My visit was on a Saturday night and I was shocked at the size of the crowd. It was a pleasant atmosphere, with the brewpub’s large overhead doors open, and the sizeable crowd being treated to the music of local band Exit 41. (Watervliet’s exit number on I-94 is 41). The brewery & brewpub are housed in a former auto dealership, with the brewing equipment can be seen by patrons through large glass windows behind the bar.
At the time of my visit, there were 7 beers on tap, including the wonderfully hoppy Citrapolis DIPA, their Black Mere Stout on the nitro tap, and When Worlds Collide IPA, run through the brewery’s Randall with cascade hops. I also tried the Orange Shandy, which is made by combining the Ventura Blonde Ale with their homemade orange soda. Not usually a shandy drinker, I was surprised at how delicious this one was.
Arclight’s head brewer, Edward Nash, was kind enough to show us around his facility. As if the beer being produced right now by this up-and-comer wasn’t impressive enough, there is barrel-aged goodness on the way, too. Nash, an award-winning homebrewer before taking the reigns at Arclight, is certainly in touch with what appeals to Michigan’s sophisticated palate.
The question I was left with, which I typed in on one of my Untapped check-ins for the evening- “How is a brewery open less than a month doing such epic beers?” For Michigan beer drinkers, the exciting answer is that there is still more to come from Arclight.
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Enjoy the atmosphere Enjoy the atmosphere
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Great area Great area
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Future Beer Future Beer
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More Future Beer More Future Beer
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Where the magic happens Where the magic happens
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Epic Epic
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Beautiful Beautiful
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Brewing Area Brewing Area
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Brewing Area Brewing Area
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Huge crowd Huge crowd
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Enjoy a Beer Enjoy a Beer
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Flights Flights
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Growler Growler
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Checking out Future Beers Checking out Future Beers
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Enjoy the outside area Enjoy the outside area