Michigan Brewery Road Trip

I would keep Vivant, as the beers were fine Saturday before last, had to have 2 of the Belgian IPA. Didn't bother with Founders, and for the first time HopCat did not knock my socks off.

 

Your decision on keeping Brewery Vivant should be determined by your taste for Belgian-inspired beers. The beers are not real 'Belgiany' but most have a noticeable taste in that direction. I'm not a solid Belgian fan, but I do like Vivant's beers.

 

The Waldorff...I have mixed feelings about this place. Being from my home town I preferred the beers here back when it first opened when their brewer, Rob, was still there. I haven't had a beer from here in well over a year but I was confused when I went and drank a beer that tasted watered down but was winning awards. I will be home while en route to my new duty station (moving from Brussels, Belgium to Fort Lewis, WA) and I will be trying out all their newest beers. I hope they have improved because I really enjoyed this place.

 

Sorry but Rob's beers were terrible. Maybe that watered down taste was lack of infection. Sam has had the Walldorff kicking ass for the past few years. He has recently left for Perrin.

 

hmm all my friends and family that drink there have all enjoyed the beer from before. Like I said though I haven't been there in a while and I hope the beer is better.

 

When are you making the trip?, If it is going to be during the winter, I would probably exclude the trip north to shorts and go further west, hitting 3 floyds then you other destinations. I personally would do this anyway, but I am not a huge shorts fan, and there is enough available on tap and in bottles in GR.

 

The Walldorff's beers with Sam Sherwood brewing is what put them on the map! I also live in Hastings and have been going there at least once a week on average in the last 5 years...and Rob was not a good brewer. (spent more time drinking and smoking then actual brewing) I think the oatmeal stout is the only beer that Sam didn't have to change the recipe to. Sam won awards with some of his beers because they tasted like award winning beers! Sam also took a young local kid under his wing and trained him many of his brewing secrets for a good 6 months, and now Brett Hammond is the new brewer.

And now with Sam moving on to Perrin and to a brewery owner who will actually let him expand his horizons...I predict big things for them and see them skyrocketing to the most talked about breweries in Michigan for 2013!

 

Yes, the Pyramid Scheme bar(68 Commerce sw GR, MI), they have like 9-10 dedicated shorts taps. As far as stores go, Beverage international on East Paris at 28th street(south east of down town) usually has a great selection.
Also if you do leave that out you should try to make time to go to the livery and/or greenbush brewing.

 

There are plenty of bottle shops that carry Shorts brews. The problem is that Shorts is one of the best brew pubs to go to. It's a cool atmosphere with good food and always quite a few pub only beers. It is however very far north. So depending what part of your trip( I would assume towards the end) you want to pick up bottles someone in that area can direct you to a shop.

 

If your planning to eat in Grand Rapids, save it for Vivant. We decided to make Founders our first stop also our lunch stop. When we made it to Vivant we were kicking ourselves because the menu looked like something out of a 3 star

 

Traverse city or anything up north is much more enjoyable as a multi-day trip. I wouldn't think that extra drive that far north would be worth a 1 night stay. Maybe avoid heading that far north until spring/summer and stay 3 nights or something. It's a wonderful part of the country, but I think it would be worth skipping on this trip.

I'd go to Ann Arbor because it has several places that are worth checking out. Jolly Pumpkin, Grizzly Peak and ABC (or corner brewery in Ypsi) are worthy places to stop and get a drink. There are also some pretty unique bars with good beer selections to hit up. Also, a great place to find other things to do with with you girlfriend/wife. Just my 2 cents.

Oddside is a brewery that I haven't been too, but there are a few places carrying their beers near my house right now and I have to admit, they make some damn fine brews. I'm interested in heading up there. Also, Frakenmuth has a really nice facility. I know some people that love their beer and others that think it's pretty average, but their facility is beautiful and almost too big.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I never said Rob was a good brewer. I just liked his beers better than I liked the newer brews at the Waldorff. I think going there as much as you do that any changes to the taste may not be as noticeable to you as they were to me. Of course I admit that it could be a change in my tastes as well. Going from Hastings, MI to Brussels, Belgium and back to Hastings I imagine the beer at the Waldorff may not have the same appeal it once did for me. All this said, I will still be in there drinking beers while I am back home and I would never mind sharing a beer with a fellow beer enthusiasts.

 

Go to Marie Catribs(GR) for food, they offer a lot of vegetarian dishes and are very good.

 

When are you going? If you are in GR on Dec. 13th, there is a shorts tap take over(34 of their beers) for Joe Shorts B-Day, there may be some leftovers for a couple days after as well.

 

Short's is a heck of a drive, but it's one of my top brewpubs to visit because of the staff, patrons and setting. It's a great place to drink. That said, you've got an ambitious plan already. Driving an extra 3 hours in a Michigan winter might be better served by a staying closer to Grand Rapids.

 

If I were you I would take 96 up to lansing and then take 127 up towards your stops in the traverse city area rather than 75 through Midland. Mount Pleasant Brewing Co. is in Mt. Pleasant which runs directly through it. It doesn't get much love on this site, but they make a ton of great beers that they don't bottle so not many can attest to. I was spoiled as my alma mater is there, so I will shamelessly promote Mt. Pleasant Brewing Co.

I also agree that Shorts has one of, if not the best brew pubs in the state and you need to go there if you're going to be in the traverse city area.

Brewery Vivant is awesome and worth a visit.

Kuhnhenn's is also incredible.

It might be worth saving Greenbush, the livery and other costal places if you ever plan on doing a trip down to 3 Floyds as it kind of disrupts your route.

 

Shorts was the reason he was going there, if he cuts that out and gets their beers in GR he has the time to hit three floyds and greenbush or the livery, maybe both,not a bad trade off,IMO. It is his decision though, it would be a no brainer for me, Shorts is very nice, but not worth the drive if that is the only reason going that far north. If he was gonna do some snowmobiling too, then it would be worth it, otherwise no need for that drive in the winter.