Michigan Residents Can Now Pour Their Own Beer at the Bar
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Nightclub & Bar Media Group)
If you’ve always wanted to walk up to a bar and pour your own draft beer, that dream is now a reality. In Michigan, a new bill has passed, allowing Michiganders to pour their own beers, wines and pre-mixed cocktails.
The bill that made the change is Senate Bill 656, which passed earlier this week and amends the Michigan Liquor Control Code of 1998 to let tabletop and wall-mounted taps to be installed.
“Michigan has one of the largest craft beer industries in the country and this bill will improve safety for Michigan consumers and our hospitality industry,” Senator Jim Runestad, who put together the legislation, said in a statement. “Michigan can now join 45 other states that currently allow self-dispensing technology as an option for busy establishments. The technology adds additional safety measures to limit and track the amount each individual consumes and reduces the touches on each individual glass.”
As for how other states handle this, self-serve alcohol is usually handled via a card system. Customers give the waitstaff, bartender or host a credit card when they get there, and they get a self-serve card. This card keeps a record of how many ounces you have poured. Then, when you leave the bar, you give back your self-serve card, and they charge your credit card on file. As someone who worked at a bar in college, I can’t imagine having the customers do this on their own. It certainly would have cut into my tips. I’m not sure how I feel about this, since many waitstaff depend on alcohol sales to make good tips, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t. Hopefully it doesn’t take away from the earnings for hard-working waitstaff.
Things we love about Michigan in the summer:
20 Best Michigan Ice Cream Shops
It’s spring, and today it actually feels like it across much of Michigan. Of course, this is Michigan, which means at any given moment we could be graced with snow and ice, even mid-spring. But, right now, warm weather and ice cream are on the mind.
I simply love ice cream. It’s probably my favorite food. The more chocolaty and decadent and cookie dough-laced, the better. Here in Michigan, we have an array of incredible ice cream shops, some that are open seasonally and others year-round. There’s lots of ice cream to go around, whether you prefer soft-serve (not for me) or regular.
Pure Michigan has put together a list of the best ice cream shops in Michigan. If anybody knows their Mitten ice cream, it’s Pure Michigan, since they handle all the touristy stuff around the state. Read on for the full list. The Pure Michigan crew was able to hit most areas of the state, including the U.P, so there are a broad range of ice cream shops on the list. I actually hope to hit all of them at some point, but that might be too unrealistic a goal!
I actually added my own picks to make this list 20, since some of the Pure Michigan picks have sadly closed. My main pick was the MSU Dairy Store on the campus of Michigan State University. If you’re ever in East Lansing, it’s really something you have to experience. They make all of their own ice cream, and since MSU is an agricultural college, you know it’s some of the best-tasting stuff around. I also included Quality Dairy, which is known for its fantastic ice cream around mid-Michigan. If you have a favorite ice cream spot that was left out, reach out to me on social media and let me know.
Anne Erickson started her radio career shortly after graduating from Michigan State University and has worked on-air in Detroit, Flint, Toledo, Lansing and beyond. As someone who absolutely loves rock, metal and alt music, she instantly fell in love with radio and hasn’t looked back. When she’s not working, Anne makes her own music with her band, Upon Wings, and she also loves cheering on her favorite Detroit and Michigan sports teams, especially Lions and MSU football. Anne is also an award-winning journalist, and her byline has run in a variety of national publications. You can also hear her weekends on WRIF.
