Royal Oak Brewery

Last summer I went on a brewpub crawl with my wife and a few friends.  We unexpectedly ended up in Royal Oak, Michigan which was hosting its annual Arts, Beats, and Eats festival.  The city was packed with visitors.  We made our way to the Royal Oak Brewery, which was a first-time visit for me. Here's the website: http://royaloakbrewery.com/

The place has the feel of a casual restaurant, despite the fact that the back of the bar is lined with stainless steel brewing kettles.  We ordered samples of several beers, all of which were good.  None of the beers pushed the limits, but all were well made and refreshing.  The appetizers we ordered were also quite good.  A nice place to stop on a stormy summer day.

Some of the wares.

As we were enjoying the wares, we heard a loud rumbling outside, followed by a flood of people entering the brewpub.  A Michigan summer squall had hit and people were taking shelter where they could find a great pint.  Smart people!

The Royal Oak Brewery

 
Someone switched the television over to the news so that the weather situation could be surmised.  Indeed, there were several thunderstorm cells moving across Michigan.  As we looked at the screen, we saw that our ride home would be interesting--between Royal Oak (upper right corner) and Ann Arbor (center) was an impressive storm cell followed  by another right behind it.

Storm cells in Southeastern Michigan

Indeed, we had a lightening-filled trip home.

Cheers,
Zymus