Michigan trip, best stops?

Jolly Pumpkin where? If you are talking Traverse City, I would certainly skip that and go to Shorts. If you are talking Ann Arbor, I would add Ashley's and Arbor in that order. Kuhnhenn in Warren was good but I didn't go on a perfect night as far as the taplist. If you are going to Bell's you might as well go up to GR and hit Founders and Brewery Vivant and HopCat and Pyramid Scheme. Another addition to strongly consider would be Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven. It was a great place to hang out and they had a wide range of their amazing beers on tap. The Livery is good but not great beer but a fun spot. Enjoy!

 

Agree with above, JP in Traverse sucked. They only had a few JP's on tap, and they were only what I'd call the basics. Bam beer, Oro, etc. Not that those are bad, but I was looking for something out of the ordinary.

 

If you are going to be in Traverse City, awesome city btw, do not miss out on Right Brain Brewing. Then take an afternoon and drive up to Short's, my favorite Michigan brewery stop.

 

Do a forum search, there are tons of threads with great info for you. I Would say, if JP is the only reason you are going to AA or TC, skip it, plenty to do in SW MI. Grand Rapids definitely deserves a day. If you will already be in K-zoo, its only like 45min North. Founders, Hopcat, Vivant, and Perrin are all musts in GR.

 

If you go to JP in Ann Arbor, other places close by are OG in Milan and Wolverine in AA. I skip Ashley's often.

Arcadia's new brewery taproom in Kalamazoo is open.

If you go to New Holland, there is Our Brewing just down the street, and I really enjoyed Odd Sides in Grand Haven.

In TC I skip Right Brain and spend time at the Filling Station or make the drive to Shorts.

 

Just to add, if your in the Ann Arbor area, go to Witch's Hat Brewing in South Lyon....I personally like it better than some of the others ones around Ann Arbor that were mentioned

 

JP in AA is a great experience for the beer and food, but if going there for some sour/funky beers is your goal then you may get some satisfaction by going to Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Their beers are Belgian inspired, but they put a few tasty sours too. All of their beers are excellent.

 

op, you are right on the money with Bell's and Dark Horse on your list. All of the comments are above are right on the money as well. Definitely check out Arcadia as one person stated above. They just opened a brewpub in downtown Kalamazoo somewhat near Bell's.

If you make it to Grand Rapids, go to Founder's, HopCat, Brewery Vivant (only if you like Belgians/sour beers) and Perrin's. Be sure to get the barrel aged Malted Milk Ball Porter at Perrin's. It ranks right up there with the best of barrel aged porters/stouts, imho. Have fun on your trip. Be sure to share a report with us when you return.

 

A good recommendation for sure.

 

In addition to the great beer, the food at Founders is awesome so make a point to eat there.

 

The suggestions above are right on, but I would also say to skip New Holland and hit Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven instead. Much better things going on there. No food served there unfortunately though...

 

Odd Side in Grand Haven is a must. New Holland is forgettable to me personally.

 

I took a couple trips through Michigan (Chicago to Mackinaw and back) the last few years. All the Grand Rapids breweries mentioned I would second, as well as one I don't see listed here, Harmony. It's a few blocks past Vivant. GR bars Hopcat and the bar just down the street from it (memory fails me at the moment). Dark Horse, Founders, Bell's, Arcadia. Short's for sure (and order a pizza - delicious!)

Paw Paw Brewing was a fun stop on the way back to Chicago, as was (on a non-beer note) Three Oaks Distillery.

 

I'd say skip New Holland and go to Grand Rapids, it's not too far from Kalamazoo and you have a ton of great options far better than New Holland, IMO. Vivant, Founders, Grand Rapids Brewing Company has awesome food, Perrin had some nice barrel aged beers last time I was there. If you do go to New Holland you can make the short drive to Fennville and visit Virtue Cider, Greg Hall's ciderey. Then hit up Grand Haven and Oddsides.

 

You said this is a beer trip and I don't know where in Ohio you're driving from... but if it's west side you're set on going to (Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids), I'd suggest driving to Munster Indiana and 3 Floyds from West Michigan instead of heading to northern MI or eastern MI. If you've been to 3F or have parks/tourists stops in MI that you want to make, then ignore me. If you haven't/don't, then 3F is ~ 2 hours from Kalamazoo and worth the 120 mile drive for sure.

If you are hitting GR - definitely check out Founders, Perrin, and Hopcat.

Cheers.

 

Definitely hit the places u want. Just be aware if its raining, dark horse is very small inside and u wont be able to sit out in the beer garden. If so, Arcadia in Battle Creek is a great option. One more suggestion is the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange. Tons of great beers on tap and a theme of the stock market where the prices fluctuate and occasionally the market crashes. Have fun

 

i see you mentioned parks, what other activities are you interested in? i can probably help a little in regards to Michigan outdoor activities.

 

I was at Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor a few days ago and I will just add that being able to get a pitcher of Biere de Mars is pretty amazing. It may be worth a stop to start your trip there!