Dead Bear Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Grayling

Mediocre with a lot of potential.

Beer - interesting and rather short selection of their own, with twice as many guest taps. They're good at what they do make, but have a rather short offer for a brewery. Another Michigan made guest tap was a steep $10 a glass, and they charge for half-ounce samples, even if you decide to buy a full glass of something you sampled. Prices aren't posted either, so when the bill comes, you'll know what you're paying then, and you'll realize you paid for samples, too.

Food - pretty good but pricey, and another nickle & dime game like their beer. Burgers are $13 ish, and don't include fries. Steep for what it is, and all-in $14 when it's served like it should be. Taste and quality was great, just felt like the value wasn't there at those prices.

Service - abrupt (not fast, just rude) and uninformed. Most staff didn't know answers to basic product questions, and weren't really willing to find out. We inquired on basic questions about their own brews, and were met with "I'm not sure..." a few times, and not "I'm not sure, let me check". Also, we asked if there was more of some of their swag available, as there was only one out on display. After hearing "I'm not sure, I'm not tall enough to see the top shelf" I had to ask someone else. Note, there were 4 tables at the time, and many others open. Lastly, on two separate occasions, random servers kept trying to take our plates, while we were visibly still eating, with food on the plates.

Atmosphere - nice looking and decent vibe. Might be smarter to seat large families with extremely loud crying kids a little farther in the back (and not near the bar area) but that's probably a rookie staff error. Nice decor, smelled good, woodwork is nice. Has a warm welcoming appearance.

Pricing - seems like they're struggling right here. Their own beer offer is limited / short and unique, and unable to serve a more general craft brewery crowd. As a result, they have twice as many guest taps to fill in, and prices are really steep, seemingly to compensate. Food pricing was steep for what it was as well, mentioned above. Swag was decently priced, but they were out of nearly everything.

Overall - a lot of potential, they would be well-served by tighter management, some product marketing help, and realistic and more up-front pricing. We'll give it a try again in a year or so,...

I only gave this a 1 star because of the way the management handled our questions on the bill. We ordered an appetizer, 2 burgers and 3 (alcoholic) drinks, and our bill before the tip $96.76 we were shocked that my 1 drink was $24 and the other 2 were $24 ridiculous. We knew what the prices were for the food to a point as for the drinks I didn't see any thing I wanted so I asked if I could have a Bacardi and coke double, and the waitress/server asked if I would like to have regular Bacardi or Bacardi 151, I hadn't had 151 for years so I ordered that and my friend ordered a Tiro's double w/ soda. The food and drinks came out in a timely fashion. The service, food, and drinks were great. I wasn't a fan of the small glasses used for our drinks, but I was surprised how my drink tasted so perfectly balanced with the size of the glass used. We finished our driner and asked for the bill. When we looked over the bill, we were shocked, so we questioned the prices on the drinks. Our server couldn't answer our questions, so she was kind enough to express our concerns and ask a manager about the charges. She came back and explained that my Bacardi 151 was a top shelf beverage. We expressed our concern that we should have been told that the 1 drink would cost $24 (our 2 burgers were less than that one drink). She apologized, and we knew it wasn't her fault entirely since she was newer to serving alcohol but the manager should have come over to the table to talk with us since she was new to possibly hear our concerns. It just would have been the right thing to do. Especially after we said we wouldn't come back. The restaurant is in a small town, and I was with a local, so why wouldn't the management at least try to make an effort. It's not that I wanted anything off the bill it was more that our concerns weren't heard. Those concerns being the newer server not knowingly offering a patron a $24 drink, I take responsibility for ordering off the drink menu, but damn never would I have thought any double shot and soda would have been more...

Wonderful food - even better people! We were traveling back home to the Metro Detroit area from a camping trip in Gaylord, and we stopped here for dinner. We all had some delicious food, no complaints, wonderful service.

Unfortunately, I, being the scatterbrain that I am, left behind my wallet (full of very important things) under the patio table. In the confusion of heading home, I was wracking my brain to remember where I left it - Camper? Car? Luggage?

Finally, I remembered thinking the words, "don't leave it there [on the platform under the table]." And, immediately, it dawned on me.

I called the restaurant, they asked me to describe it, and confirmed that I did indeed leave it there. And, since I couldn't very feasibly drive all the way back up to Grayling from Macomb County, they offered to mail it out to me. Based on when it arrived, they must have done so very quickly - and on their own dime!

I can't tell all of you who were involved how grateful I am for your selflessness and expedience, not to mention your honor - nothing is missing, not even the cash. So I thought at least a review would be something (not typical for me). They earned five stars even without the wallet story, but I thought I'd let everyone know just what kind of people...