visiting grand rapids 9/3

[tinypyramids1]

if there's a general grand rapids thread here, i didn't see one under the 'great lakes' banner. i apologize if this is a repeat.

my wife and i are stopping through grand rapids this coming thursday for most of a day as we drive up to a wedding near traverse city. we've pretty much decided to turn the day into a cider and beer crawl. we're staying downtown on the river, quite close to founders/hopcat/grand rapids brewing, and we're planning out a walking/taxi route once we pull up so no one has to risk a dui. it looks something like this:

- stop at virtue cider on the way from chicago
- check in at hotel
- madcap coffee
- hopcat
- vertigo music
- grand rapids brewing
- bob's brewing (is this place any good?)
- elk brewing (likewise)
- vivant brewing
- harmony brewing (also wondering if this place is good)

i'm deliberately leaving out founders because i've been there before and the taplist doesn't look particularly exciting right now (though if something shiny does get put on on thursday i'd probably figure something out). on the list above, the only place i've actually been is vivant and i had a great enough experience that i'd like to make another visit.

questions:

1) are uber or lyft reasonably easy to catch in GR, given the spots where we'll likely be going aren't too far from the city center? i've heard that they're at least decent but i want to know if i need to find the number of a cab company before my arrival.
2) any recommendations for someplace cider centric? wife is a big cider einthusiast and i'd like to work one place in there if such a thing exists (would probably knock out one of the breweries to do so).
3) anyone know where i might be able to pick up some of the blis barrel-aged syrup?
4) any recommendations for someplace to get a dece and not pricey breakfast the next day? diner food is perfectly fine and welcomed, doesn't have to be a fancypants brunch. hoping to depart from GR fairly early so we can make it to jolly pumpkin traverse for lunch.
5) any recommendations for record stores besides vertigo? especially looking for spots that have good noise/experimental/industrial sorts of sections.

thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[cneville1]

i was in gr last winter and caught ubers very easily all weekend. never was a problem. i don't think they have lyft. bob is ok, but the building is pretty cool and the peanut butter porter is a+, so it's at least worth a stop. i'll leave other answers for someone who actually lives there. also, don't know where you're planning on dinner or if you ate at vivant last time, but their food is really good.

 

[tinypyramids1]

i was in gr last winter and caught ubers very easily all weekend. never was a problem. i don't think they have lyft. bob is ok, but the building is pretty cool and the peanut butter porter is a+, so it's at least worth a stop. i'll leave other answers for someone who actually lives there. also, don't know where you're planning on dinner or if you ate at vivant last time, but their food is really good.

i did eat at vivant and it was very good food. right now i'm planning on, food wise, late lunch at hopcat, dessert at GRBC, and then dinner at either vivant or harmony.

 

[AlexM]

I would strongly consider hitting both Mitten & Perrin ... If I had to drop something, it would be Grand Rapids Brewing

 

[tinypyramids1]

I would strongly consider hitting both Mitten & Perrin ... If I had to drop something, it would be Grand Rapids Brewing

perrin isn't really reasonable on the walking/taxi/uber route, but if it'll be open on labor day on the way back from traverse i would need a spot to stop for lunch and perrin may fit that one. will consider mitten, thanks for the rec!

 

[Brez071]

It's on your list, but Brewery Vivant is awesome. We were just in the area a couple of weeks ago and wish we had spent more time there.

 

[abawol01]

I quite enjoy the beer and pizza at Harmony. Bonus is it's maybe 1/4 mile from Vivant.

 

[user 305963]

I'll provide some insight into some of these....
2) any recommendations for someplace cider centric? wife is a big cider einthusiast and i'd like to work one place in there if such a thing exists (would probably knock out one of the breweries to do so).
The closest cider place to downtown is The People's Cider (http://www.thepeoplescider.com/desktop.htm), but Harmony usually has one or two of their ciders on tap. Mitten has cider on tap as well.

3) anyone know where i might be able to pick up some of the blis barrel-aged syrup?
Here is a link to BLiS' wesbite http://blisgourmet.com/pages/where-to-buy
Since you're staying downtown, there are 2 locations that are close, Founders or The Downtown Market (http://downtownmarketgr.com/). Old World Olive Co is listed, but not sure they carry it anymore.

4) any recommendations for someplace to get a dece and not pricey breakfast the next day? diner food is perfectly fine and welcomed, doesn't have to be a fancypants brunch. hoping to depart from GR fairly early so we can make it to jolly pumpkin traverse for lunch.
A great place which is close to downtown is Wolfgang's http://www.mattwolfgang.com on Wealthy St. Other places that are the go-to breakfast places are Real Food Cafe (Northland Dr) and Anna's House (Plainfield Ave), however, they are a bit out of the way.

As for my feedback on breweries:
- hopcat (Yes and try the beer cheese soup)
- grand rapids brewing (Food is good, beer is not memorable, I'd )
- bob's brewing (The BOB is an interesting venue, beer is good)
- elk brewing (Have never been here because I've always heard that the beer is ok, some have said it tastes like ok homebrew)
- vivant brewing (Always great, duck nachos FTW)
- harmony brewing (snacks and wood-fired thin crust pizzas, cider and full bar, have a great smoked porter and their berliner is on tap)
- Would definitely add Mitten Brewing to your plans
- Also, if you want a Short's fix, head to Pyramid Scheme

Have a great trip!

 

[abawol01]

Real Food Cafe

THIS. SO MUCH THIS.

You will wait. It will be worth it. If there is a better breakfast on this planet I would be shocked.

 

[user 305963]

THIS. SO MUCH THIS.

You will wait. It will be worth it. If there is a better breakfast on this planet I would be shocked.

Pancakes the size of your head

 

[Dcv]

Crane's Pie Pantry and Winery in Fennville also makes cider. I have not had any of their ciders yet, but they are not too far away from Virtue. Tandem ciders is only 25 minutes or so north of Traverse City in Suttons Bay, and they make some of the best ciders in Michigan.

 

[Dcv]

Corner Record Shop is the other big shop in the area, they located are in Grandville.
https://www.facebook.com/CRS.Grandville

 

[tinypyramids1]

I'll provide some insight into some of these....
2) any recommendations for someplace cider centric? wife is a big cider einthusiast and i'd like to work one place in there if such a thing exists (would probably knock out one of the breweries to do so).
The closest cider place to downtown is The People's Cider (http://www.thepeoplescider.com/desktop.htm), but Harmony usually has one or two of their ciders on tap. Mitten has cider on tap as well.

y'all have convinced me to drop GRBC and possibly elk and add mitten instead, so i'm probably gonna do that instead, especially given that mitten has cider too.

3) anyone know where i might be able to pick up some of the blis barrel-aged syrup?
Here is a link to BLiS' wesbite http://blisgourmet.com/pages/where-to-buy
Since you're staying downtown, there are 2 locations that are close, Founders or The Downtown Market (http://downtownmarketgr.com/). Old World Olive Co is listed, but not sure they carry it anymore.

i'll glance at downtown market, but i had no idea that the syrup got chicago distro.

4) any recommendations for someplace to get a dece and not pricey breakfast the next day? diner food is perfectly fine and welcomed, doesn't have to be a fancypants brunch. hoping to depart from GR fairly early so we can make it to jolly pumpkin traverse for lunch.
A great place which is close to downtown is Wolfgang's http://www.mattwolfgang.com on Wealthy St. Other places that are the go-to breakfast places are Real Food Cafe (Northland Dr) and Anna's House (Plainfield Ave), however, they are a bit out of the way.

i showed my wife real food cafe and we're now convinced that that's the place for us.

As for my feedback on breweries:
- hopcat (Yes and try the beer cheese soup)
- grand rapids brewing (Food is good, beer is not memorable, I'd )
- bob's brewing (The BOB is an interesting venue, beer is good)
- elk brewing (Have never been here because I've always heard that the beer is ok, some have said it tastes like ok homebrew)
- vivant brewing (Always great, duck nachos FTW)
- harmony brewing (snacks and wood-fired thin crust pizzas, cider and full bar, have a great smoked porter and their berliner is on tap)
- Would definitely add Mitten Brewing to your plans
- Also, if you want a Short's fix, head to Pyramid Scheme

Have a great trip!

as mentioned, will probably skip GRBC in favor of mitten. may also drop elk if i wind up getting a bit too tipsy.

Crane's Pie Pantry and Winery in Fennville also makes cider. I have not had any of their ciders yet, but they are not too far away from Virtue. Tandem ciders is only 25 minutes or so north of Traverse City in Suttons Bay, and they make some of the best ciders in Michigan.

tandem was on our traverse area list because we're gonna be staying in leland, so it's no issue to drive a bit more. will check out crane's pie pantry.

Corner Record Shop is the other big shop in the area, they located are in Grandville.
https://www.facebook.com/CRS.Grandville

given how expensive this trip is probably already, i probably shouldn't go to any record stores at all, but i may just give into temptation.

thanks all for the killer recs so far!

 

[user 305963]

Glad we could help

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Not to turn it into a Tc thread but if you find yourself at JP Old Mission Bowers Harbor winery makes there own ciders and are tasty and usually have there ice Cider available to taste and buy by the bottle. Also if you find your self in the Village in TC (old mental hospital turned into a shops and residential complex) Left Foot Charley's Ciders are tasty too but Tandem's are the best up there. cheers and enjoy TC I go there 3 times a year and planning on retiring in 15 years to Suttons Bay...

 

[HevvyMetalHippie]

Im headed to Saugatuck for a wedding on Thursday (flying into Grand Rapids), so I'm hoping I can get some people to check out breweries in the area. I might be tight for time, with the girlfriend and all, but I might be able to convince her to check out the Real Food, MadCap, and Hop Cat, and maybe The Mitten. Once of the girls going is also a beer nerd, so at least I'll have her on my side.

Virtue is close to Saugatuck, so I'm hoping to hit that. Is Founders worth hitting?

Edit: And Elk too by the looks of it.

 

[steimie]

Im headed to Saugatuck for a wedding on Thursday (flying into Grand Rapids), so I'm hoping I can get some people to check out breweries in the area. I might be tight for time, with the girlfriend and all, but I might be able to convince her to check out the Real Food, MadCap, and Hop Cat, and maybe The Mitten. Once of the girls going is also a beer nerd, so at least I'll have her on my side.

Virtue is close to Saugatuck, so I'm hoping to hit that. Is Founders worth hitting?

Edit: And Elk too by the looks of it.

Yes, Founders is worth a stop.

 

[user 305963]

Also, yesterday marked the beginning of the annual fundraiser for The Brewers Grove Fund, where a bunch of local breweries get together and plant trees around the city. They also commemorate the annual event my making a tree/wood/tree fruit themed beer. So if you're in the area, buy a pint and help out the cause.

http://mittenbrew.com/2015/08/three-cheers-for-tree-beers/

57 Brew Pub
Cherry Houdini, ABV 5.5%
Cherry Vanilla Porter

B.O.B.’s Brewery
Tangerine Trees, ABV 6.0%
Belgian Wit with citrus fruits and candy.

Brewery Vivant
Devastation, ABV 9.3%
Bourbon Barrel Oak Aged Tree Bucket Belgian Inspired Double IPA.

The Cellar
Apple of your Rye, ABV 4.5%
Fruited Rye Beer.

Crankers
Cheery O’Dark Cherry Wheat Ale, ABV 5.5%
A light clean crisp wheat ale with an organic cherry finish.

EB Coffee & Pub
Fuzzy Nuts, ABV 6.8%
Coconut Porter

ELK
Willow ESB, ABV 6.4%
Extra Special / Strong Bitter

Grand Rapids Brewing Company
Coconut Kaiser Chocolate Macaroon, ABV 5.8%
Dunkelweiss with Roasted Coconut and Chocolate.

Gravel Bottom
Cederino, ABV 7.1%
Cedar aged Pale Ale

Harmony Brewing Company
Jubilation Cherry Saison IPA, ABV 7.1%
Brewed with Summit and Hull Melon hops with sour cherries added during fermentation.

HopCat
Naughty Nicodemus, ABV 4.7%
Gruit beer with lime, juniper berry and cucumber.

Jaden James
Silver Maple Lager, ABV 5.5%
Notes of maple from freshly tapped maple trees.

The Mitten Brewing Company
Olut Kaupunki Saht (Beer City Sahti), ABV 6.1%
Finnish Sahti made with juniper berries

Peoples Cider
Cherry Adams Tart, ABV 7.4%
Cherry-infused Cider

Pike 51
Bon Belle Saison, ABV 5.8%
100% Michigan Hopped Saison aged in Red Wine Barrels

Railtown Brewing
Dutch Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, ABV 8%
Imperial Porter with a full, creamy body.

Rockford Brewing Company
Peach Pit Peach Brown, ABV 4.8%
Brewed with local peaches and nectarines grown and harvested at Homrich’s Under the Pines family farm.

Schmohz
Barrel Aged Kiss My Scottish Arse ABV 9.3%
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy

White Flame
Bad Apple, ABV 7%
Black IPA Cider hybrid with a rich roasted black pour and a crisp apple finish.

 

[tinypyramids1]

so i'm back in my room now, and my trip was kinda sorta a bust compared to the original plan but kinda sorta not. i stopped at virtue cider on the way up (which is totally beautiful, by the way, and i strongly recommend you go) and had a couple tasters (cherry mitten!) and played some bags with the wife. then we arrived in grand rapids later than anticipated, got coffee at madcap, and sat down at hopcat. wasn't super hungry so i went with the blt (quality) and wife went with the fish and chips (also quality). the crack fries are about the best damn cooked fries i've ever tasted (texturewise they have no equal), which is why it was so disappointing that they were so overseasoned. i could tell that if i were a ketchup person or if i had some aioli it would have tamed the seasoning a bit.

then the wife and i had a hell of a shopping trip at vertigo and went to meet a friend at stella's lounge. then it got late and now we're back at the hotel, eating ice cream. i may dig into the leftover crack fries.

speaking of which, there's a leftover crack / crack fries joke to be made somewhere.

 

[danbanana]

speaking of which, there's a leftover crack / crack fries joke to be made somewhere.

Just gonna put this right here...

 

[HevvyMetalHippie]

Yeah my schedule has been crippled by this wedding and having to drive people around. I'm kind of lashed to Saugatuck, but may have time tomorrow.

Trying to get to Virtue either by 7 tonight or tomorrow earlier on. Any suggestions for this area? Hit Saugatuck brewing but was unimpressed. Was thinking about Wallys for local ticks?

 

[HevvyMetalHippie]

Oh but dat Cherry Mitten doe...for realsies

 

[Dcv]

Salt of The Earth in Fenneville might be the best restaurant in the area, but it can be pricey. As for beer ticks, your best bet is to drive 10 miles north and go to Holland.

8th Street Grille has 26 taps, Hops at 84 East has 51 taps and Salt and Pepper Grill and Pub has 22 taps.

 

[tinypyramids1]

finally home from my long weekend. didn't get to do a whole ton of beery things after grand rapids, but the wife and i did sneak in a few.

- was disappointed in jolly pumpkin traverse. not a whole ton of unique JP stuff on tap (a dry hopped bam biere and a hoppy sour were the only JP beers that didn't hit distro). the session rye beer from old mission also on tap was a diacetyl mess. the north peak beers were nothing to write home about. and our pizzas were undercooked and not nearly as good as the ones we had in ann arbor. couple that with other personal stresses we had going at the time didn't make for a great experience. will probably skip it on my next trip up north.

- northport brewing in, oddly enough, northport, was an impulse stop on the way back from a visit to leelanau state park at the north end of the leelanau peninsula. their american pale ale and kentucky common impressed me enough to take a risk on buying some of the bottled offerings, two different barleywines and a 'maple sap wit', none of which have yet been opened. the only definite loser of the bunch was a cherry dosed saison that had a bit of a cough syrup taste and not much saison character.

- tandem ciders near sutton's bay is a must visit if you are at all into cider. goregous property and i think their offerings are at least as well made as virtue's (and with significantly more variety than virtue). their bottles (and now cans) hit distro, and i saw them as far south as siciliano's in grand rapids (though i didn't do a lot of hunting). their 4 pack flagship, smackintosh, is on the sweet side, so if you don't like sweet cider, skip it. wife and i agreed that our favourite was the 'crabster'.

also, speaking of sicilano's, i went in and unexpectedly found some schramm's. picked up a bottle of the statement. discovered that the cork had jutted out somewhat and leaked slightly after i purchased it. i assume it wasn't happy to be stuck in a hot car. hope it's not ruined

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Never have had a problem with the food at JP OM, thats sucks for sure. As for beers they usually do not have many non standard beers on tap or to go that's the norm. I've been to leelanau state park many times one of my favorite miles actually and have yet to goto NorthPort Brewing will check that out in a few months when I am back up there.

 

[user 305963]

also, speaking of sicilano's, i went in and unexpectedly found some schramm's. picked up a bottle of the statement. discovered that the cork had jutted out somewhat and leaked slightly after i purchased it. i assume it wasn't happy to be stuck in a hot car. hope it's not ruined

I had this happen to a bottle of Black Agnes earlier this year. The cork didn't really nudge out, but it did leak a bit after being in my car for an hour, not really that hot either. I PM'd James (Naegerbomb) and asked if my bottle was ruined. He said, "likely not, but don't cellar it for a 20 years." He recommended drinking it within the week, which I did, and it tasted fine. He also provided a link from Schramms website for proper meadicare ---> http://www.schrammsmead.com/meadicare/

 

[shutyourface]

Just made it here as well, plan on checking out Brewery Vivant and HopCat

 

[user 305963]

Just made it here as well, plan on checking out Brewery Vivant and HopCat

Have fun. It'll be fairly busy everywhere you go with Artprize happening.

 

[shutyourface]

HopCat was cool but I really enjoyed Brewery Vivant, the atmosphere was fantastic and the beer was really good! Devastation was insanely good.

 

[user 305963]

So I know this thread is kinda of irrelevant, since the trip was in September. But I'm hoping that this thread is used as the official "where to go" in GR. I am officially adding Harmony Hall as a place to go for beer and food. They're an expansion of the original Harmony Brewing, in East town.

Harmony Hall is on the West Side of GR. Where the original location (Harmony Brewing) leans on wood fired pizzas, Harmony Hall turns to the German roots of the building that they're located in and make their own sausage. They are deelish, and the goulash tastes homemade. Seriously, this place is up there with Vivant for food/beer destination. Try it out.

 

[gameover170]

So I'll be visiting GR next weekend (Nov 5-8) and was there last summer. I loved it. Our friends lived 2 minutes from Founders, so we went there, GRBC, Mitten, Vivant, and Hopcat. A year later and both of us have kids and they moved into a house east of GR (Ada). Are there any secret gems around here, or is it just better to drive 20 min back to Grand Rapids if we do anything? I know we'll go to Founders at least one day, but I'd like to explore and hit some bottle shops.

 

[user 305963]

So I'll be visiting GR next weekend (Nov 5-8) and was there last summer. I loved it. Our friends lived 2 minutes from Founders, so we went there, GRBC, Mitten, Vivant, and Hopcat. A year later and both of us have kids and they moved into a house east of GR (Ada). Are there any secret gems around here, or is it just better to drive 20 min back to Grand Rapids if we do anything? I know we'll go to Founders at least one day, but I'd like to explore and hit some bottle shops.

Gravel Bottom Brewery in Ada is really good. No food, just beer. Small place that is also a homebrew supply store.
Bottle shop-wise, maybe Pauly's in Lowell, or Crushed Grape on Knapp (although I've heard the guy who runs the place is kind of a ******) That's about it close to Ada. As you move west, Rishi's on 28th is one of the biggest/best bottle shops in GR. He also has a smaller store in Cascade.

 

[gameover170]

Gravel Bottom Brewery in Ada is really good. No food, just beer. Small place that is also a homebrew supply store.
Bottle shop-wise, maybe Pauly's in Lowell, or Crushed Grape on Knapp (although I've heard the guy who runs the place is kind of a ******) That's about it close to Ada. As you move west, Rishi's on 28th is one of the biggest/best bottle shops in GR. He also has a smaller store in Cascade.

Thanks man....I'll try to check some of these out.