A Beer Journey to West Michigan Part 2

Previously on A Beer Journey...I was in Michigan and headed to the West side of the state to visit some breweries and enjoy some local Michigan Beer.  And I was just leaving Holland on my way to Grand Rapids.

Very Cool Looking Place

After a little drive, I found my way to the hotel and parked for the night.  It was time for the walking journey.  A little break and I was back on my way.  My first mistake was not realizing how tired I was and it led to a 2 mile walk to Brewery Vivant, instead of the smarter idea of cab ride.  

Yet another flight!

Oh well, the walk was ok and I found myself a spot at the bar.  First things first, it is a beautiful place, feels like I walked into the church of beer.  

They had many brews on tap, and I decided on 4 beers: the Wit Knight, Grand Pumpkin, Organic Brown Ale, and Vivant Rye Porter.  I was also lucky enough to get a sample of the BAARP (Barrel Aged Raspberry Rye Porter).  They were all good, but the highlight was the Grand Pumpkin.  Very dominant pumpkin aroma and some nutmeg and pumpkin in the flavor, and sweeter than anticipated in a good way.  After a nice conversation with a regular patron, I finished my flight and headed to the gift shop for some souvenirs.  

Founders!!!!

More exercise was in order as I walked back towards downtown and headed to Founders Brewing.  I was looking forward to this brewery all day.  When I arrived to this wonderful place, it was packed with people and the bar was full.  There was even a line at one end of the bar, and I decided to visit the gift shop area.  This led to me trying to entice them to sell me bottles of Bolt Cutter for my Arizona friends.  However, no sale on that as they were still holding bottles for ticket holders from the release party (how very nice of them...now why didn't I buy a ticket then).  I still spend some money on glassware and a Breakfast Stout T-Shirt.  Well, then my hands were full and no seats, so the I made a judgement call and journeyed back to the hotel.

Bolt Cutter!

After a quick roundtrip, I was back at Founders and found myself a seat at the bar.  A sampler was unnecessary here, and I went straight to the Bolt Cutter on draft.  Some caramel and toffee notes with a nice alcohol bite at the finish.  I did try it out of a bottle a few days later, and got some more hoppiness than on draft.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Not to be outdone, I had another one and followed it with some Backwoods Bastard.  I also had a great conversation with a guy named Owen, and we talked beer and watched his 49ers kick the crap out of the bears.  

After about three hours and a french bread pizza, I left for my final stop of the evening Hopcat.  Since I was already pretty toasted at this point, I thought this would be a one beer stop.  However, this place was too cool to stay for just one.  Plus, the tap list was one of the best I had ever experienced before.  They even had 7 of their own beers on tap.  

Since I hadn't have enough barrel aged beers at Founders, I went for an interesting brew known as Crazy Train (Bourbon Barrel) from Mount Pleasant Brewing Company.  This brew had a nice combination of hop and booze, it was very tasty.  I was far from done and went for Steve the Imperial Brown from Right Brain Brewery.  After drinking this brew, I definitely want to visit the brewery in Traverse City and try some more.  I saved a killer brew for last, Oude Brune with Sour Cherry from Kuhnhenn Brewing.  This place was awesome, and the service was great.  A return trip is definitely in order.  Make sure you follow this link to the tap list.

I finished up and it was time to roll back to the hotel for some sleep.  After a few wrong turns and cursing Siri, my trip lasted a little longer than I wanted.  However, I did make it back and passed out.

Jolly Pumpkin

I woke up the next morning, and after getting cleaned up, I headed to the popular local bottle shop, Scilliano's.  A great selection and staff, and I even picked up a few beers, including a Flander's Fred.  

I was then back on the highway and ventured back through Ann Arbor to stop at the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & Brewery for lunch.  After the prior night's drunkfest, I settled for one beer.  For some reason, I decided on more greasy pizza.  I enjoyed this place, another cool decor setup and was even able to acquire a bottle of Soberhumano Palena'Ole for a friend.  

Then I finally made it back to rest and relax.  I also visited several breweries in the Detroit area throughout my trip, which included Kuhnhenn Brewing, Liberty Street Brewing and CJ's Brewing.  But those stories are for another time.  

What a Blast!  I had a great time and can't wait to do it all again!  Cheers!