Bier Distillery is set to open August 18th, 2016 according to social media. As far as I can tell this will just be spirits and not beer. Located at 5295 WEST RIVER DR. NE, STE 100, COMSTOCK PARK, MI 4932 get ready for some liquor!
Creston Brewery Opening
Creston Breweries grand opening is set for August 10th, 2016! The hours will be 11:00am-Midnight every day of the week.
On opening day there will be 11 different beers on tap. Creston Brewery will offer live music and food including gluten free and vegan options.
Checkout Mlives video report pre-grand opening
Muskegon Breweries Tour
We visited Muskegon, MI recently on a sunny summer afternoon to hit up the beach and try their local breweries (Unruly and Pigeon Hill). The beach was free, clean and not too busy for a Friday afternoon though the wind blowing off Lake Michigan was chilly.
After a few hours in the sun nothing sounds better than locally brewed beer so we hopped in the car and drove downtown to find Pigeon Hill Brewing. It was easy to find and the outdoor seating had a few patrons enjoying the sun. Inside Pigeon Hill there was plenty of table seating and some open seats at the bar which we promptly utilized. They had a nice selection of beers so we bought a sample flight that cost about $13. The Walter Gets Buzzed was a great coffee tasting beer that we got a howler filled with so you know it was good!
Next we walked a few blocks to find Unruly Brewing and try their beers. They too had an outdoor seating area and upon entering the building I was impressed by the size and open format. Inside the same space there is a coffee place and a pizza joint so you have all your vices covered under one roof! Unruly had some interesting beer names but I had a hard time finding descriptions of the beers beyond what was written on the chalk board. Nevertheless I ordered a flight and found that their beers are tasty too. At only $8 for 4 samples it’s a good deal and should help you find your favorite Unruly brew!
Muskegon might only have two breweries but they are good ones and if you want a nice day of sun, waves and beer a trip to the west coast and Muskegon should satisfy.
GreyLine Brewing Co opens April 26th
Greyline Brewing opened today April 26th at Noon with first come, first serve seating and a limited menu! As the first brewery on Alpine Ave I expect it will be busy especially with the experienced brewers behind this project.
Updated April 28th:
I visited Greyline on a Thursday in the afternoon and was able to get a spot at the bar. I had high expectations because the owners are experienced brewers and the beers I sampled all exceeded my expectations! They already have a nice variety of beer styles and I expect they will continue to produce high quality brews as they ramp up production.
Mitten Brewing outdoor deck opens today!
Spring has arrived at Mitten Brewing as today they open their outdoor patio! Finally sit outside and enjoy the Michigan sun. Dogs are welcome too!! Also they are tapping a Sour Sahti today.
Gray Skies Distillery tasting room
We visited Gray Skies Distillery tasting room on April 9th, 2016 after a few previous attempts failed due to their limited open hours. The distillery wasn’t very crowded probably due to their quiet opening and a location that is still ‘up and coming’ on Grand Rapids north side. After spending a few minutes debating the various cocktails they offer our group ordered at the bar and took up some seats at the round table which the bartender confided wasn’t a popular seating area but I found it fun and different.
Out of their three spirits currently offered at Gray Skies Distillery the Gin was the most palatable to drink straight, followed by the rum and finally the vodka which reminded me of rubbing alcohol. However all their house cocktails tasted quite good and because of that variety I will be sure to visit a few more times to sample their locally made liquors.
Cedar Springs and Sparta beer trip
Over the weekend I took a short trip north of Grand Rapids and visited Cedar Springs Brewing and Cellar Brewing company, take note it would have been easy to add a stop at Rockford Brewing too but I did some shoe shopping instead.
I’d never been to either of these great breweries but I’ll be sure to visit them more in the future. Stopping first in Cedar Springs at the newly completed brewpub we saw a crowd waiting to be seated at the large communal style tables popular in Germany but luckily if you just wanted to drink you can skip the line and visit the bar. Cedar Springs brewery has a nice list of German inspired beers along with pale ale, ipa, sangria, cider and root beers for the kids. A quick sampling surprised me that the IPA was less hoppy than the pale ale and the Hefewiezen had very strong banana flavoring for me (I loved it). The food also got rave reviews from the people sitting at the bar and again was very German inspired fare. I’m excited to revisit in the spring since the building has many glass garage doors that should open to the outdoors and a large beer garden out back.
Our second stop was in Sparta at Cellar Brewing which we almost missed while driving, the building wasn’t really eye catching but once inside it felt warm and inviting despite it’s large industrial size. Cellar isn’t just a brewery though, they also distill liquors and make wine too so you’ll be sure to find at least a few libations to please every palate. The “Michigan Sunshine” stood out as similar to Blue Moon and a bit ironic because when we arrived it was a typical cloudy Michigan day but the beer was good! Actually all the beers hit the mark on their respective styles. I also liked the fact the brewery has a large selection of table games to play as well as a pool table, shuffleboard table and Foosball with plenty of tables for people to sit and sip their brews.
Next time you head North on 131 consider stopping at these two great breweries! Also I wore my Brewsader tshirt and at both breweries people stopped to ask about it, so it’s a great way to make new drinking buddies.
TagaBrew “tag your beer trail”
Have you seen anyone wearing small copper tags around their necks, or hanging from their growlers? Or maybe for sale at a local brewery? It was probably a TagaBrew! Created to provide people that visit breweries a cheap and tangible way to remember where they’ve visited without having to buy a mug or tshirt. It’s an interesting concept sure to appeal more to the female demographic and die hard brewery snobs but I’ll admit they caught my attention recently for sale at Dutch Girl Brewing.
Beer and Cider in Spring Lake
Took a drive out to Spring Lake, MI last Saturday to checkout the Dutch Girl Brewery and was pleasantly surprised to find that Vander Mill is located directly across the street! Be aware that Dutch Girl is located in a large building with auto parts stores on each side so it is easy to drive past without realizing the brewery is in that building but if you see Vander Mill you’ll know you arrived.
We used a Groupon at Dutch Girl Brewery to get two flights and two pints at nearly half price which is a great way to try a new brewery! After trying 8 samples of their beers I got a pint of Coastie Kolsch which is a nod to the Coast Guard heritage in the area. We also got some bar cheese after drinking all those samplers to help dilute the alcohol. Overall a very nice brewery that seemed to be getting quite busy as we left around 4pm.
We proceeded across the street to Vander Mill where we found the place completely empty so we got prime seats at the bar and ordered a flight of every cider they had on tap, turns out 12 samplers of cider is quite a bit! As they weren’t too busy yet Kelsey our bartender offered a personal tour of the production facility which was both enlightening and fun as she let us bring our cider to drink while touring. Turns out Vander Mill has the most advanced filtration system in Michigan for making cider, and their apple supplier uses a special storage system to create a vacuum allowing them to store apples all year and keep supply of cider steady. Another interesting fact from Kelsey is that 50% of Vander Mill sales are actually in the city of Chicago, who knew they loved cider that much?! Finally she tipped us to the fact that Vander Mill’s Grand Rapids location is expected to open in February 2016, so that’s coming up soon. After the tour the tap room filled up quickly and was quite busy by the time we finished all our flights of beer. If you’ve never tried all the various Vander Mill cider varieties you really should, I had no idea they made so many and the Totally Roasted cider tastes like pecans (because they actually roast the pecans in the kitchen, it’s amazing). As we left there was a musician getting ready to play for the people eating dinner and drinking cider, a nice cozy winter hangout at Vander Mill.
After all that sampling we had to call in a designated driver but it was worth it and the next morning our car was waiting for us in the parking lot, a safe and happy ending to a pleasant Saturday in Spring Lake.
Beer City Brewsader Passport
It’s official, I’m a Beer City Brewsader! Just picked up my free tshirt at the GOsiteGR after hitting 11 of the 23 breweries listed in the passport.
If you don’t know what a “Brewsader” is or why I would need a passport to drink beer don’t worry I’ll explain.
Experience GR has created a small booklet called a ‘passport’ that lists 23 of Grand Rapids breweries and as you visit each one they will stamp your book. If you visit 8 or more you can redeem the passport for a free tshirt that brands you a “Brewsader” or a person that enjoys drinking at breweries. Free, fun, simple, basically it’s a self guided brewery tour and the passport is full of information as well as space to write your favorite beers and breweries. I was also told that they are considering an even better prize for people that visit all 23 breweries but as of yet they are working out the details.
You can get your own Brewsader Passport at any of the participating breweries or the GOsiteGR inside the Grand Rapids Art Museum. To redeem it you can just mail it in or personally visit the GOsiteGR as I did, they are friendly!