This fall, the windows of Greenbush Brewing Co. in Sawyer were covered in notes from customers. A Herald-Palladium photographer captured the messages on the closed building. The brewery shut its doors in April after almost 15 years. Over that time it had grown into an annex across the street and, in 2016, took over Fitzgerald's next door.
Two newer breweries opened during the 2025 off-season and now split the week. Add their Bridgman neighbors, and the posted hours leave no night from Monday to Sunday without a pour somewhere between Union Pier and Lake Street.
Mangata opened as the summer crowds left
Mangata Beer Co. soft-opened at 15936 Red Arrow Highway in Union Pier the first weekend of October 2025. That timing points the place at people who stay through winter. Manager Amanda Raba told Harbor Country News that the building had sat abandoned for years. Owner Chris Betts and his father rebuilt it from the bottom up. The countertops are recycled glass and resin, and the taps come out of a working vintage refrigerator.
The name is a Swedish word for the moon's reflection on the water, the glow that looks like a road leading to the moon. Betts also owns and brews for Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman. Raba said Mangata lets him return to more traditional styles, like lighter beers, Belgians, pilsners and English ales. The February list included Moonshadow, a dark lager; Rhythmic, a pilsner; Union Bier, an English pale ale; and Northerly, a brown ale.
The hours tell the bigger story. During Mangata's first winter, Harbor Country News listed it as open three days a week: Friday 2 to 7 p.m., Saturday noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7 p.m. The paper noted the hours were expected to expand for spring and summer. Mangata's website now lists five days. It's open Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7 p.m., and no seasonal cutback is posted. If those hours hold, this winter in Union Pier will look different from last winter.
You can bring your own food. Raba said many guests pick up something from Roadhouse or Union Pier Social first. She said food trucks and pop-ups are more of a spring and summer thing.
Fulcra covers the two nights the others are closed
Mangata and Transient both close Monday and Tuesday. Fulcra Brewing Company at 13400 Red Arrow Highway in Sawyer fills that gap. Co-founders Noah Hopkins and Ty Webb opened it in mid-July 2025. Dunes Diva described it as a small, bungalow-style brewery and taproom built around balanced beers.
Fulcra's schedule, posted on its site in September 2026, runs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m. It closes Wednesday. Wednesday is the one night both Mangata and Transient are open. Each brewery's day off lands on a night the others cover.
Fulcra is also the only taproom in Sawyer itself while Greenbush is closed. Its Monday and Tuesday evenings run until 9 p.m., later than anything else on this list on those nights.
The week, night by night
Here's what the posted hours add up to for the last days of October and into November. Every schedule below is the business's current posted schedule. Winter changes usually show up on each business's own site first.
- Monday: Fulcra in Sawyer, 3 to 9 p.m.
- Tuesday: Fulcra in Sawyer, 3 to 9 p.m.
- Wednesday: Mangata in Union Pier, 4 to 8 p.m., and Transient in Bridgman, 4 to 8 p.m., with $2 off in-house can pours. Fulcra is closed.
- Thursday: All three. Fulcra 3 to 9 p.m., Mangata 4 to 8 p.m., Transient 4 to 8 p.m.
- Friday: Transient opens first at noon. Mangata opens at 2 p.m. and Fulcra at 3 p.m. Mangata closes at 8 p.m., and Fulcra and Transient run to 9 p.m.
- Saturday: Noon to 9 p.m. at all three.
- Sunday: Mangata and Transient noon to 7 p.m., and Fulcra 1 to 8 p.m.
Thursday is the only weeknight with all three open. Monday and Tuesday depend on a single taproom. And the brewery that once anchored the Sawyer end of the corridor isn't on the list at all.
Bridgman holds the north end
Transient Artisan Ales at 4229 Lake Street is the Bridgman half of Betts's operation. Mangata's beers are brewed there too, and the Union Pier taproom pours them. Transient's contact page, updated September 14, 2026, lists Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 7 p.m. It's closed Monday and Tuesday.
A few addresses down, Lake Time Brewing and Spirits now operates at 4236 Lake Street, the former Tapistry Brewing space. According to Harbor Country News, the space is a restaurant, bar and production facility. Owner Mike Carlson kept a few Tapistry beers, including Reaktor and Northern Trippin, and planned a "gym shoe" open-face sandwich with gyro, Italian beef and Reuben. The Bridgman City Council approved Lake Time's Social District permit request and recommended that the Michigan Liquor Control Commission add it to the city's downtown Social District. A Social District is a common area where licensed businesses can sell drinks in designated containers to carry within it. The taproom also has an outdoor event space in back. Lake Time's current hours aren't in the coverage, so check before you go.
Greenbush's comeback is built for these same months
The Greenbush reopening plan is aimed at the same slow season Fulcra and Mangata opened into. Harbor Country News and the Herald-Palladium both reported on a Facebook post from the brewery. In it, original co-owner Justin Heckathorn and his family said they had stepped in to reopen the brewery. The summer's interior and exterior work was personally funded sweat equity, done with help from family and friend volunteers.
The post said a new Mug Club with an annual renewal fee was needed "to help support the business in the slower, down-season months." The Herald-Palladium reported pledge tiers with buy-ins from $100 to $2,500 and annual fees from $100 to $250. Benefits include discounts and event access, plus special brewing opportunities at the top tier. Current members keep their memberships through the end of 2026, and a pledge holds a member's existing mug number. No money is collected until Greenbush officially reopens.
The target was October. The Berrien County Health Department had a pre-opening food-license inspection scheduled for October 5, 2026. The owners wrote that they were "pushing in every direction for a Greenbush re-open in October of 2026." With the month almost over, Greenbush's homepage still read "Currently closed – reopening fall of 2026" as of mid-October. No reopening date or hours had been posted. Until that banner changes, Sawyer's Monday pint is at Fulcra.
If Greenbush reopens this fall, it joins a corridor that already pours seven nights a week. Its membership program is designed to bring people back through the same winter months Fulcra and Mangata have spent the past year building their regulars in.
Heidi Picard keeps close track of the Sawyer-to-Bridgman stretch of Red Arrow Highway all year, well past the summer season. If this corridor is part of your week and you're wondering what your place nearby is worth this season, Heidi Picard Properties offers a Free Home Valuation & Consultation.
