Mackinaw Trail Winery/Brewery, Petoskey, Michigan

On a recent trip to Northern Michigan I was pleasantly surprised to be taken to a new brewery in the Petoskey area called Mackinaw Trail Winery and Brewery.  The new brewery (opened in 2014) is located in the established winery (2004) on a property that includes a large vineyard, a building for events, and a modern tasting room/bistro.  I'm told that future plans include a bed-and-breakfast and a distillery.  All-in-all, Mackinaw Trial will be a fun tourist destination in this area.

At the tasting room you can try the beer, wine, or cider.   Being me, I choose to try the beer for which a surprising 9 were offered.  There was a good range of styles including a Pilsner, fruit wheat, amber, two IPAs, and several stouts.  One of the stouts was barrel aged (Molasses Bourbon Stout) with impressive stats: ABV% = 14.5; IBU = 88.  This one was quite good and I think it will improve with age.  I bought a 22 ouncer for this purpose.  All the beers were very good and some had clever names such as the U.P Yours IP "eh".  Get it? 

They also had a double IPA they called Double Trouble.  I imagine that it won’t be long before they get a note from Founder's Brewing asking them to not use that name, as Founder's has used the same name for their outstanding Imperial IPA.  You can get a 5 sample flight of beer for $10.

I look forward to seeing this brewery grow and expect that it will continue to make excellent beers and I hope to see them at the various Michigan beer festivals in years to come.  If you're in the Petoskey area, you will not be disappointed in this winery/brewery. Find them on the web at: http://www.mackinawtrailwinery.com/brewery/

Cheers,

Zymus