On the way to Grand Rapids, we busted out the Big Red Van's wireless headphones for the kids for the first time. They loved it, and Niki and I loved cruising on the freeway without listening to the kids' movie or shows the entire way.
Stephanie and Don lent us their new Jeep Wrangler Safari. Lots of fun to drive . . . We stopped first in downtown Grand Rapids at Grand Rapids Brewing Company and Hopcat. They weren't open yet, so we looked around and kept on driving.
We headed up to Founders Brewing, the big dog in town. Founders is internationally known, and it has a huge beer hall. They are in the middle of an much-needed expansion.
Here is the list of beers on tap Saturday.
Niki and I ordered four. We had (in order below):
1. EXP 7272 (American Pale Ale);
2. Solid Gold (Extra Pale Ale);
3. Pale Ale
4. Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale.
We also had the world's largest plate of garlic cheesy bread.
Niki preferred the EXP 7272. I liked the EXP 7272 and the Dirty Bastard. The beers were excellent, but the experience was just so-so. The lunch crowd arrived right after we did, and service suddenly crawled to a stop.
Next stop was Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids' East Hills neighborhood.
Brewery Vivant is in an old church building, and featured mostly Belgian-style beers.
It was a fantastic venue for drinking beer on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Detail on the stained glass.
The food here was more upscale -- we had a selection of cheeses, chutney, and roasted nuts (as compared to more typical "bar food" at the other two locations). They paired perfectly with our beer selections. The tastes (both beer and food) at this brewery were decidedly more complex than the other two breweries.
You can see the colors of our beer much better in this photograph. Our beers, from left to right, top to bottom:
1. Solitude (Abbey Style Ale);
2. Farm Hand (French Style Farmhouse Ale);
3. Menage a Trois (Oak Aged Beer - aged in a Jack Daniels oak barrel); and
4. Triomphe (Belgian Style I.P.A.).
The Farm Hand was wonderful, as was the Menage a Trois - the oak aged beer had an incredible finish - hard for me to describe. Don says that Vivant often has different oak aged beers on tap.
After this, they also gave us a tasting of the Black Rabbit (Black I.P.A.) and Big Red Coq (Hoppy Belgo-American Red Ale). We wound up bringing Don back a growler of the Big Red Coq. We will return.
During our tour, Stephanie and Don kept us posted on the fun the cousins were having. Here they are, playing baseball in the backyard in the rain . . .
Happy cousins in the garage . . .
And then things began to get nuts (right before Peter fell asleep on Pink Bubba in the middle of the kitchen):
Back to the action. Niki and I made our last stop at Perrin Brewing Company in Comstock Park, north of the city. This place was way off the beaten path, but like the others, JAMMED. You can see the poles holding up the wires for hops to grow up to the left of the building.
This was a very industrial facility - loud, bright, and very fun (even though it looks dark in this picture).
We ordered the fried pickles (they were fantastic), and four beers (left to right):
1. Gateway (XPA) (Pale Ale);
2. Black (Black Ale);
3. Lightweight; and
4. Honey Rye.
They were all good. Niki preferred the Gateway XPA. The Black, for being a Black Ale, was surprisingly light. All of these beers were lighter on the tongue than those of the other breweries. We will return to this one, too.
There are many, many other breweries in Grand Rapids that are on our list - we'd like to try Grand Rapids Brewing, Harmony, and the Mitten . . .
After our tour, we had a wonderful evening at Stephanie and Don's and spent the night. When we left on Sunday (mid-morning), it was 44. This is the middle of May . . .
Ahh - living in Michigan. Cold beer. Cold weather. Great company.
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