The Beer Thread • Page 137

Born Again Yesterday was super solid. Unimpressed with Unfiltered Sculpin. Would love The Shape of Haze To Come; Never had any Neshaminy Creek.

 

No Neshaminy Creek has ever blown me away. Shape is a solid beer and I'll support them for being local but their best beers are not at the level of other revered beers.

Yet, anyway. Haze this year might be great

 

My local is already opening a second brewery and taproom this fall, 2.5 years after opening. So stoked for them.

 

Awesome trip to Hill Farmstead yesterday. Three beers from 2011. Maybe most insane bottle list I've ever seen there - Flora, Genealogy of Morals, BA Dorothy. And growlers of my new favorite, Marie. Finally made it to new Alchemist too, and was super impressed. It's huge! Wild to walk in and be able to get up to 6 cases of their stuff when just a year ago it was hard enough to get a single 4 pack of Heady.

 

I'm half tempted to make the 3 and a half hour trip to Transient Saturday for their Buckley/variant release

 

I had a can of Karbach's Hopadillo IPA last night and loved it

 

finally was able to snag a tired hands milkshake IPA yesterday (the extra vanilla) and it meets all the hype for me. so interesting and different. I really enjoyed it. tons of hype surround all their beers, so I'm glad this one didn't disappoint like some of their others have.

 

I thought Buckley was solid when I had it, but it sounded better than it actually tasted, IMO. To be fair, though, I am a bit more negative on Transient than basically everyone else i talk to. People put their hoppy beers up there with the best of the best with NEIPA's and I don't think they're even the best in Michigan -- might not even be in the top three? Old Nation, Ellison, Witch's Hat, IMO -- so I find them to be a bit overrated. That said, I'm contemplating going down there.

For me (and I know you're not a huge sour guy), my ideal trip is to plan around an Arclight sour release. Then drive down to Transient afterwards. When I was at Transient in April they had STACKS of all their cans (Juice is Loose, Zero Discipline which was a collab with 18th Street from Indiana, their Honey DIPA as well as bottles of their sours) since most of their can releases don't sell out. I loaded up with a four pack of like 4-5 different beers and all of them were above average to solid (3.5-3.75-ish). But again, I'm not nearly as hyped on their beer as other people. If you go, I'm sure you'd have a good time given that Tapistry is across the street, Arclight is like 20 mins north, and then 20-30 mins east of Arclight is downtown Kzoo. So, you could make a nice beer trip out of it.

 

Interesting, it's good to hear another perspective, because I've only really heard them hyped up like crazy. I'm still trying to figure out if it'll work out time wise, and right now it's not looking too great. I definitely plan to make a trip that way soon and hit up the places you've recommended when I go too.

 

For sure. Don't take my word as gospel, I'm in the minority.

 

Marie was so good.

 

Heading to western MI this weekend. Can't wait to hit up as many breweries as possible. Excited to check out Odd Side

 

Have fun! West side is always my favorite beer trip. What other places are you planning on going to?

 

We will probably stop at Founders on the way over, and I planned on hitting Odd Side, New Holland and Saugatuck. Any other recs? I've never been to any breweries west of Grand Rapids/Kzoo

 

Greyline is a smaller place on the outside of the main city, I really enjoyed it when I went there. I would definitely try to stop there and check it out. Perrin was pretty good too. The Mitten is in GR and it's a fun place, they do pizza flights and their beer is very solid too.

 

I don't know where you're going so I'll cover as much of the west side of Michigan as I can.

Starting down by the Indiana/Michigan border:

Greenbush is in Sawyer, Michigan and they do some solid stuff. It's a literal one-stop-sign type village and GB can do some things well but nothing out of this world. If you love Bell's Hopslam, you should get some Brother Benjamin there, it's basically Hopslam's half-brother. The food is really solid as well.

Tapistry Brewing is in Bridgman which is 20 mins away from Sawyer and fairly close to Lake Michigan. They do well with hoppy beers with a big malty back bone. Enigma is a really nice DIPA made with brown sugar. Their taproom tends to rotate beers pretty well. They are a solid C+ to B- brewery, which is what I'd rate Greenbush, too. Food there is a bit below Tapistry, but you won't regret ordering something.

Across the street from Tapistry is Transient Artisan Ales. They are a massive hype brewery right now. They do some hazy, northeast IPA's that have killer ratings. I find them to be overrated, but of this, Tapistry, and Greenbush, I think Transient is the best, they're just not the 4.25 out of 5 type good that they get rated. They have a bottle release on Saturday as well. No food there but it's so tiny the place fills up. Because of no food dogs are allowed which was a major plus for me, a non-dog-owning person who still likes to just pet strangers dogs.

Cultivate Brewing is 10 minutes from Transient (i think) to the east. I don't know if they're open. When I went in April they said they had no brewer and I've heard that they're not even open because they are lacking the people they need (brewers, possibly owners?). But it was basically a dirt driveway leading to this great little taproom. They focused on Saisons and some belgian beers and they were solid. The atmosphere when I was there (65 degrees, sunny, quiet, we were one of like four people there in the afternoon) helped to really make the beers way better than they are, but objectively I thought they were some pretty good saisons. Bought a hat there to support them. No food here either.

These breweries are all south of Kalamazoo by about an hour. So you start moving north and you come to St. Joseph. St. Joe has a great beach community if you want to get out and take a nice look at Lake Michigan and go for a nice walk. They have Silver Harbor Brewing which opened less than a year ago but I've never been there. Stop by The Buck which have KILLER stuffed burgers and 72 taps of (I think) all Michigan made beer.

If you go over the bridge into Benton Harbor there is a place called The Livery. It's been around for a long time, the former owner of it moved on to New Holland and now handles all of their taproom brewing in the original location in Holland, Mich. The Livery will give you a lot of good sours. If you want to eat there, grab a pizza, they're really good. Cool taproom; good staff.

Now you're heading up I-94 towards Kalamazoo and probably 30-40 minutes outside of K-zoo is Watervliet, Michigan, where Arclight Brewing is. GO THERE. If you stop at only one of the breweries I've mentioned thus far, go to Arclight. I had a Baltic Porter that blew me away. I had a couple of really sold -- if not slightly dated takes on the style -- IPA's and the taproom is really clean, sleek and nice. I grabbed a bomber of an Imperial Golden Stout that's still in my Fridge but I've heard good things about. But the big draw here is to get their sours. They had a Flanders Red on tap that was really good but their Sour Kriek was unreal. Every bit as good as a Cascade sour, but local. If you aren't into sours, I would still tell you to go here. The Baltic Porter, the IPA's, and a cinnamon-vanilla stout I had were all very good to superb.

About 15-20 mins to the east on your way to Kzoo is Paw Paw Brewing. Keep on driving.

In Kalamazoo:

One Well Brewing is the best small brewery in the city. They have a jalapeno blonde which is really good for the sheer fact that it has no heat but tastes like a jalapeno (and not just a generic green pepper). They'll usually have a mead or a couple ciders, their SweetWater Street Stout is solid but I'm from Kalamazoo and it combines a couple of local landmark business into one beer: SweetWater Donuts and Water Street Coffee. The food at one well was really good, they have dozens of board games, a bunch of pinball and they fill up so the atmosphere is awesome.

In downtown Kalamazoo -- One Well is like 10 minutes from downtown -- there is the obvious one, Bells. It's a cool spot, but I rarely go when I'm back in Kalamazoo because I've been there so much, so I tend to underrate it. But you should go, they always have pub-exclusive beers. The food is pretty pricey for the quality so I'd eat else where.

You can walk from Bells to a place called The Beer Exchange. It is a beer bar and not a brewery but after 6 pm, their prices run like the stock exchange and always fluctuate, so it's pretty interactive and cool. They always have like 3 beers I've never had before on tap and then like another 5-10 that are good to great. Then some duds, but what are you gonna do?

Tibbs Brewing right downtown has a cool taproom and some really solid beer. Their space holds like 25 people, so you might not have room, but it's a cool spot.

Gonzo's Bigg Dogg Brewing is okay. Known for their Vanilla Porter, I just find their beer and food to be too expensive for the quality. It's always busy, so for me it was a pass.

Rupert's Brewhouse: Avoid. Just not worth it. I've tried three different times.

Boatyard Brewing: It hurts to say it because one of my good friend's dad co-owns this place, but just pass. The beer quality is pretty unspectacular and the tap room isn't that cool either. It's just not worth it until the recipes start to change.

Those are all in or around downtown Kalamazoo. There are others out in Portage (a suburb of Kalamazoo) like Latitude 42 and one way out on the west side but they are just too far away from the others and aren't stellar enough to give a recommendation for you to go that far out of your way.

In Grand Rapids, my knowledge is severely lacking. I've heard wonderful things about Speciation Artisan Ales in Comstock Park (like 15 mins from downtown Grand Rapids) but I haven't been. It is on my short list to go to, though, so I would recommend it.

I've had one Creston Brewery beer that was solid but I haven't been to the space; heard good things there, too.

Greyline makes some solid beer, but I've only had one of their IPA's so far.

Elk Brewing opened a second location and each thing I've had from them have been really solid, but that's a limited amount of offerings that I've had. If I was going to GR, these would be the four I would want to hit because I haven't been to them.

Founders, because of course.

Go to Brewery Vivant and eat. Even if you don't drink, spend the extra cash and eat there. It's some of the best food in the state, not just for a brewery but for all restaurants. The food is immaculate. The building is an old funeral parlor so it's like eating in a Game of Thrones-like church (once you're on the inside; the outside is pretty unassuming) and it's amazing food. Get the Duck Nachos "appetizer" and split it with someone for your meal and you're golden. But all the food there is phenomenal. And if you like Belgian beers, then even better.

New Holland has what has been told me as a "world class" location in GR now, but I haven't been. They sunk like $12 million into it, so it better be dope!

In Holland: I've been to New Holland's original location and it's really solid with some very good food. A lot of beer there that you won't get in bottles.

Big Lake Brewing, judging from the map I just pulled up, is a bit outside of Holland, but everything i"ve had in cans from them has been pretty good. They're on my list to go to.

Our Brewing is right down the street from New Holland and I thought it was just okay. It's not like I regretted going because it's 100 feet from New Holland, but I wouldn't go back.

Grand Haven, Michigan: Oddside is a must-go. They make so many different beers that there will at least be one thing on the menu that is great. They'll likely have their Imperial Mayan Mocha Stout that is non-barrel aged that will start hitting distribution soon, so I'm excited for that. That's likely at the pub right now.

Grand Armory is another place I have not been to but want to go to. They have put out some solid beers in cans like Crop Duster (an IPA) and I want to get to the pub. Heard good things, though.

I haven't been anywhere else in Grand Haven.

Saugatuck is actually in Douglas, Mich. and it's ... okay. It seems pretty old/dark inside and Saugatuck's beer doesn't excite me much at all. I would skip it, but that's up to you.

Muskegon is not far from Holland/Grand Haven/Saugatuck and I would make a stop there, as well. Muskegon has Pigeon Hill who specialize in unique, malty, sweet beers (Oatmeal Cream Pie amber ale, some sweeter stouts with maple and cinnamon, etc) and their IPA's are alright. I haven't been but they are on my list. Unruly Brewing is also in downtown Muskegon and they were really solid but it's been a few years since I've been there.

That is basically my entire knowledge, give or take, for SW Michigan.

Edit: Perrin Brewing Co. is really solid. That's in Comstock Park (outside of GR) as well. They're owned by the same company who owns Oskar Blues and Cigar City, so they usually have one of their beers on draft there, too. They have some solid beers, some potentially great beers, and some duds. It's very loud in the taproom for some reason, though.

 

whoa

 

Wow thank you so much! We are staying in grand haven and will head to holland and wherever else we have time for. This will be a huge help!

I'll report back with my thoughts on everything.

 

Picked up a Beer Camp at work. Excited to try the Tree House collab.

Best beer I've tried recently is Solar Plexus from Tap Brewing in Haverhill.

 

Sweet! Enjoy man. Plenty of places to go.

 

they do have the imperial mayan mocha stout!! It's fucking fantastic. Just the perfect amounts of heat and sweetness.

 

At the new Neshaminy Creek. Missed Haze unfortunately but Shape of Hops remains a solid beer. Have some rare barrel aged beers to try

 

Anybody know anything about Lord Hobo? Just found an endcap full of it at Total Wine. I've heard of it, but don't know anything about it.

 

Boom Sauce is excellent. The rest of their beers range from okay to pretty good.

 

Dry-hopped Berliner in the Beer Camp pack is delicious. I also had the Burley Oak hopped sour recently, which was even more awesome.