Inside: Atwater Brewery in Detroit

(Credit: Ese Esan/Metromix)

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Status: Don’t expect your average bar when you head to Atwater Brewery.

The Rivertown venue, which opened in 1997, ditched its customary bar and restaurant feel two years ago when owner Mark Rieth closed the restaurant to focus on brewing beer.
 
“We allow people to come inside our production facility,” says Atwater beer representative Matt Cebula. “It’s a social experience. It’s kind of what beer is all about. People can come in, grab a beer and see what’s going on.”

Tanks doubling the beer capacity were installed at the Detroit brewery last week, and talks of a new tap room are in the works, though a date and solid location have not been set.

Cebula says with the new focus, the Jos Campau venue will drop the Block from its name and be branded as Atwater Brewery.

This isn’t the only time Atwater has undergone some name changes. In 2001, it was sold to Stoney Creek Brewery and Restaurant before Rieth took over and reopened Atwater in 2005.

Gear: This place is about as casual as they come. But keep in mind that the warehouse-style space can get a bit cold in the winter despite the heaters.

Mood: Customers savor Atwater beer as they sit in a small bar area or walk the concrete floors of the 15,000-square-foot facility. Amidst the pallets of bottles, barrels and massive stainless steel equipment in the brewery space, one flat-screen television and the beer taps are some of the only clues that Atwater also functions as a bar.

“It feels like it’s illegal -- being in a warehouse,” 38-year-old Corey Smith of Livonia said Friday as he sipped an Atwater Conniption Fit Double Indian Pale Ale with 25-year-old Eduardo Coronado of Hazel Park.

Though Smith had never been to Atwater before Friday, he said he has had the beer on several occasions. “It’s very good beer.”

Pick me up: Atwater brews more than 16,000 barrels of beer and year and makes more than 20 different flavors ranging from seasonal to single batch. Most are German Pilsners.

“We’d love to make German beer all day long, but you have to make beer to sell to all people,” Cebula says.  

You can find the locally-made brews at many grocery stores around metro Detroit as well as in nine other states around the country.

There is no kitchen, but guests can bring outside food into Atwater.

“The whole experience back here is meant to be casual,” Cebula says. “It’s beer. It’s meant to be a fun experience.”

Entertainment: Atwater is open to the public from 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Special events will be held there occasionally, and brewery tours are available.