Short’s Key Lime Pie
5.75% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Amber with a quickly dissolving small head. Some sediment rises to the top as well. Aroma: Primarily lime. Taste: Starts out with lots of lime followed by sweet...
View ArticleBell’s Cherry Stout
7% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Small dark tan head. Black in color. Aroma: Tart cherry and roasted malts. Taste: Cherry with roasts. In others words, sweet with a burnt aftertaste. Not as sour as I...
View ArticleAtwater Teufel Bock
10.9% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Small to medium white/reddish head….carmelly red color. Overall darker color. Aroma: Sweet, banana, fruitiness. Taste: Banana and fruit, bread-like favors (more of a sweet...
View ArticleB.O.B.’s Brewery Hopsun
4.9% ABV, Draft Appearance: Cloudy yellow with orange tints. Aroma: Banana and malt-forward. Taste: Flavor comes in layers; orange to banana really quickly. Some cloves as well. Mouthfeel: Light bodied...
View ArticleVanderFest ushers beer and cider collaboration
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — With an expanded brewery and winery lineup plus more food options, VanderFest returns to West Michigan this Saturday. The third annual event combines the best of cider to go...
View ArticleRound Barn Amber Ale
5.3% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Brown with red hue and thin creamy head, plenty of bubbles. Aroma: Hints of sweetness, caramel and malt. Taste: Malt and caramel but not a lot of sweetness. A little bland...
View ArticleWolverine State Brewing Co. Premium Lager
4.8% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Pale straw yellow with evident carbonation. Aroma: Malty sweetness with a hint of hops. Taste: Crisp lager, grainy sweetness with some nuttiness and a very slight hoppy...
View ArticleFounders Dirty Bastard
8.5% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Brown with ruby red hues. Decent head upon pour that dissipates to slightly more than a lining. Visible carbonation. Aroma: Caramel, vanilla, boozy with various malty...
View ArticleGrand Rapids Brewing opens to high anticipation
GRAND RAPIDS — Lines are a bit of thing at Grand Rapids Brewing Company. Since opening its doors last week, beer lovers have waited as long as two hours to snag a table at the downtown brewery. “We’re...
View ArticleB.O.B.’s Oatmeal Stout
6% ABV, Draft Appearance: Dark brown, almost black. Lasting medium tan head. Aroma: Roasted maltiness, cocoa, with fruity tones. Taste: Sweet, but slightly roasted. Chocolate/cocoa flavored. Slightly...
View ArticleGuild cracks down on scalpers
Ticket scalpers messing with the Michigan Brewers Guild can think again. After reporting via its Facebook page that tickets to the annual Winter Beer Festival sold out in less than 13 hours on Dec. 1,...
View ArticleTwo years later, Vivant celebrates success
GRAND RAPIDS — Brewery Vivant said cheers to two years Thursday night during its anniversary party. “You take moments like this and you always think you’ve got this huge nostalgia built around it,”...
View ArticleB.O.B.’s Lake Scotch
8.5 ABV, Draft Appearance: Dark amber, quickly disappearing head that leaves filmy white lining. Low carbonation. Aroma: Butterscotch/scotch smell, fruity, sweet hints. Taste: Comes in waves — scotch,...
View ArticleBrewery Vivant Hubris Quadruple Ale
13% ABV, Draft Appearance: Light brown, limited carbonation, no head. Aroma: Malty and bread-like. Prunes, raisins, cherries and other fruit scents give it a sweet aroma. Taste: Initial malts and...
View ArticleB.O.B.’s Brewery Peanut Butter Stout
6.0% ABV, Draft Appearance: Dark brown, cloudy. Aroma: Full on peanut butter, which overrides most of the other scents, but there are slight roasted chocolate and sweet scents. Taste: Immediate peanut...
View ArticleDetroit Brewing Bohemian
5.3% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Light orange with plenty of flowing carbonation. It pours with a very thin head that leaves a slight lacing. Aroma: Lager yeast apparent with a bread-like smell that has a...
View ArticleKeweenaw November Gale Pale Ale
Can Appearance: Golden tone, pours with a very thin head that leaves a decent lacing, with lots of bubbling carbonation. Aroma: Citrus, lemon and a mild hops scent with a slight roastiness. Taste:...
View ArticleVander Mill Super Sonic Concord Grape
6.8% ABV, Draft Appearance: Light yellow, clear with lots of large bubbled carbonation. Aroma: Sweet Concord grapes with wine-like earthy scents. Taste: This is 100 percent grape and it shows. With its...
View ArticleIncreased sales, new image power B.O.B.’s Brewery
It might not be the most well-known brewery in Grand Rapids, but B.O.B.’s Brewery is poised to continue its increasing beer production. And it’s not a shot in the dark for the brewery. It’s more of a...
View ArticlePaleooza’s triumphant return marked by pub crawl
HOLLAND — One of New Holland Brewing Company’s most well-known flagship brews paraded downtown streets Saturday in anticipation of its return to the regular tap rotation today. Paleooza returns as a...
View ArticlePike 51 Knight’s Brown
7.9% ABV, Draft Appearance: Reddish brown with a medium head. Aroma: Oats and strawberry…kinda funky. Taste: Burnt malt with fruit. The aroma is present as well; kind of a toast and jam feel....
View ArticleNew Holland Monkey King
6.6% ABV, Draft Appearance: Cloudy orange with a medium head. Aroma: Banana scent, slightly sour. Taste: Lots of banana, especially at the finish. Initial flavor is malt and yeast; minor burnt flavor...
View ArticlePike 51 Cherry Triple
7.8% ABV, Draft Appearance: Burnt orange with some lacing. Aroma: Banana and other fruit. Malt apparent. Barely picking up the cherry. Taste: Cherry hits you up front, but doesn’t linger at all. Trails...
View ArticleStopping along Pike 51
While the stretch of Chicago Drive through Hudsonville may no longer be known as Turnpike 51, the namesake lives in the form of fermentation. In June 2012, Pike 51 Brewing Co. brought back the historic...
View ArticleVander Mill Nunica Pine
6.8% ABV, Draft Appearance: Straw yellow with a bit of fog. Aroma: Immediate hop aroma, followed by floral and fruity scents. Certainly, the Columbus hops give it a specific aroma (use your...
View ArticleSaugatuck Brewing Michigan Wheat
4.7% ABV, Draft Appearance: Hazy yellow, with a medium head. Aroma: Yeasty with fruit scents and a slight malt aroma. Taste: Balanced with a yeasty front and slight hoppiness at the end. Wheat is...
View ArticleSaugatuck’s John Stewart moves to Perrin
DOUGLAS — Saugatuck Brewing Company is losing a valued staff member. The West Michigan brewery announced Saturday the resignation of John Stewart, director of quality control, effective April 8....
View ArticleBell’s Lager of the Lakes
5% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Golden yellow. Pours with a small head. Medium size bubbles abundantly flowing. Aroma: Yeasty, somewhat grainy, obvious but not overstated malt Taste: A surprising level of...
View ArticleBell’s Amber Ale
5.8% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Pours with a medium off-white head. Burnt orange with plenty of bubbles. Aroma: Immediate malts, sweet with a hint of hops. Has a yeasty character as well. Taste: Mildly...
View ArticlePerrin Raspberry Blonde
4.5% ABV, Draft Appearance: Darker pink to purple hue; very clear with large bubbles. Aroma: Raspberry tartness up front with a slight malt character. Taste: Sweeter than the aroma lets off, but it has...
View ArticleSaugatuck Singapore IPA
7% ABV, Bottle Appearance: Gold with some brown hues; no head. Aroma: Immediate hop scent. Some floral as well. Taste: Bitterness throughout, but not over the top. Maltiness helps level it out....
View ArticleSaugatuck highlights flavor balance with beer education
DOUGLAS — When Scott Farney describes the success of Saugatuck Brewing Company, he breaks down its evolution into three main phases. First things first — brew. Second, have a pub with good grub. Last,...
View ArticleSaugatuck Stout Abides Porter
5.5% ABV, Draft Appearance: This stout pours with a fluffy off white head, which dissapates into thin lacing. The overall tone is dark brown with amber hints. Aroma: Roasted, burnt smells dominate with...
View ArticleSaugatuck Hop on a Blonde
7.8% ABV, Draft Appearance: Golden and clear overall, but somewhat cloudy. There is a slight bubbly carbonation, and it pours with a small head that leaves a thin lacing. Aroma: Immediate dry hop smell...
View ArticleVander Mill reaps benefits of early entry into cider market
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — Call it clever or call it cliché, but a look at the fruits of their labor was appropriate Monday for Vander Mill Cider and Winery owners Amanda and Paul Vander Heide. The cider...
View ArticleVander Mill Apple Raspberry Cider
6.8% ABV, Draft Appearance: Light red in hue with a medium level of flowing carbonation (medium to small bubbles). Aroma: Sweet and slightly sour raspberry smell off the bat with a slight apple...
View ArticleFounders opens expanded tap room, beer garden
GRAND RAPIDS — A new Founders taproom has opened its doors today following a 12-day closing for renovations. Featuring 40 percent more floor space, it would be difficult to pinpoint one highlight of...
View ArticleVander Mill Totally Roasted
6.8% ABV, Can Appearance: Light golden with medium carbonation, pours with no head. Aroma: Immediate sweet apple scent. Although I can usually pickup the cinnamon spiciness and pecans, it took two...
View ArticleVander Mill Hard Apple Cider
6.8% ABV, Can Appearance: Medium-sized bubbles flow generously through this slightly yellow hued cider. Aroma: Apple with earthy tones and a slight alcohol scent. Taste: Excellent apple coverage with a...
View ArticleBeer enthusiasts pack into Red Salamander for first-ever Lansing Fall Fest
GRAND LEDGE — Featuring a trifecta of Michigan libations — beer, cider and mead — the first-ever Lansing Fall Fest brought an intimate crowd of enthusiasts together Saturday afternoon. Some 300 people...
View ArticleFire puts Winter Beer Fest location in question (UPDATE: Guild confirms no...
UPDATE: West Michigan Whitecaps officials have stated they plan to be ready to host this year’s Winter Beer Festival. Michigan Brewers Guild Executive Director Scott Graham has also released the...
View ArticleNew Holland brings creative, balanced approach to brewing
HOLLAND — Sensible. Balanced. Artistic. Encouraging. Adventurous. Innovative. All great personality traits. These qualities, too, are ways of describing one of Michigan’s pioneer breweries. But the...
View ArticleNew Holland Our New Lake
4.9% ABV, Draft Appearance: Copper with a thin light head Aroma: Malty Taste: Malt-forward with plenty of bread-like flavors. It finishes fairly strong, dry and bitter. Mouthfeel: Creamy with a low...
View ArticleNew Holland Big Fiets Dutch Lager
6.5% ABV, Draft Appearance: Golden tone, no head with minimal carbonation Aroma: Malty, there are sweet and slightly fruity scents Taste: Sweet malts come forward with good rounded flavor and a nice...
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Keeping it on the Odd Side
Certainly its name is not a misnomer. When it comes to the eccentric, strange or just plain odd, Grand Haven’s Odd Side Ales advertises itself accurately. Since opening its taproom doors in March 2010...
View ArticleOdd Side booming, but balancing growing beer production
GRAND HAVEN — As craft beer continues to sweep the state — and the nation — microbreweries have a unique position when it comes to expanding production. For Odd Side Ales, beer production in one week...
View ArticleCapping off the warm weather with Odd Side
Ain’t No Sunshine When Saison 6% ABV — You might not think that smoke and fruit work together. Surprisingly, Ain’t No Sunshine pulls this off very well, in a sweet, peppered brew that is balanced well....
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Vander Fest evolves for fifth annual celebration
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — The evolution of Vander Fest brought the event to new territory on Saturday. Now in its fifth year, the annual craft cider and beer celebration hosted by Vander Mill Cider and...
View ArticleMichigan Cider Association forms amid growing cider market
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — Knowing the quality of Michigan apples, Paul Vander Heide is investing in the superiority of Michigan fruit. It’s not just buying apples from local farmers that has the owner of...
View ArticleFOX 17: MittenBrew and Rockford Brewing to release ‘Grandma’s Cookies’
ROCKFORD, Mich. — MittenBrew.com and Rockford Brewing Company are teaming up for a release party Tuesday at 5 p.m. for the new oatmeal raisin craft brew called “Grandma’s Cookies. The post FOX 17:...
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