Michigan Brewery Road Trip

I'd recommend at least stopping by Witch's Hat in South Lyon between Bad and Kuhnhenn. It would only add about 20 minutes in driving time to your trip if you're coming down I-96. They usually have a pretty full tap list and you can get a couple of their howlers to take with you if you're so inclined. They also might have cans of Train Hopper and Portly Brown to go.

 

The first part is easy. 3 Floyds doesn't distribute to Michigan.

It's a good list. I'll add a couple suggestions. I find that Perrin in Comstock Park (just north of GR) is solid. For your Metro Detroit Sunday, I would suggest hitting Kuhnhenn, Schramms, and Dragonmead first, maybe during the day, before hitting Arbor and JP during the evening. It's easily a 45 minute to 1 hour drive from the first three to the second two. You could even hit up a couple bottle shops in the area of the first three (Champane's, 8 Degrees, Holiday Market). Plus, staying Sunday night in AA will allow you an easy trip south US-23 to Ohio and home.

 

I agree with this..Also, I would skip BAD brewing and hit up Ellison Brewing Co instead..Better Beer..Its in east lansing on your way to Detroit area..

 

Perrin is much better than some of the other Grand Rapids breweries you have listed. And, yes, go to Three Floyds!

 

If you're traveling the turnpike home, you could stop by Fathead's in Cleveland

 

FWIW, I'd cut Arcardia out of your Monday stop. If you're going to hit 3 Floyd's, I'd suggest stopping by The Livery (in Benton Harbor). While I have not personally been there, I've heard/read quite a bit of good things coming from them (and it's on your way from 3 Floyds to Kalamazoo depending on your route). The one time I went to Olde Peninsula in Kalamazoo, they had some really goofy shit on tap (see: Pancakes N' Hotpants - A maple-ish porter/stout mixed with an habanero ale and garnished with a slice of bacon - It was actually a damn good beer), and may be worth checking out.

Regarding your 2nd day in Grand Rapids; I'd personally avoid Crankers... The one in Grand Rapids is like a satellite restaurant/bar (I believe the original Crankers brewery is in Mount Pleasant) - see: boring/dull. Having been there with my Wife, neither of us were impressed by their food or their drinks either. I'd also pass on New Holland as the majority of what you'll see on tap you'll be able to buy bottles of (and the majority of their stuff isn't really that awesome). Odd Side, however, is one of my favorite Michigan breweries. When you're heading out there, stop in Spring Lake @ The Corner Market. They have some amazing stuff in here, and I'd imagine that this store is picked over less than Sicilianos (or any other Grand Rapids area store). I would imagine that Grand Rapids Brewing is probably also worth skipping. Mitten Brewing puts out some interesting stuff and may be worth stopping at as an alternative. Another Grand Rapids-ish (about 20min SE of downtown) is Railtown Brewing in Dutton, MI. They've been putting some really good stuff out, especially considering they've only been around a year or 2 IIRC. I'll affirm the suggestions to stop at Perrin, as they put out some good beer.

Bottom line, your fiance sounds like she's pretty cool. Try to enjoy your time in Michigan (and at the breweries); don't get hung up on trying to hit as many as possible. Realistically, there are only a handful of great breweries in SWest Michigan. Founders, Bells, Vivant, Odd Side, etc... are all worth enjoying rather than rushing off to grab a beer at the next ABC brewpub. If you're just looking to try as many different breweries as possible, you'll have no issues succeeding at this goal.

 

I'm going to presume that you've looked at a map and decided that 'detours' are okay. If you didn't look yet, you need to know that neither Odd Side nor New Holland are in Grand Rapids, and you'll put on some extra miles to visit them. I'll guess that from GR to New Holland is about a 45 minute drive to get downtown and park, and then another 45 minutes from Holland to Grand Haven for Odd Side, also to get downtown and park. Dark Horse is the same kind of detour -- it's a 45 minute drive from downtown Kzoo to Marshall. If you don't want the extra drive times, I'd skip Odd Side and New Holland (unless you are coming from 3 Floyds then you can fairly conveniently go to New Holland by driving on I-196 to Holland and then GR).

If you skip those two breweries, I agree with the recommendations above to go to Perrin. It's also a bit out of the way, but closer than Odd Side/New Holland. Another option is to go to HopCat. They do some brewing, but their fame is a great tap/bottle list, great food, and great vibe. They are a block from Grand Rapids Brewing, and about 4 blocks from Founders

(For driving, keep in mind that the Kzoo/GR area gets lake effect snow which will likely cause you to have to slow down considerably.)

If Short's beers are on your list of things to get, when in Kzoo you can go to Mega Bev on W. Main St. It's a quick drive off of Rt 131 and they will have a good selection. Drake Party Store is another good one in Kzoo. Short's specialty beers do sell quickly, so you can look there and still keep Siciliano's on your GR list of places to visit. Check the posted threads by HopHeadHerman in this forum for which Short's specialty beers are hitting the stores.

 

Just my humble opinion - skip the east side of the state. I live near Lansing. When I get a free day to visit breweries, I go to the west side. The east side isn't even a consideration. But if you do visit the greater Detroit area, check out Griffin Claw. I would also second Witch's Hat.

As stated earlier, 3 Floyds is not distributed to Michigan. If you want 3 Floyds, you need to visit 3 Floyds or stop at a bottle shop in Indiana or Ohio. However, if you wish to obtain Zombie Dust, it is my understanding that it is next to impossible to find it in bottle shops. Your best bet would be to visit 3 Floyds to get it there. It is also my understanding that 3 Floyds may or may not have it on certain days. And when they do have bottles for sale at 3 Floyds, they post it on their website in the morning and then it quickly sells out - sometimes within a few hours. If you do want to chase after Zombie Dust, make sure you know these details.

For your Friday plan, I would only go to Greenbush only if you head to 3 Floyds that morning. Greenbush would be on your way from Munster, Indiana to Kalamazoo. However, if you skip 3 Floyds, then skip Greenbush.

And if you do skip 3 Floyds, your best bet for a first stop on Friday would be Dark Horse, logistically speaking. From there, you can head to Kalamazoo. Definitely stop at Bell's. I would also stop at Arcadia although many people do not care for them. I believe they have a very nice facility, their beer is better than they are given credit for and they are only located about a third of a mile to the east of Bell's. I also like to recommend Ray Ray's in Kalamazoo for a bite to eat. His Chicago Beef is outstanding. Be sure to get there before 5:00PM if you can. He runs out of food sometime.

I recommend starting your Saturday with a tour of Founders. The tours start only at 11:15AM and 11:45AM. It cost $10 for each person and you have to purchase a ticket online to make sure you can go on the tour. They will also give you a pint glass. They also have a tour and tasting at 12:30PM on Saturday as well but that cost $30 per person.

From there it gets tricky. I would definitely visit Brewery Vivant as they are somewhat close to Founders. As stated earlier, Perrin's is 15 minutes north of downtown GR. Perrin's is a great brewery and great facility that is definitely worth checking out. If you head that way and time permits, I recommend going out of the way to Oddside Ales in Grand Haven. Their facility is rather ordinary but they always have a killer taplist. All this driving around is weather permitting, of course.

I would rather spend another day in GR on Sunday having quality visits at GR's great breweries compared to heading to the east side of the state. But again, that's just my opinion. One last comment I would make is that all of these GR/Kalamazoo breweries are very good about using social media. Check them out on facebook and twitter shortly before you leaving on your trip and during your trip. There may be some special events that you may want to check out.

mothergoose gave great bottle shop suggestions. When you go there, explain to them you are on beercation and you are looking for something special. You never know what they pull out from behind the counter.

February on the west side of Michigan means bad snowstorms can occur at any time. Lake Michigan provides lake effect snow that can get pretty bad sometime. Always be aware of what the weather forecast is. Have fun!

 

If you are driving from Philly I would think you would want to minimize driving once you get here and start drinking. Bells and Arcadia are close in kzoo. Park your car once in grand rapids and walk or easily cab to numerous good places. Founders. Mitten and Harmony both have good pizza and solid beers. Its not that easy to drive up and around the west side after a few stops unless of course you are just gonna sample the water. Ellison to kuhnhenn to Detroit hopcat/Jolly pumpkin would be a nice way outta here.

 

I'd think twice about going to 3F. That's going to add considerable drive time, an extra hour or so to Munster and 2 hrs back to Kzoo. Quite honestly, driving through the night and spending the following day drinking beer and doing more driving in a MI Feb (especially that stretch of 94) seems like a recipe for disaster. Stop at Dark Horse, head to Kzoo, stop at Mega Bev for bottles to take home, then walk/cab from your hotel to Bell's to Arcadia to Kalamazoo Beer Exchange to wherever else (gonzo's, latitude 42, etc).

On Sat, head up to GR, do the Founders tour, drive to Perrin, then go back to GR and use the Beer City Runner (beercityrunner.com) to hit the other GR breweries (Mitten, Vivant, Elk, Founders again, Hopcat, GR Brewing Co). It's $15 and your ticket is good all day. Take an Uber back to your hotel.

On Sun, head to Ellison in East Lansing, Witch's Hat, Kuhnhenn, then end the day in Ann Arbor. Walk between Arbor, Jolly Pumpkin, and Ashley's. There's probably a place or two between Kuhnhenn and AA, but I'm not too familiar with that side of the state.

Skip the lakeshore. I like New Holland (10 min from my house), and Odd Side is awesome, but lake effect snow in Feb can be a total b**ch. Might be clear, but also might be a frickin swirling blizzard. It will almost certainly be slick/icy and not conducive to beer tasting.

 

If you're dead set on hitting 3F, I'd do a lakeshore swing that day and head up I-196/US-31. That'd allow you to hit Greenbush, Tapistry, Livery, New Holland (and other smaller places nearby), and Odd Side. Holland and Grand Haven both have nice downtown areas to bum around in if you need a break. Spend the night in Grand Haven, do GR on Sat, hit the corner market in Spring Lake on the way in. Then do Kzoo/Dark Horse on Sun and skip the East side of the state. Again, I'd skip 3F, but it may be doable if the weather cooperates.

 

if you go to three floyds, stop by 18th street brewery also.

 

Plenty of parking around both Gr and Kzoo. but some may take you a little walk. Bells, Arcadia, beer Exchange (go after 6pm), Shakespeare's all have great taps in kzoo. plus some of the other local small breweries gonzos, Lat 42, ruperts , tibbs. Hit up Drakes and Mega Bev for bottles. depending on your trip and which way you go Kuhnhenn is a must on the east side (they dont distro anything), witches hat and schramms if you like killer meads. after that take I-94 over to Darkhorse and then to kzoo. New holland onsite taps are so-so so i would skip that, oddsides has a killer list all the time, founders, vivant, perrin. if you can shoot over to white flame or pike 51 small breweries just outside of GR but make some killer stuff! Good Luck. if you posibly want to set up a trade send me a message.

cheers

 

For 3 Floyds I would stop at Gay's in Angola, IN if you are coming via the turnpike, if flies off the shelf here in Toledo. If you are planning on hitting Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor, I would also hit Wolverine State Brewing there too.

 

Where do you plan on staying on Sunday night? In Ann Arbor? First stop in Metro Detroit should be Kuhnhenn, but I'm trying to mentally map out your route through the day and knowing where you plan on staying will help out here.

 

Which of the other breweries in GR are "great"? Founders is great, Perrin is definitely getting there, and Vivant is great if you like the style of beer they make. The rest of them seem really run of the mill, especially when compared to Jolly Pumpkin, Witch's Hat, Kuhnhenn, Schramms (not beer, but always worth a stop).

 

Not to over complicate your planning, but if you're interested in heading in to Detroit you could check out Batch Brewing in Corktown. Cool building in Detroit's oldest neighborhood and on-site parking!
Jolly Pumpkin opened a location in midtown Detroit last year as well that I'm finding myself liking more than the Ann Arbor location nowadays.

To be honest I'd skip Dragonmead altogether. That's not an indictment on the quality of their brew, as some of their offerings are really great, but you've got a lot packed in to the day already.

With all that said, here's what I'm proposing...
Kuhnhenn doesn't open till noon, so you've got some time to kill.

11 am - Champane's Wine Cellar in Warren
11:30 am - Kuhnhenn let's you bring food in, so maybe pick up food between the bottle shop & heading over. If you like pizza, might I suggest calling and placing a pick-up order from Buddy's Pizza when they open at 11, that way the pizza is ready before Kuhnhenn opens. It's basically Detroit's style of pizza and a personal favorite (others may disagree, but its just my opinion). No matter what you decide on, pick up lunch to eat at Kuhnhenn to save on time.
12 noon - Kuhnhenn

Then Schramms in Ferndale, Batch in Detroit and over to Ann Arbor for Jolly Pumpkin and Arbor.

Google Maps route for reference.