Mini Brewery Tour planned around Founders. Need help

You should definitely stop at Greenbush in Sawyer, MI. It is located right off of I-94 and it is on the way to GR from FFF.

 

+1 to stopping at Greenbush, also make The Livery in Benton Harbor a stop. Good call on Odd Sides, many people overlook them. While you're in GR I would also make a visit to Hopcat and Brewery Vivant.

 

If you have a DD then try all of them.

Bells
Founders
Arcadia
Greenbush
Livery
New Holland
Saugatuk
Odd Side
Vivant
Hopcat
Perrin
Waldorf
Pike 51
White Flame
Harmony
Mitten (opening soon)
Rockford (opening soon)

Am I missing any in the area?

 

If i were you I would hit Greenbush and then head east from there and hit up Dark Horse first then go to Arcadia and Bell's on your way up to GR. It would be MUCH more worth it for you to drive the extra hour or so to go there as opposed to going to New Holland and Oddside. Either way you won't be disappointed, i've just been to most of these places and think the Battle Creek/Kalamazoo area has better brews than the Holland/Grand Haven area. But hey... opinions are opinions! Enjoy your time around Grand Rapids!

Edit: Holland and Grand Haven are much more beautiful towns though.

 

What about Hideout Brewing? I haven't been there but it looks like they make some interesting stuff.

 

Crap. Forgot them and Schmoz. Also, Grand Rapids Brewing Company will likely be open by then as well.

 

Just came back from a 4-day weekend in Kzoo and area. hit up most of the big hitters. As long as you are there, might as well hit Paw Paw. I would hit both sides. You need some downtime between places anyway. The food at New Holland is incredible and OddSide Ales makes some interesting beers. Arcadia smokes ribs and wings and Dark Horse is awesome. Can't go wrong!

 

I think that forgetting Schmoz is appropriate. I've never had anything good from them.
Most of this is repetitive, but I'd definitely hit Greenbush and The Livery on your way to GR from FFF. Being from Kalamazoo, I'd recommend a stop here to hit Bell's. Their tap list has been excellent lately, so I'd check to see if they have some of the special drafts on (BB Batch 9K, BB Cherry Stout) and include it if possible. I can take or leave New Holland. It's not worth the extra drive. Odd Side is solid and always has some good stuff on draft. If anyone in your group is into cider's, Vandermill's is on your way from 96 to Grand Haven. I would also recommend going to Brewery Vivant when you are hungry. Great beer, cool tap room, and excellent food. Also, you should make a stop at HopCat. It's one of the top beer bars in the country for a reason. Enjoy your time up in West Michigan!

 

Ive done this exact same trip twice in the last 2 years on the exact same days of the week (left town early Friday morning came home Sunday afternoon/evening). Here's a quick rundown and some tips:

TRIP 1 (all stops in order):
Friday
Holland - New Holland
Grand Rapids - Founders, Hopcat, The Hideout (stayed in GR Friday night)
Saturday
Battle Creek - Arcadia
Marshall - Dark Horse
Kalamazoo - Bells (stayed in Kzoo Saturday night)
Sunday
FFF on our way home to far west Chicago burbs

TRIP 2 (all stops in order)
Friday
Sawyer - Greenbush
Benton Harbor - The Livery
Grand Haven - Odd Side
Grand Rapids - Brewery Vivant, Founders (stayed in GR Friday night)
Saturday
Grand Rapids - Hopcat, Graydon's Crossing (not a brewery but they tapped BCBS that morning. Had to stop in for a couple pours after lunch and a few brews at Hopcat)
Marshall - Dark Horse
Kalamazoo - Bells (stayed in Kzoo Saturday night)
Sunday
FFF on our way home to far west Chicago burbs

Heres a few tips:
-Since you have very limited time and so many breweries (you obviously wont hit all of them in 1 weekend trip) dont waste too much time driving from brewery to brewery. Map out a good route so you're not backtracking and wasting gas and time. Both times we went we pretty much just made a big circle.
-Dont go any farther east than Marshall (Dark Horse). That would be a whole other trip.
-Whatever brewery you decide to go to first on Friday and Saturday get there right when they open to allow yourself ample time to hit up as many breweries in one day as possible. You have a DD so you should be all good.
-In Grand Rapids Founders, Hopcat and Vivant get packed on Friday night during prime time dinner hours. Just a heads up. Its probabaly the same Saturday night as well but Ive only gone on Friday night both times.
-I honestly like all the breweries out there and you'll have a good time no matter where you decide to go but I could go without New Holland and Arcadia. Highly recommend Greenbush, Founders, Hopcat and Dark Horse (my favorite out of all the Michigan breweries). FFF obviously.

If you want to know any specifics that I didnt cover let me know. Hope this helps.

 

There are several more that are in the area. These come to mind.
Michigan Beer Cellar in Sparta.
The Waldorf in Hastings.

There are even more. This may help.
http://www.michiganbeerguide.com/?page=directory

 

GRBrew mentioned it in his list but I'd highly recommend checking out Perrin. They opened recently just north of GR. They have a great tap room and some fantastic beer. Definitely worth the trip. And if you're looking for dinner on the way there, stop at Amore. Great Italian food.

 

I'm curious since I haven't heard much about them, what were you're thoughts on Hideout?

 

Funny u ask that. The Hideout was our last stop of the night and I definitely didn't need to go there but my cousin and his half sister wanted to. I was pretty much blackout drunk the whole time. I had 1 maybe 2 beers but couldn't tell you what they were. I do remember it being a very cool little brew pub. Their outdoor beer garden was awesome. They had bags and shuffleboard if I'm not mistaken. You could say I was there but not really there. Sorry couldn't be more help.

 

I'm going to probably get yelled at for this, but I say skip HopCat, especially if you are on a schedule. The service there has been absolutely terrible and slow lately. I really don't understand what is going on with them, because I never used to have problems with them until the past few months. I was honestly quite embarrassed by the bad service when my friends and I took an out of town guest there a few weeks ago. Every time I have had poor service, I still end up going back and hoping it will get better because they truly do have the best selection in town. At this point though, my last experience was bad enough for me to say I don't plan on going there again when I can get much better service at any brewery in town.

 

I can say Hopcat was not bad when I was there a couple weeks ago. I was there during the ArtPrize event, and even though it was busy ( half hour wait at 12:30 in the afternoon) we had very good service.

 

I would recommend making sure you are hitting Three Floyds at an off time to reduce the wait that is now standard there.