GR / KZoo trip (yes another thread, sorry)

After you leave Old Nation go to Vine & Brew in Okemos. Then you can get on the highway right there. Best prices in town. You can get everything as a single without an up charge. (Look in the cooler if you want m43 or dank juice. That is if there is any dank juice out at that time and if Old Nation didn't have any 43 cans.)

Also, if you want to add another Lansing area stop, Ellison is near there too (do ON -> Ellison --> Vine & Brew --> Highway). They don't open til 12 on Fridays though.

Sunday if you are heading back towards A2 from Kalamazoo, go to Dark Horse in Marshall. Right off your path and visit the compound. Get some beer, and a pizza, then visit their bakery and get some bread, and their coffee shop, and who knows their cycle and skate shop if that is your vibe.... like I said. It's a compound.

 

Looks like a good plan. You'll put a lot of miles on with that itinerary, so adding more breweries would be cutting into the time that you'd need to enjoy those on your schedule.

Having said that, if you're going to be in Bridgman for Transient Artisan Ales, right across the street is Tapistry which has excellent beers and food. And about a mile away is the Haymarket Taproom.

Depending on when you think you have the most time in your schedule for a stop at a bottle shop, Siciliano's Market is considered to be the place of choice in GR, and Mega-Bev on West Main Street is probably the best in Kzoo.

I agree with the recommendation above to stop at Dark Horse in Marshall. It's a treat to visit that place for beer and food. You can take a tour of the brewery (I think it's $10) which always includes a tasting in the VIP room where you'll get things on tap that are not available in the taproom. I think BBA Plead the Fifth is always one of those offerings. There is also a Mega-Bev in Marshall, but it's a fraction of what is available at the Kzoo shop.

 

Slurm Lord from Short's should be out by then. Look for it in stores. Siciliano's is a great shop in GR, highly recommend.

Logan's Alley in GR is where the locals hang out. Great beer bar, open everyday 7am-2am.

 

If you see any New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve, get a 4-pack. It's a BBA S'mores Stout that is excellent. I don't know when it was released this year to know how easily you might find it, but it has been highly hyped in the past and usually is in short supply.

 

Dark Horse is only a couple of miles south of I-94 from K'zoo to A2, so it isn't that far out of the way. You will be kicking yourself if you don't stop there.

 

You should consider grabbing a pint at Arcadia along the Kalamazoo Riverfront

 

For several years, I'd always discourage people from stopping at Dark Horse because, although it's a cool place, they never seemed to have anything on tap besides the standard beers that you could buy at any grocery store in MI. I've noticed in the last 6-12 months, though, that they've finally stepped up their on-site list. Now you can expect to find at least a couple of taproom-only beers, and the seasonals/limited are somewhat more common.

 

I personally prefer Latitude 42 over Dark Horse on that same vicinity of I-94 on the drive back.

Lat 42 is clean and open and modern. Dark Horse is is very dive bar. Nothing wrong with a good dive bar, just personal preference. I also think the beer is better at Lat 42, but DH has plenty of fans for sure. And I will echo the comment above that when I was at DH it was mostly stuff I could buy in the store (compared to Lat 42 doesn't get great distro in Eastern MI)

 

Obligatory One Well suggestion. Get the Xalapa.

 

I love Latitude 42 also, my wife says that their beer cheese soup is the best.

 

The spot for Latitude 42 is pretty cool, but I have never been overwhelmed with their beer. We stopped because it was convenient on the way back.

Tried a One Well beer at Hopcat in K-Zoo and immediately decided we needed to stop there. Glad we did. The food is phenomenal, prices are good.

I would also urge you, if you have time in K-Zoo to check out the Beer Exchange and their Hopcat. The Hopcat menu was amazing when I was there.

 

Here's your best advice. Extend your visit by a week and maybe you can get to half of the great places suggested above. Can't see a bad suggestion above.

 

If you're heading to Transient, there are a ton of cool breweries around the area. Tapistry and Greenbush/Haymarket/Roundbarn are literally across the street and down the road. Watermark is a cool new brewery 5 minutes away in Stevensville. Up the highway you could hit Livery or Arclight. We did a tour a few months ago, hit five or six breweries and didn't leave a 5 mile radius.

I personally would stay in this area and save the New Holland/Oddside visit for another day. Or save the Jolly Pumpkin/Old Nation visit for another day since they are closer to AA and go right to New Holland/Oddside then back to GR. Either way you go, you're in for a good time!

**I see now that you're from SC and not from AA.

 

Preach. There is so much within about a 10 mile drive in SW MI that it's pretty great. Take some of your time and spend it at the beach too. Grab some cans/growler from a brewery, go relax on the beach..you'll have an amazing time and be thrilled you didn't spend a ton of money to go a beach far away.

 

I would try to make a pit stop into Big Lake Brewing, it's on the north side of Holland, so it would be not too far out of your way from Grand Haven to New Holland. Also, if you can, eat a meal at Vivant in Grand Rapids.