Moving to Lansing, MI (help pls)

[JoeStepOner]

My girl and I are moving to Lansing this end of summer/beginning of Fall because of a job she will be taking. I am here to get some advice from anyone who has lived or is living in the area. Right now we're having a hard time finding a place. We drove through Lansing and East Lansing on our way back from DLD and were surprised by how run down the area was. Most of the places for rent in our range were in some real crappy areas (west of 496 around Saginaw/Michigan) and others that were a bit out of what we want to pay are in east Lansing and we aren't too fond of the college crowd/ frat house vibe. So my question is any suburbs or areas in Lansing without the frat houses or run-down abandoned houses?

Most importantly, what breweries and beer stores are out that way? It is going to suck trying to become a regular at places all over again to get limited releases and all that stuff. Any info will be much appreciated. This whole ordeal came upon us pretty quickly and we are pooling all of our resources to make this a smooth, somewhat easy process.

Cheers
Joe

 

[genuinedisciple1]

You're moving to Lansing...there is no hope help.

 

[JoeStepOner]

that's what ive come to realize and fear. I'm leaving behind being so damn close to Kuhnhenn and some awesome shops for a grungy city that has overpriced rent and little craft bar options. Also Hopcat GR >>> Hopcat E. Lansing. I guess the only plus i can come up with is Ill be closer to Grand Rapids than I am now

 

[AnnArborJoe]

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[JoeStepOner]

nothing good seems to be coming from this.

 

[user 306926]

Don't want to pile on but....

In the area for work yesterday and had lunch in East Lansing at HopCat (which you're right does pale compared to GR location).
I'd be asking myself how far I am ok with commuting each day and see whats within that radius.
But if you are looking strictly to rent your options are always limited, and in a college town... best of luck with conditions.

 

[JoeStepOner]

gracias. Renting only because we dont want to live there and will be leaving in a year or two. Commuting looks like the only option I like. Her idea is a loft but im not to keen on it so far.

 

[surlytheduff1]

East side of Lansing (downtown->127) is fine. It's a mix of residential owner/rentals and college people. Mac's bar is close by which is a decent place to see shows. C'mon ... you're from Detroit (at least that is what your location says). I'm in Flint, and the Lansing has nowhere near the amount of blight and chaos that either of our cities has.

Lansing is in a good spot, cause it's pretty central to GR, Kalamazoo, Marshall, AA and Detroit (and Flint!). Crunchy's is a top-notch bar, there's decent bottle shops, and stuff to do. The Old Town area has some interesting things going on (Zoobies bar, Lansing Makers Network in the old Temple Club). If you're into music, Elderly Instruments is pretty awesome.

 

[nanobrew1]

My friend spry moved there over a year ago from SD. The stories of beer events and the beer scene is a little sad. Though I have had a good time when I visit, but that probably had more to do with the "who" rather than the "where"

 

[surlytheduff1]

If you're going to use San Diego as the baseline then sure, it's a little bleak. But my god, living someplace where in less than a 70 mile/1 hour radius you have Dark Horse, Bells, Jolly Pumpkin/Ann Arbor, all of Grand Rapids ... there's a hell of a lot of places that are much worse beer-option-wise.

 

[nanobrew1]

If you're going to use San Diego as the baseline then sure, it's a little bleak. But my god, living someplace where in less than a 70 mile/1 hour radius you have Dark Horse, Bells, Jolly Pumpkin/Ann Arbor, all of Grand Rapids ... there's a hell of a lot of places that are much worse beer-option-wise.

that is true that it is "central" to places. But, I feel being central to places that requires an hour of driving is over valued in a hobby around drinking. There are much better towns in MI for drinking. I just feel for as big of an area as Lansing is, it is missing a lot of potential. But like I said, I had a good time visiting there.


p.s. Planning a brewery outing for my brother's bachelor party. We are planning on going to GR. What places should I put on the list (aside from the obvious Hop Cat and Founders).

p.s. sorry for derailing, and I was not meaning to bash Lansing at all (well anymore than what others said). I was mainly trying to tag my friend so he could give in put.

 

[MarcatGSB1]

that is true that it is "central" to places. But, I feel being central to places that requires an hour of driving is over valued in a hobby around drinking. There are much better towns in MI for drinking. I just feel for as big of an area as Lansing is, it is missing a lot of potential. But like I said, I had a good time visiting there.


p.s. Planning a brewery outing for my brother's bachelor party. We are planning on going to GR. What places should I put on the list (aside from the obvious Hop Cat and Founders).

p.s. sorry for derailing, and I was not meaning to bash Lansing at all (well anymore than what others said). I was mainly trying to tag my friend so he could give in put.

I guess it's all relative...I agree with surlytheduff but only because I live in BFE, so I'm used to travelling to get something I want.
There are definitely worse places to live than Lansing MI, as far as beer is concerned, IMO. It would be a shame to have to cab it to HopCat Lansing and Crunchy's THE HORROR!

As far as your GR trip, I think Vivant has the best food out of any beer centric option in GR, possibly even Michigan. While you're up there, hit up Harmony, it's not that far. Perrin is worth the drive north for 15 minutes, as their tap room is roomy, cool vibe, and they usually have quite a few unique things to offer.

 

[nanobrew1]

I guess it's all relative...I agree with surlytheduff but only because I live in BFE, so I'm used to travelling to get something I want.
There are definitely worse places to live than Lansing MI, as far as beer is concerned, IMO. It would be a shame to have to cab it to HopCat Lansing and Crunchy's THE HORROR!

As far as your GR trip, I think Vivant has the best food out of any beer centric option in GR, possibly even Michigan. While you're up there, hit up Harmony, it's not that far. Perrin is worth the drive north for 15 minutes, as their tap room is roomy, cool vibe, and they usually have quite a few unique things to offer.

Thanks for the suggestions for food and Harmony. I looked at the menu for Vivant, and it does look good but I don't think it would fit with the group of guys.

I was thinking of doing pizza up at Mitten Brewing, not sure if their beer is any good. However, I might change that to getting pizza at Harmony. Their pizzas look smaller so it might be harder to coordinate (since it is a multi day affair, I am paying for everything and just having everyone split the cost) but they do look good. Plus Harmony is closer to the other places, though we have a DD driving us around so I am not too worried about that.



I wasn't saying getting around Lansing was hard. I was saying that calling Lansing a good location because it is central to other destinations by at least an hour is a little bit of a stretch. You may take a cab ride to Hop Cat in Lansing if you live there, but you are not going to take a cab ride from Lansing to Founders, or to AA.

 

[MarcatGSB1]

Thanks for the suggestions for food and Harmony. I looked at the menu for Vivant, and it does look good but I don't think it would fit with the group of guys.

I was thinking of doing pizza up at Mitten Brewing, not sure if their beer is any good. However, I might change that to getting pizza at Harmony. Their pizzas look smaller so it might be harder to coordinate (since it is a multi day affair, I am paying for everything and just having everyone split the cost) but they do look good. Plus Harmony is closer to the other places, though we have a DD driving us around so I am not too worried about that.



I wasn't saying getting around Lansing was hard. I was saying that calling Lansing a good location because it is central to other destinations by at least an hour is a little bit of a stretch. You may take a cab ride to Hop Cat in Lansing if you live there, but you are not going to take a cab ride from Lansing to Founders, or to AA.

True, true!

Keep in mind that Harmony is extremely small...bringing a large group there may be difficult.
Mitten's beer is fine. That's about all I can say. They usually have 5 or 6 on tap, and they are decent beers. Never had anything that tasted infected, or off, surprisingly enough, since they are making sourdough literally 3 feet from their plastic jug fermentors. However, their pizza is righteous!
Grand Rapids Brewing has great food as well, and last time we were there we tried everything on the board and all the beer was above average to very good. They can definitely handle large groups, not sure if they take reservations or not. Not sure what kind of food you guys are interested in, or what kind of service, but IMO, Perrin, Founders, HopCat, GRBC, and Vivant are your best bets for handling a large group, in that order.

 

[nanobrew1]

True, true!

Keep in mind that Harmony is extremely small...bringing a large group there may be difficult.
Mitten's beer is fine. That's about all I can say. They usually have 5 or 6 on tap, and they are decent beers. Never had anything that tasted infected, or off, surprisingly enough, since they are making sourdough literally 3 feet from their plastic jug fermentors. However, their pizza is righteous!
Grand Rapids Brewing has great food as well, and last time we were there we tried everything on the board and all the beer was above average to very good. They can definitely handle large groups, not sure if they take reservations or not. Not sure what kind of food you guys are interested in, or what kind of service, but IMO, Perrin, Founders, HopCat, GRBC, and Vivant are your best bets for handling a large group, in that order.

Thank you for all of the advice!

by large group I mean 7 people, so not too bad.

I am thinking we will hit up 5 places, which I am guessing is ambitious enough. The three I already had inked in were Founder's, Vivant, and Hop Cat. I was going to do Hop Cat last, so we could fill up on crack fries at the end. We are planning on starting fairly early (4-5pm). So I was thinking of hitting place #1, then grabbing dinner at #2 or #3, and then HopCat #5. The one I was unsure on were GRBC and Mitten. Would you recommend replacing Mitten with Harmony, and going to GRBC for food?


OP I am sorry I got this thread derailed. I can self report and get this started as a new thread.

 

[franch]

hahahah

 

[MarcatGSB1]

Thank you for all of the advice!

by large group I mean 7 people, so not too bad.

I am thinking we will hit up 5 places, which I am guessing is ambitious enough. The three I already had inked in were Founder's, Vivant, and Hop Cat. I was going to do Hop Cat last, so we could fill up on crack fries at the end. We are planning on starting fairly early (4-5pm). So I was thinking of hitting place #1, then grabbing dinner at #2 or #3, and then HopCat #5. The one I was unsure on were GRBC and Mitten. Would you recommend replacing Mitten with Harmony, and going to GRBC for food?


OP I am sorry I got this thread derailed. I can self report and get this started as a new thread.

Lets take this to a private place, you and I!

 

[surlytheduff1]

Harmony has kickass pizza.

There's like one city in Michigan that has a cab/bike rideable vast array of options for awesome beer. Every city can't be Grand Rapids. What I was pointing out to the guy moving from Detroit (from which I'm sure he did nothing but mostly drive to get to beer spots - albeit probably less than an hour a shot) was Lansing isn't such a shitty place to move to, from Detroit.

 

[JoeStepOner]

East side of Lansing (downtown->127) is fine. It's a mix of residential owner/rentals and college people. Mac's bar is close by which is a decent place to see shows. C'mon ... you're from Detroit (at least that is what your location says). I'm in Flint, and the Lansing has nowhere near the amount of blight and chaos that either of our cities has.

Lansing is in a good spot, cause it's pretty central to GR, Kalamazoo, Marshall, AA and Detroit (and Flint!). Crunchy's is a top-notch bar, there's decent bottle shops, and stuff to do. The Old Town area has some interesting things going on (Zoobies bar, Lansing Makers Network in the old Temple Club). If you're into music, Elderly Instruments is pretty awesome.

Its just theres more value in Detroit than what you get in Lansing. Bigger houses/apartments/lofts for a lot less $$. I know its due to area but going from big to small for more money is kind of depressing. I think my girlfriends got her heart set on getting a loft thats around 900-1000. Also Im way more familiar with Detroit than I am with Lansing. I know where not to go in the city at night, during the day even hah. The area we were in looked like a mini Detroit. There was blight, shitty roads, and closed up businesses, just wondering if there was a neighborhood with value. kind of like Ferndale over here. Its got some affordable houses outside of downtown, some good places to drink and eat, while being a nice area.
Thanks for the list of places. Im pretty stoked to be closer to a lot more breweries I like, than the ones in detroit I never go to. aside from kuhnhenn but thats in the suburbs anyways. living in lansing will make me appreciate it more when i come back to this side of town for the 2 Solstice parties and random trips down.
I appreciate all the tips and gifs everyones given me so far. Its going to be fun to make some new beer friends out that way.