Hi, I have been wanting to take a brewery trip for some time now, and I've been waiting for some friends to commit. However that just doesn't seem to be happening so I'm thinking of doing it solo. The reason I mention the above is I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this since it would not be a good idea to drive from spot to spot. What I'd love to do is book a B&B or hotel in a good location, and find a good brewery tour company so I can leave my car behind. Would love recommendations for brewery tours and also any recs on where to stay. I am thinking it would only be a two day stay. Thanks in advance! Cheers, Mike
My buddy and I are planning on doing GR sometime this summer. We'll probably have just one full day and we're planning on staying near the Public Museum. Here's the somewhat ambitious itinerary: - Walk to Marie Catribe's for breakfast. - Walk to Brewery Vivant. - Walk to Elk Brewing. - Uber/Bus to Founders - Uber/Walk to HopCat (eat lunch) - Take a break, go to a museum, hang out in Ah Nab Awen park. - Walk to New Holland's Knickerbocker (do tour?) - Stumble to Harmony Hall (eat dinner) - Hopefully make it to the hotel before passing out. Vivant & Founders will probably be quick stops, as we've been to both places several times.
We did a brewery tour through Grand Rapids Beer tours a year ago before moving to GR. Our tour included Founders, Harmony Hall (with behind the scenes tour), and Mitten Brewing. We had a really good time and would recommend.
Nice itinerary - i'll be there over the holiday for the first time and may do some of this split across a couple days. I'll pry also hit up Grand Rapids Brewing - unless another brewery is worth a checkout??
GRBC is ok if you're already in the neighborhood, but I wouldn't say its worth going out of the way for. Same goes for Atwater. If you're into ciders then VanderMill is worth a visit. I'm not a huge cider fan and I can usually find something on the menu that I enjoy when I go with my fiancee. Also, if you like mead then Arktos is an option. Be ready for high ABV though!
I really recommend Greyline, but they seem to be way out, kind of on the outskirts. It would be the kinda thing that is its own Uber trip to and from. However, I was pretty impressed with them when I visited last summer.
I'm hitting up GR over Memorial Weekend (usually do an annual weekend brewery trip with the wife). We typically stay at the Holiday Inn downtown. Its walking/short cab ride distance to multiple brewpubs (Founders, Mitten, Vivant, Hopcat, Knickerbocker, Atwater, etc.). Haven't been to Mitten yet, so looking forward to checking it out after hearing good things on here.
I live 20 min from downtown GR. IMO Elk is overrated. I would UBER up to Perrin instead of hitting Elk. Do Perrin early and end in downtown GR. Mitten is definitely worth a stop. Good beer and great pizza. Great BBQ across the road too.
Agreed. Elk is improving, but I would definitely hit Mitten instead. Also, Greyline and Creston Breweries are two to keep in mind. If you're feeling REALLY ambitious, go up north to Cedar Springs Brewing. Very solid, but not likely to find an Uber/cab.
Thanks for the heads up everyone, also that bbq spot sounds good might have to check that out for lunch.
