Inside Cass Corridor’s New Beer Bar Pouring Czech-Style Beer Shots and Boilermakers #DetroitFood

Meantime’s team serves a Czech-style flagship beer brewed in collaboration with Florian East in Hamtramck.

Meantime opens Friday, May 23, carrying on the beer-loving tradition of its predecessor in a revamped space

8 Degrees Plato, a beer bar that served as an epicenter for craft beer for 14 years since its beginnings as a small shop in Ferndale, closed in December 2024. The space, often described by regulars as the neighborhood’s living room, has been taken over by hospitality veterans Erik Annonson, Elliot Hoffman, and partner Brittney Carnahan. Their new bar, Meantime, embraces the idea of an undefined stretch of time — a place where patrons can stop in for one drink or stay for several. After two weekends of lowkey service, Meantime is set to officially debut on Friday, May 23.

Erik Annonson, Brittney Carnahan, and Elliot Hoffman are the founders of Meantime in Cass Corridor.

The team has reimagined the 2,400-square-foot space and added their touches, complementing design work by local designer Danny Jacobs. Materials from the bar’s previous life, including former baker’s racks and wood from old bleachers once used as beer shelving at 8 Degrees Plato, have been repurposed as drink rails. Communal seating has been updated in favor of a couch and individual chairs. The original beer cooler remains, offering a selection of local packaged brews, classics like Coors Banquet, wine, cider, and a variety of nonalcoholic options. As temperatures rise, the large front windows will lift open, blurring the line between indoor and patio seating.

A mlíko shot — a Czech-style pour that fills the glass with dense foam and just a bit of lager.

Co-owner Brittney Carnahan cast these custom shot glasses at Pewabic for Meantime.

A foamy mlíko shot is poured from the side pull tap into a glass.

The trio initially planned to open Side Pull Brewery, but when the 8 Degrees space became available, they shifted gears, installing two side pull faucets in tribute to the original concept. This faucet, commonly used for Czech pilsners, controls the beer’s flow to create a creamy head, a traditional way to serve and enjoy the style.

They’ve partnered with Hamtramck-based Florian East Lagers & Ales to brew a Czech-style lager that will serve as Meantime’s house beer — a recipe originally intended to be the flagship at Side Pull. The beer can be enjoyed on its own, with a shot of Old Grand-Dad in the custom shot glasses Brittney Carnahan casts at Pewabic Pottery, or as a mlíko shot — a Czech-style pour that fills the glass with dense foam and just a bit of lager. The creamy, sweet shot, which resembles milk, is traditionally consumed in one go to capture the beer’s aromatic head before it settles.

While Meantime doesn’t serve food, it will regularly host rotating pop-ups. Opening weekend features offerings from Bao Chicka Bao Bao and Gajiza Dumplins. Guests are also welcome to bring in outside food.

Guests can also become a “pal,” which is the beer bar’s version of a mug club membership, for $80 a year. Perks include discounts on the house lager and house lager-and-shot combo, 15 percent off all drafts, in-house wine, and cocktails, 25 percent off on Mondays, 10 percent off merchandise, and access to three annual member parties.

Remnants of the former 8 Degrees Plato are still found throughout the space at Meantime.

Meantime features a side pull-style tap for Czech pilsner.

Meantime is located at 3409 Cass Avenue in Detroit; open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday, and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday.

from Eater Detroit - All