ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
Within walking distance of University of Michigan football stadium, the spacious, arched high-ceilinged LEOPOLD BROTHERS not only brewed on-site, but also distilled gin and vodka, August ’04. The sports bar atmosphere included pool tables, several televisions, cafeteria style dining tables, and outdoor patios. Unfortunately, Leopold closed down in 2010.
Small beer selection offered decent fare such as sour fruited staple Red Lager, wheat-sugary hop-spiced Golden Lager, floral-hopped wheat-soured Pilsner, metallic banana nut-clove-allspice-induced lemon-tart Hefeweizen, and muddled nut-roasted wood-burnt orange-tart Porter (with oak-dried grape-cherry tannins). But the brewery-distillery closed by 2007.
Leopold Brothers has been closed for a few years. The reviewer must have confused their beer with someone else’s, as they disdained the banana clove taste and produced poor Hefeweizen. The old Ann Arbor saying was, Arbor Brewing had the best beer, Grizzly Peak the best food, and Leopold’s the best space. I would personally rate Grizzly Peak higher on beer in some cases, particularly the Hefe and Oktoberfest and any of their lagers . While Leopold’s were open, I seldom joined the chorus of “your beer sucks” that so many sang. However, now that they’ve gone, there is no point in being charitable. Their beer sucked. The building was great. They could have sold to another brewpub that would have done a better job, but they snuck out of town instead. Good Riddance.