Heights Brewing Downtown Farmington is bringing beer and barbecue to a whole new height!! (And many gluten free too!!!)

Heights Brewing is a newer brewery in Farmington, MI. It is known for a great selection of thirst quenching, quality brews, but also has a gluten-free menu like you have never seen a restaurant care about gluten, including the beer!! Beer, you had me at hello! - Dan.

This is a five sample flight chosen from my love for IPA’s (you are able to choose how many you actually want and they have a large variety). Starting with the DuPont Saison (this was the hardest beer to actually describe even for someone who is known to pepper the adjectives around like a condiment). This is a 5.6% Belgian Saison, with an interesting full-flavor profile that was really hard to describe. It hit many notes. Not citrusy but fresh, light-medium bodied, floral? Not really, but slightly with a mild malty feel. Very drinkable. I challenge you to try it and shoot me some tasting notes. I could drink a full 20 oz glass of this. I could not help describe it, but I sure could drink it. It was a little of everything all meshed together - Dan.

The next sample was the Juicyton, which is a 5.6% Hazy IPA. This beer was fresh, crisp, citrusy, riddled with tropical hops and a slight fruity (but not sweet) finish. This is the answer to a hot summer day. Definitely a deck beer or with a game of cornhole next to a lake on a hot summer day. A hazy for a lazy day.

The next summer thirst quencher was the LemonHello, which is a 7.6% Shandy. This beer is lightly tart and crispy, hits you with a strong but subtle hint of Lemon with maybe a slight vanilla-coating on the lemon notes for the finish. This beer would be great on a boat on a hot day. It’s against my religion to mix beer and fruit - Dan.

The fourth, and certainly not in order of preference, is the gluten free Unchained IPA, which is a 5.9% west coast IPA. This is fresh, lightly floral in a good way, with a refreshing clean finish. This IPA could be a crossover for people who don’t really love the bitter hoppy flavor. It is hoppy in all the right places without being bitey. The opposite of an annoying Chihuahua - Dan.

The last beer which rounded out the flight was the Little Explorer Stout, which is a 5.3% coffee stout. The beer had the perfect amount of coffee flavor without overdoing it. It is smooth without being heavy, but has a nice creamy light-bodied weight to it. Coffee and beer is the best combination since Batman and Robin - Dan. The coffee used to make this beer is from Ground Control Coffee Roasters in Downtown Farmington (this happens to be my favorite coffee spot in town - with other great options too, we will do a review of the numerous coffee spots in Downtown Farmington coming soon…).

For those of you who prefer a light beer, try the American Standard, which is a 4.9% light standard beer with a cloudy yellow appearance. It has notes that make a standard light beer stand taller than the rest. It had a hint of crisp on the finish. It is a good solid light beer if you like to eat and drink and not feel full.

All in all, the variety of great beer would make it difficult to choose just one for a tall. In their first years, they are knocking it out of the park with the quality and variety of their beer. What she said. She could not be more on target than William Tell - Dan.

The menu of food consists of a variety of methods to hold BBQ meats. When ordering food, you first chose from a BBQ Bowl, Tacos, Mac & Cheese, BBQ Cheese Fries, Nachos, or Sliders. Then you chose your meat from a selection of Pork Belly, Brisket, Shredded Chicken Thighs, Pulled Pork, or Portabella Mushroom. Then you can top it off with one of the sauces from the original (which is sweet and tangy), or the tangy (just how it sounds), hot (which is a medium hot without being too hot but left your mouth with a little warmth). For those that like a burn-they have a super hot. They also make a fry sauce, which is their version of homemade ketchup with a hint of Worcestershire flavor (and maybe other things - I’m guessing on the recipe). On weekends they also do ribs. We decided to order the brisket sliders with fries, shredded chicken tacos, ribs with coleslaw and cornbread, and a mac & cheese without a protein. Game on…Dan.

Pictured above, the beef brisket sliders and fries. The sliders were a generous size, more the size of a hamburger than a slider. The beef brisket was tender and juicy topped with a creamy coleslaw, on a soft fresh but firm bun. Every bite was juicy and hearty. The fries were some of the best if you like thin crispy, perfectly salted fries. The brisket would be good in any of the forms that you decided to order. These did not need any sauce, but feel free if that is your thing. If you don’t like beer and bbq, you need your head examined - Dan.

Next we ordered the tacos, We decided to put the shredded chicken thigh on the tacos and they came topped with creamy coleslaw served between two fresh tortillas. The chicken was tender and the coleslaw is a good standard coleslaw that wasn’t overly creamy, peppery, or vinegary. It had a nice balance and served as nice side show. But not as cool as the bearded lady - Dan. The tacos were better with the hot bbq sauce. They needed that tang and warmth to take them up a notch.

We ordered the Mac & Cheese without a protein. I would recommend adding a protein. The noodles were slightly al dente and not mushy. The white sauce was creamier than the pictures looks. This would be really good with a drizzle of sauce (I dipped my noodles in a puddle of sauce and it was a great union) and any protein. Well, maybe not peanut butter - Dan.

Next pictured is the cornbread. We would like to show you the ribs, but when they hit the table this time the camera did not eat first. There were only bones as evidence that they actually had occupied space on our table. Just like when wolves surround their kill and leave only the bones to show for it - Dan. The ribs were tender, fall off the bone, and did not actually require sauce. However, the sauces were good and I found myself dragging bits of ribs through both the original and the hot for a sweet, tangy, warm taste.

Now lets talk about that little piece of corn bread. I only sometimes like cornbread. I have a tendency to skip bread for other more desirable items. I don’t like to waste calories on unflavorful food. But I do, I put Mikey to shame - Dan. After I was already feeling full, I dug my fork into the side of the cornbread to try a bite. It was soft, creamy, sweet, and so good that my fork kept going back for more until that little muffin was gone. Don’t tell anyone I actually ate the bread. This I would definitely order and then make a point to save room to eat the whole thing. (Note to the chef, if you add jalapeños to the cornbread, I just might develop a serious addiction.)

The beer, food, and the atmosphere were top notch. Sitting at the bar, we met some friendly local regulars, and then the owners. We were made to feel welcome and at home. Based on their dream, and only open for a year, this brewery seemed like the owners have been in the brewery business their whole lives. This is a must visit!!

We hope we inspired your tastebuds and your spirit of adventure. Metro-Detroit has a lot of great restaurant options and deserves the attention and patronage. We try to visit and bring to your our favorite places and dishes. The restaurant industry is a hard industry and we hope to encourage and support worthy establishments. Please subscribe to our website and follow us on social media for our next adventure. dEATtroit Eats, we have not been everywhere, but it is on our list.

Coming next…small business shout outs!