Frankenmuth Brewery
425 S. Main StreetJ and I decided we need to get some Christmas ornaments for L and there’s no better place in the world to get Christmas ornaments than at Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth.
We had made the trip to Frankenmuth a couple times when we lived in Lansing, but Kalamazoo is much farther away than Lansing and with an eight month old baby, way to far for a day trip.
J had to take a day off or she’d lose a comp day and since work has been kind of crazy for me the last couple of weeks, we decided a quick getaway would be good for us.
We got up and on the road a little after 9:00 AM and headed straight for lunch. We arrived in Frankenmuth about 11:45 and neither of us had ate. We could have waited the fifteen minutes for Bronner’s to open then head to lunch, but nah, that wasn’t a good idea. We was hungry.
As soon as we started talking about this trip, I had the lunch spot picked out. I wanted to check out one of the oldest brewery’s in the country.
Frankenmuth Brewery is on the north side of downtown Frankenmuth on South Main Street. It’s on the Cass River and an outdoor patio provides a great view of the river.
I always feel a little bit of a hesitation when I bring L in to a brewery. Most of them are surprisingly accommodating and Frankenmuth went above and beyond to make this trip a good one.
When you walk through the doors in to the restaurant, you come to the gift shop first. There’s a little hostess stand in the doorway from the gift shop to the dining room. A hostess asked if L needed a high chair and if she would like to color. Yeah…this brewery has colors for the kids to keep them entertained.
We were shown to a table near the large bar and given menus to look over while the hostess went after the high chair. The restaurant has a great feel to it. It’s got high ceilings with lots of exposed woodwork. There are large windows that over look some of the tanks near the front of the space and the large bar has a floor to ceiling display of the beers on tap.
Whenever we go to a brewery, I like to see if there’s anything special on tap that I can’t get in bottles at a good liquor party store. The only thing I really could see was the Oktoberfest which isn’t something I’m really a fan of. I stuck with what I know and got a Batch 69 IPA. It’s a little bit of a weaker IPA. It has a 69 IBU which is where it gets it’s name. It’s a very good beer and something I’ve bought several times at Tiffany’s.
After getting drinks (J got a Sprite), our waiter asked if L would like a Go-Gurt. We have never given her one of those, but she loved it. She seemed a little disappointed when I pulled the tube away and couldn’t get any more out of it. The waiter noticed and brought her a second one, but by then, we had diverted her to something. Still, very cool of him to do that for her.
For our meals, I did what everyone expects me to do. I ordered the Build-Your-Own-Burger option. I opted for bleu cheese and bacon ($.50 extra). The angus beef is seared and topped with crispy bacon and a large pile of bleu cheese. The burger had a slight hint of pink and was incredibly juicy. I love the fresh burgers that just ooze juices which eventually gets all in to the bleu cheese adding a new flavor layer. The burger was delicious and I polished it off in no time. The accompaniment was a handful of steak fries. The thick fries were dusted with a little bit of salt and were a perfect pairing to my burger and beer.
J’s selection was the Brew Crew Club Sandwich. The sandwich started with toasted sourdough bread which was stuffed with sliced polish ham, shredded turkey, bacon, melted cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and chipotle mayo. J said the sandwich was really good. She may not like beer as much as I do, but she enjoys going to breweries with me because so many of them such fantastic food. Frankenmuth Brewery is no exception. Her sandwich also came with steak fries and she shared a few of them with L after the Go-Gurt ran out.
Our bill was just under $30 and I made sure to give our waiter a pretty good tip. He was fantastic had L really liked him. It’s not very often that someone goes out of their way at a restaurant to bring her something and she smiled every time he came by.
Frankenmuth Brewery was a great start to our first family vacation. The place has something for everyone. It’s got great beer for the adults and incredible food for all ages. Even though their focus is great beer, they’re still a family friendly restaurant in a family friendly tourist town.
Batch 69 IPA
Build-Your-Own-Burger w/Bleu Cheese and Bacon served w/Steak Fries
Brew Crew Club Sandwich
SW Michigan Dining 