A New Beer Thread

I'm sure there will be some organized crawls to show off Beer City. But I would say must-visits in the GR include Founders (duh), Hop Cat (crack fries), Vivant and Perrin. Both Rockford and Mitten Brewing were pretty good in our lone visit, too. The Hideout is generally a solid stop (tough to find), especially if you're a stout fan (always seem to have several on tap, with their Smuggler's Hazelnut Stout being the flagship).

If you're looking for a great breakfast spot before hitting Vivant, check out Marie Catrib's. Marie (who recently passed away) had a place in Houghton for years before relocating in Grand Rapids.

We've been to most of those places multiple times so let me know if you'd like any further recommendations.

 

Awww snap! You dropped a Marie reference on a Yooper?! Awesome! (and Screw Tech! Go Cats! haha)

Thanks for the places to check out. For all my travels and living all over the state, I never hit up GR much.

 

Been sampling some of the various session IPAs of late ... my favorite is Schafly's. I really like some of Stone's regular offerings and am a big fan of their Enjoy By, but their session IPA is garbage. It's almost like they put some sort of artificial hop flavoring in there to make up for the lack of alcohol. Tastes unnatural.

 

The Livery in Benton Harbor has some absolutely amazing world-class stuff as well -- it just means you have to visit Benton Harbor.

 

Ohio just enacted a new law that stores can offer free beer samples! A local store here in Toledo (The Anderson's) does beer tastings on Saturdays during the summer and charges a $0.25 per sample...they won't have to after July 10!

I like this, and I hope stores take advantage of it. I think sampling before buying will really help make beers better. If I know a certain IPA sucks, I ain't going to buy it. Before it was always a crapshoot.

 

Anderson's is always a fun stop when I head south. Great store.

Marino's has a decent selection as well but take heed as some sit on shelves for a while.

 

Really like Steel Toe offerings in MSP.

Rainmaker and Size Seven specifically.

http://www.steeltoebrewing.com/

 

Marino's and Joesph's are both a drive for me (I live in Perrysburg) so I stick to The Anderson's in Maumee and Cork's right down the road from me. Also, Churchill's Market has gotten a lot better.

 

When Steve Berthel was part owner/brewer they did some amazing barrel-aged sours at The Livery. I'm hopeful they can continue putting out the world-class stuff without him (and his former right-hand man, who also left a while after Steve).

In that same general area, Greenbush (in Sawyer) is a bit hit-and-miss but when they hit it's out of the park. Tapistry (Bridgman) isn't nearly as flashy but has been producing solid stuff since they've opened.

 

Supposed to be sampling some Size 4 this weekend. Can't wait.

 

If you are going to be at the ST taproom Saturday, very solid food truck will be there:

http://andrewzimmernscanteen.com/

 

Sounds awesome but I'll be in CT...buddy from MSP is bringing that one, along with some great Surly stuff. I've been begging him to bring a Bourbon One or a Two from his killer cellar - we shall see.