A basic rule of life is that beer is always better when it's served in large quantities. It's even better when it is served in large quantities at inexpensive prices. This sounds like a bit of an anomaly, but two local breweries have you covered on consecutive nights, every single week. Both New Holland Brewing and Brewery Vivant offer stein nights where customers bring their own drinking vessel (as big as they want, but both places have certain restrictions) and the barkeep fills them for a nominal price.

Traverse City is now home to a handful of microbreweries, and the beer scene in our upstate is starting to grow. One of the forerunners of the movement is Right Brain, led by Owner Russell Springsteen.

HopCat is known for many things. It may be the relaxed outdoor patio, expansive bottle list, top-notch beer dinners, the 49 taps or the bar's recognition as the third best beer bar in the world by BeerAdvocate. One aspect that's somewhat overlooked however, is its beers.

In a street mall that intersects Michigan Avenue, there are browsing customers and colorful storefronts. Toward the end of the mall lies Central City Tap House with its sun-bathed outdoor patio and split dining room and pub sections inside.