51st State Brewing Company — Restaurant in Kingsford

You know, it really takes a lot for me to leave a bad review, but in this case I feel only a public negative review can bring to the attention of ownership that there are some serious management problems here. Before I go into it - our server was fantastic and as usual, the pizza was tasty. No points off for either of those. We arrived prior to 8PM and ordered two pizzas and drinks. The restaurant closes at 9PM. At 8:30 on the dot, we asked for another pizza to take home. We were informed the kitchen is closed. Our amazing server actually went inside and tried to ask for the kitchen to reconsider - we could see her through the window from the patio. She came out and very apologetically informed us that the kitchen was, in fact, closed - this isn't disclosed ANYWHERE. For the record, that pizza oven is SO HOT for SO LONG that "the oven is cold" was almost offensive. Lol. Anyway... we were still interested in another drink, so we ordered. Again, she has to go inside and ask if it's okay to serve us because "it might be last call... the time changes all the time." Listen, if you hate running a restaurant, I get it - hire somebody who doesn't and your problem is solved. But to leave well over $100+ on the table (others on the patio were frustrated about this too), aggressively put chairs up and altogether close the restaurant before 9PM, and then rudely get people off of your patio and out the door... while two arrogant dudes (manager being one of them) standing in the dining room waiting for guests to walk out the door? You're the problem. I've been running restaurants of all levels for a decade - gastropub to fine dining. If you want to close at 8:30, close at 8:30 - do not punish your guests for your own poor management and utter lack of desire to run this establishment. Disappointing and a testament to how a dirth of options lets standards slip this low and still stay in biz. Best of luck and here's to hiring...

If Washington where to consider the Upper Peninsula as it’s 51st state again. I think all that 51st State Brewing Company would have to do is present a flight of beer and the pulled pork pizza to the council members making that decision.

Within their first bite they would detect that 51st Brewing Co. Has better pizza than 80% of Chicago, 90% of New York and 100% of California. There’s something about this place that makes it a no brainer for a sunny day. If only you could smoke outside and throw beers off the balcony. But we are civilized! And after all we are trying to have another state here.

The beer here knocks most Denver Micro brews out of the park. In the sense of, each beer/cider is does respectively what it needs to. Get drank. The beer menu is short and to the point. The way I like most government interference.

Iron Mountain and Kingsford have this common theme where the smaller the dining venue the better the food. I rarely sit inside. But when I do I’m welcomed by an oven pizza experience and friendly staff.

Outside is truly where you want to be. It’s perfect for all beer drinkers and pizza enthusiasts. The margarita Pizza is delicate and packs potent flavors. As a personal preference protein junkie I recommend you add chicken.

If you are highly protein conscious then go for the pulled pork. But let’s be honest you’re here for a cheat day. So make it worth your while. Drink all the beer and eat all the pizza. Make sure you have a designated elastic set of pants for the day. Oh and a designated driver.

At the end of the day any council member would be surprised as to how flavorful this place is. I would trust 51st State Brewing Co. To help the Upper Peninsula become a new state. They make it an easy sell. Present Washington your best and bada bing bada boom we have...

When I drove up, I was immediately impressed. The building is modern yet cozy. It has an outside patio complete with umbrellas, which is where I sat.

First, the great! The ambiance is great! I loved sitting outside. The beer was very good.

Now the areas for improvement. First, they had a food menu, but I had to go inside for the QR code for the beer menu. Not a huge problem, but maybe add the code to the food menu? Next, I had the margarita pizza. Taste-wise, it was very good! The marinara was tasty, however, there was about 6 tomato slides on my pizza and about 9 pieces of basil (see my picture). It could have been loaded up a little more. Also, while the crust was fully of delicious butter and garlic, the middle of the pizza was soggy, and not crispy at all.

While the beer I had was beet good, I wish there was more for descriptions. It says how much alcohol is in the beer, and the type of beer, but there was not anything to determine what was different from one wheat beer to another. I checked inside on the board of beers, and did not see any there either.

The final area I’d like to mention cautiously was my service. I was seated immediately but very rarely returned to. I asked for another beer and had a question, but before I could ask it, the server ran inside, seated multiple tables and brought me the same one. I was hoping to try another. It happens. People are busy. With that being said, there was another server in the area who was SUPER attentive to their tables every needs, and even brought some extras to a table to help accommodate some little kids needs!

Overall, good experience. I would like to come back...