hike) to check out where the majesty that is Jolly Pumpkin is made. I went with my friend Meredith(MereLikesBeer) The fact is this place is a little hard to find, and we were fortunate to arrive during some pretty major construction going on, which made it extra tough. But we made it, and Ron, and the Sales guy(I forget his name) were very nice, and were very eager to inform us of the process, ingredients, etc that goes into making their magical beer. The place smelled awesome, and also looked pretty cool, with stacks of big oak barrels taking up most of the real estate. I will definitely be back for more great beer. Cheers!“ |
| 96 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “A small, seemingly low budget operation. You’ll drive by it the first time. If you’re a fan of this great brewery, it’s a treat to visit, Fridays only, as you’re likely the be greeted by one of the family. You’ll meet nice people who will talk to you at length, have access to one or two beers which may not be available outside of Michigan, possibly a taste of a keg beer or two, and be able to score a cool pumpkin hat. Close to Ann Arbor.“ |
| 82 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Dropped by here for the 8/1/08 Perseguidor release. The brewery’s across the street from a shady tree, white picket fence lined neigborhood that looks like a Rockwell painting. Pretty typical small town brewery with one very notable exception wooden barrels everywhere. The owners are very cool people, and Ron is the most unassuming brewer that i’ve met. Awesome brewers, awesome people.“ |
| 74 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Jolly Pumpkin Rules. I wished I had gotten to the brewery, but it was just nice to see the hallowed grounds. It was cool to see pallets of beer labeled for delivery to places across the world (Denmark, Portland, etc.). Nice to have fresh Bam Biere on tap at the brewery. Decent, but not particularly accessible.“ |
| 66 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Really what you have is a counter with a register and a refrigerator with JP beer at the front of the brewery. The brewery seemed spotless and organized. The brewers were happy to talk shop and welcoming. Not sure if they have more to offer since I was there.“ |
| 84 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “happened to be in the area. bought some of their product at Ann Arbor’s bello vino, great grocery/beer/wine store. found out they were in dexter. went with my local (dexter, mi) tour guides to find the brewery and still ended up driving around the block several times. definately small, but big time customer attention. the two of us walked in and were able to talk beer for a good while. top notch customer service. greatly enjoyed the bottles we picked up, can’t wait to go back soon and buy more.“ |
| 88 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “This place is tough to find. We pretty much drove through dexter and decided to just stop and start asking people. We ended up just being on the wrong side of the building at one point. When you walk in you can immediately smell the wood and fermenting beer. We saw a couple people hard at work working the bottling machine. Very small production but i found out they still have time and room to do a few contract brews. Rons wife poured us samples of 3 or 4 beers and all excellent as expected. Cool place and got some fuego, persequidor, nad luciernaga gr.“ |
| 84 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Extremely quaint! Think Alesmith, then multiply by 70% or Floyd’s and multiply by 40%. I’ve never experienced a brewery like this one. Hard to find, but so worth it. Walked in and BAM!, the first thing to hit me was the absence of all the usual steel and copper. Haven’t seen this much wood since accidentally renting gay porn in 1996. Very impressive and unique. Ron’s wife could not have been more accommodating to MI2CA and me. We sampled everything, including a taste of their "One Hopped Up Bug." Thoroughly enjoyed myself and picked up a couple bottles of Firefly Grande Reserve and Perseguidor.“ |
| 88 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Visited on 12/13/06: Stopped in even though I don’t think they were officially open. Ron seemed quite busy with the bottling they were doing. But his wife took some time to chat with us, and pour us a few samples. Not to mention they still had a few bottles of Luciernaga Grand Reserve sitting there to be bought up. Really enjoyed the stop, it was the first time I had seen a smaller brewery like that. Pretty cool stuff.“ |
| 86 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “I visited the brewery 7/1. Ron and his wife were on hand doing some things around the brewery. Very small place but look at all those oak barrels-nice sight for shure! Had the stout which is only available at the brewery along with a new batch of the laRoja grand reserve. Ron and his wife were very friendly and helped me plan the rest of my trip through MI. Thanks for the hospitality!“ |
| 80 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Not exactly the easiest place to find probably because of it’s nondescript signage. It’s around 25 minutes from Ann Arbor city centre and worth the trip to pick up some of their special releases. I bought some Madrugada Obsucra and a t-shirt. They also had their five regulars available for a couple of bucks cheaper than retail. Ron was around so we chatted for a little bit. If I’m ever in the area again I’ll likely stop by just to see what’s up!“ |
| 70 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “I’ve visited the brewery a few times and am not sure it’s fair to rate it, as there is as of yet no brewpub, no food, and a generally small selection of beers, considering the brewery’s young age. That said, I’ve always been met with extremely friendly, helpful service. Ron and Co. are always willing to hand-label newly bottled beers that aren’t yet ready for distribution. Hard-to-find but fitting location in the quaint but appealing small town of Dexter, Michigan, soon to be swallowed as a suburb of Ann Arbor, unfortunately. I can’t wait to visit once the brewpub is open. Good people and good beer makes a trip worthwile.“ |
| 84 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Very small, very quaint, very hard to find. Had to make several calls to actually find the place. Walk in the door, and you’re basically in the middle of the brewery. Both the head and assistant brewers were there, basically hanging out. Both extremely nice and extremely knowledgable. Showed us around what little there was to see (it’s a small place!). As has been said, very clean. I was amazed as their distribution, given their small size. I was able to get their autumn seasonal in bottles, otherwise the stores around michigan probably are better places to buy their stuff.“ |
| 92 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Loved it. Very quaint place and somewhat obscure. Ron stayed open for me and my family to arrive since we were running way late, and then he gave us a tour of the place. Wonderful facility - really cool to see all of the oak barrels there, and you can tell how much care and attention goes into creating these farmhouse ales. Bottles were $2 cheaper here than they are in the stores, and I was able to grab a cool Jolly Pumpkin shirt. I will routinely make visits at every opportunity I can.“ |
| 68 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Small brewery. No tasting on premises. The owner is cordial and friendly. Only had 4 beers available out of his stable of 6 brews. I guess the other 2 are seasonals. Buying the beers at the brewery will save you $1-2 over liquor stores and if you are in Ann Arbor, it is a short and pretty drive. Brewery is immaculately clean.“ |
| 88 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “If you are ever in the area of Dexter, you have to stop by Jolly Pumpkin. I stopped by on a day they were closed and managed to still pick up some beers. This place is just a brewery, so not food is available. The place is spotless. The Maracaibo Especial is only available at the brewery for now and the Luciernaga is long sold out. Remember to pick up some GABF Gold meadl winning Oro de Calabaza. Ron is a great guy and a pleasure to talk to.“ |
| 90 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Ron Jeffries, former brewer at Grizzly Peak, has dabbled with virtually every style of beer, which is how he has gained such a vast understanding of beer, which has also helped him establish his own uniquely artistic identity in the beer world. Upon visiting the brewery, you’re greeted by various-sized oaken barrels, some of which are simply toasted, and others once contained bourbon. He also has an open fermenter. I should mention that Ron is a very hospitable person and especially appreciative of those who support his craft. JP will continue to impress with each passing day IMO, particularly since Ron has noted that lactobacillus and brettanomyces have assumed residence in various barrels at the brewery. Land of sour beer, here we come!! No tasting room...yet, but Ron’s aiming at obtaining an on-premise tasting license. Bring lots of cash (checks will work, too, and maybe CC’s in the future) and a large car to stock the cases of 750’s you’ll be bringing back. Also be on the lookout for the cafe in the coming months.“ |
| 82 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “What a great little brewery. Ron the owner/brewer is a great guy. He was very accomodating and seemed genuinely interested in our conversation. He seems very passionate about what he is doing and it is really manifested in his beer. While the only beer you are going to get is what he currently has in bottles, it is a very worthwhile stop in a SE Michigan tour. No Credit Cards so bring your checkbook or a wad of cash.“ |
| 78 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “Not far from Ann Arbor and tucking into downtown Dexter. Don’t get directions from Map Quest, they are wrong, take Baker Rd to Forest Street. Had a nice time talking beer with Ron and checking out the facility. Make sure you bring your cash or check as they don’t take credit cards yet. Cash and carry only. May open a small sit down later this year. New place and shows alot of promise.“ |
| 82 /100 2319 BISHOP CIR E “LIttle brewery tucked away in a small town. Ron the owner/brewer/utility player was there. Had a great conversation about the brewery and beer in general. If in the Michigan area of I-94 this is a must do stop.“ |
