Category Archives: Beer

Snapshots: Wyoming, Kentwood news you ought to know — weekend edition

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By WKTV Staff

victoria@wktv.org

Quote of the Day

“Beer’s intellectual. What a shame so many idiots drink it.”

~ Ray Bradbury

Never fear, here’s more beer

Hopslam behind-the-scenes tour (photo supplied)

Because it’s never enough. Pike 51 Brewing Co. and Hudsonville Winery will host their annual IPA Daze festival at 3768 Chicago Drive, in Hudsonville, on Saturday, April 20. There will be live music and a special “Stogies and Stouts” event with a cigar rolling demonstration. And 25 wine choices, five wine slushy flavors, traditional hard cider as well as “cyser” and mead. Go here for the story. But, wait. There’s more! Watch out for next weekend when New Holland Brewing Company releases Dragon’s Milk Triple Mash (last released in 2017). The bourbon barrel-aged stout will be available—in Michigan only— starting Saturday, April 27.

Apathy gets expensive

Photo by Steven Depolo

Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D) will host a summit at Michigan State University on Earth Day to examine the rising costs to taxpayers from extreme weather and climate change. The event, scheduled for Monday. April 22, at 10:30am, in East Lansing, is open to the public and will be streamed live on Facebook. Read more here.

This will make you itch

Unhatched nit (just what you wanted to see, right?)

Nobody likes ’em, so why do they exist? We’ll leave that for you to ponder, but meanwhile, did you know that head lice are common among children ages 3 to 11? It’s true. They can live on all types of hair—straight, curly, dyed or natural. They are most frequently found on girls and are more prevalent among Caucasian children. YIKES. Here are some tips for getting rid of the little buggers. The lice, that is. Go here for the story.


Fun fact:

7 to 10 days

That’s the time it takes for a nit to hatch after a head louse lays an egg. After hatching, the head louse will require 7 to 10 days before becoming a fully grown louse. Besides the head, they can also be found on eyebrows and eyelashes. So, now you know.

Hello there, handsome! Hey, check out those claws.




On Tap: IPA Daze at Pike 51, big/bad Dragon’s Milk, best-tour Bell’s

3-bottom, Beer, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Recreation, Upcoming Events
Bell’s Brewing Hopslam behind the scenes tour. (Supplied/Bell’s Brewing)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

If you’re into India Pale Ales — and who isn’t on a warm spring day? — Pike 51 Brewing Co. and Hudsonville Winery will host their annual IPA Daze festival at 3768 Chicago Drive, in Hudsonville, on Saturday, April 20, during normal hours of noon to midnight.

And Saturday is (supposed to be) 65 and sunny. Hey, IPAs work just fine in the rain though.

What kinds of brew is for you? (Supplied/GRPM)

This festival is a celebration of all things “hops” and, we are told, will feature the Pike 51 Brewing Co. specialty KUSH IPA and six additional event-specific “hops forward” IPA style beers and more than a dozen other brews for the non-IPA crowd.

Entertainment will include live music and a special “Stogies and Stouts” event with a cigar rolling demonstration. In addition, there will be 25 wine choices, five wine slushy flavors, traditional hard cider as well as “cyser” and mead — I, too, didn’t know what cyser is; Wikipedia says it is an apple mead; so a cider/mead cross?

The live music begins at 2:30 p.m. with Lew Russ and continues at 6 p.m. with Nathan Dill. The Stogies and Stouts in the Quonset Hut, with a cigar rolling demonstration by “The Cigar Roller”, begins at 3 p.m.

Pike 51 Brewing Co. is a locally owned and operated craft brewery that shares space with its sister company, Hudsonville Winery. For more information on the Pike 51, visit its Facebook page here.

New Holland to release Dragon’s Milk Triple Mash

Its been two years in coming, but New Holland Brewing Company has announced the release date of Dragon’s Milk Triple Mash, last released in 2017, and the bourbon barrel-aged stout will be available — in Michigan only — starting Saturday, April 27.

The brew is aged for one year in New Holland Spirits oak bourbon barrels, Triple Mash is, and no typo here, a 17 percent ABV to go with “an intense malt character paired with warm, toasted flavor notes from its time in the wood,” according to supplied material.

“Triple Mash takes what is already an amazing beer and really amplifies all those classic Dragon’s Milk flavors to the moon — the roasted malt, barrel sweetness and bourbon all shine through,” New Holland’s Dominic Bergquist said in the same supplied material.


New Holland will release of the beer on April 27 at its pubs in Grand Rapids and Holland, with “extremely limited” draft and bottle distribution will follow.

Both New Holland’s Grand Rapids and Holland pubs will open early on release day, starting at 10 a.m.

But if you can’t wait until then, a “Tour of Legends: Ultimate Dragon’s Milk Experience” will be held at The Knickerbocker in Grand Rapids on Friday, April 26, where participants will taste samples of Dragon’s Milk, Dragon’s Milk Reserve variants, Dragon’s Milk first- and second-use barrels and Triple Mash. Tickets are $75 and come with one Triple Mash 4-pack, one Triple Mash Teku glass and one Triple Mash sticker.

For more information on Dragon’s Milk and the special release and events, visit dragonsmilk.com . For more information on New Holland Brewing, visit newhollandbrew.com .

Bell’s Brewery tour voted one of country’s best

Bell’s Brewery recently announced that its brewery tour has been named one of the top two in the country. As one of ten breweries nominated for USA Today’s 2019 10 Best Reader’s Choice travel awards, public voting in March landed Bell’s the No. 2 spot on the list.
 
 
Bell’s The Eccentric Café and original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo and its main brewery just east in Comstock, have been destinations for craft beer fans for years.

A tour at Bell’s Brewing. (Supplied/Bell’s Brewing)

“Bell’s staff shares the eye-opening statistics, colorful history and scientific advancements of the brewery in a casual and educational presentation,” John Liberty, general manager at West Michigan Beer Tours, said in supplied material. “It should also be noted, while many large breweries around Michigan and country charge a fee for tours, Bell’s makes its tours free, which speaks volumes about the company’s philosophy behind telling its story.”

Free tours (all ages welcome) are held Wednesday through Sunday at Bell’s main brewery in Comstock and on weekends at its original downtown Kalamazoo brewery. Each Comstock tour includes free samples for those 21 and up. Specialty tours are also offered throughout the year. Tours can be reserved at bellsbeerz.com .

On Tap: ‘Beer City Eats’ on WKTV, a party in Cedar Springs, artful pours in Muskegon

3-bottom, Beer, Going Local, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Upcoming Events
Local beer and food pairings are the focus of “Beer City Eats.” (Supplied/Beer City USA)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
 
‘Beer City Eats’, an eight-episode video series launched last month as part of Experience Grand Rapids’ Beer Month GR, is now running on WKTV Community Media’s cable television channels.

DJ Adrian “AB” Butler (Supplied)

Grand Rapids designer, musician and DJ Adrian “AB” Butler is your tour guide for Beer City Eats, according to supplied information. The series focuses on how Grand Rapids’ beer reputation has elevated the food scene to a nationally-recognized level. In each episode, “AB” interviews local brewmasters, chefs, and owners to highlight the unique and delicious dishes available at local breweries, unveiling what makes each spot a favorite among locals.

“It’s awesome to see how every brewery approaches their food in completely different ways,” Butler said in supplied information. “It’s clear that the food (in Grand Rapids) is just as important as the beer. At the highest level, they are passionate about the quality of both the beer and the food.”

The short-form video programs began on WKTV recently, after our Golden Gloves boxing coverage, but is now in regular random rotation. To see the videos on-demand, visit experiencegr.com/beer-city-eats .


Cedar Springs Brewing to host ‘Starkbierfest’, sausage party

Cedar Springs Brewing Company will host its 4th annual Starkbierfest — its “strong beer festival” — on Saturday, April 6, from 3-9 p.m., with live music, and beer, and food, and beer, and a sausage party, and beer … you get the idea.

The rain-or-shine event will have a heated tent (although latest weather reports say it may not be needed) with live music headlined by Jimmie Stagger, limited beer releases, and — because (wo)man does not live by beer alone — a sausage party.

Besides the famous Oktoberfest, Starkbierfest (“Strong Beer Festival”) is the second biggest German beer festival time during the year, according to supplied information. Historically, monks brewed strong beer, or Bockbier, which was higher in calories and a bit stronger to substitute for food during Lenten fasting.

If you not into the Bockbier, Cedar Springs has its usual assortment of good pours, including the Küsterer Pale Bock (Bavarian pale lager bock), Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel Aged Märzen, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel Aged Küsterer (amber lager) as well as cask releases including a Küsterer Bohemian Pilsner and … my favorite when I swing by the brewery which I’m an original member of … the Küsterer original Weissbier.

The sausage party will include Dearborn Kielbasa and a Fontanini Italian sausage, we are told.

The music will have Dave Slivinski’s German/folk sounds from 2-4 p.m., the Aaron Dussing Duo playing German/folk from 4:30-6:30 p.m., and great Bluesman Jimmie Stagger from 7-9 p.m. or until the place runs out of beer.

For more information on the Cedar Springs Brewing and its Starkbierfest, or visit csbrew.com .

Muskegon Museum of Art goes on-tap and uncorked

The Muskegon Museum of Art will hold its annual On Tap & Uncorked fundraiser night at the museum — a Michigan beer, wine and food tasting event — on Friday, April 12, from 6-9 p.m. (By the way, I know from experience that only a limited number of tickets are sold to keep the crowd manageable.)

According to supplied information, the local breweries involved include Big Hart, Cellar, Fetch, Grand Armory, Pigeon Hill, Stormcloud and Unruly. (I can personally vouch for the beers of Sparta’s Cellar Brewing Co. and Muskegon’s own Unruly Brewing Co.) Wineries include Lemon Creek, St. Julian and Twisted Creek; and hard cider will be present from Ridge Cider Co. Restaurants bringing their food include Applebees, Dr. Rolf’s Barbeque, Hank’s Tavern, Hearthstone, Se4sons Gastro Pub and Village Baker.

Advance tickets are $35, or $40 at the door (if it is not sold out).

For more information on MMA events, and/or tickets for the On Tap & Uncorked night, visit the MMA museum store at 296 W. Webster Ave., call 231-720-2580, or visit the museum’s website.

By the way, there are a pair of concerts planned at the museum. On Saturday, April 27, at 7 p.m., the folk duo of Kane & Gellert will take the stage. Kieran Kane has been referred to as “the godfather of Americana music”. Then later in the spring, two-time Grammy winner Laurence Juber will take the stage on Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m. Juber was first recognized internationally as lead guitarist in Paul McCartney’s band Wings, and has since established himself as guitar virtuoso, composer and arranger, and concert performer, according to someone I read somewhere.

Craft brewer coming to Kentwood, immigration law discussion on WKTV Journal In Focus

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By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

The latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus offers the owner and brewer at Grand Rapids’ Brewery Vivant discussing plans to expand the brand into Kentwood and also about the state of craft brewing locally and regionally. Then we continue our explorations of the many aspects of legal and illegal immigration, this time with an attorney focused on immigration and foreign worker programs. Both our guests, and their topics of discussion, were brought to WKTV by community advocate Emily Bridson.

First up, In Focus is Jason Spaulding, owner and brewer at Brewery Vivant. The original craft brewery and pub is located in the Easthills neighborhood. Brewery Vivant distributes their products throughout Michigan and the greater Chicago area. We have Spaulding on, in part, because of plans to open a pub and brewery in Kentwood, but we will also talk with him about the state of the “business” of craft brewing locally and regionally.

Then In Focus is Lee Marvin, an attorney at Marvin Law Office. He has served in this role for the past 7 years and specializes in immigration, family law and small business advising. We will talk with him about the legal issues surrounding immigration and foreign worker programs. For a link to his interview video, click here .

WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). In Focus is also available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com. All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.

On Tap: drink a beer, plant a tree; happy hour at ball park — yep, it’s Beer Month

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By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

 
There will be no shortage of beer related activities starting Friday, Feb. 15, when Beer Month GR begins its annual month-long celebration of craft beer brewing and drinking all across the greater Grand Rapids area.

But there will be one, the Beer City Brewer’s Guild’s Brewers Grove fundraiser for the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, that will allow beer lovers to show a little love to Mother Nature at the same time.

Tom Payne, shown at back talking with customers, at Two Guys Brewing. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

There will be nearly two dozen West Michigan brew pubs and restaurants, including Wyoming’s own Two Guys Brewing and Kentwood’s adopted Dutton-based Railton Brewing Co., will not only be raising funds to plant trees but many will also have created “tree-themed beers.”

See WKTV stories on Two Guys Brewing and Railtown Brewing Co. by clicking through.

The Brewers Grove started in 2013 with an idea to create tree-themed beers that would be offered in conjunction with Experience GR’s Beer Month GR. Each participating brewery, distillery and cider house makes a donation to Friends of Grand Rapids Parks to fund tree plantings to “further our vision of thriving parks and sustainable urban forest.”

Now, each fall, funds raised are used to “plant trees and increase the tree canopy,” according to the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks. “The trees planted will improve tree diversity, provide a source of food to wildlife and park users, and replace removed ash trees lost due to the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic.”

The Brewers Grove fundraiser goes through March 15. For more information on the Brewers Grove, or visit friendsofgrparks.com .

… and thats just the beginning of Beer Month

Beer Month GR, running Feb. 15 to March 15, is an annual celebration of Grand Rapids’ craft beer scene, with special events and offerings at many West Michigan establishments highlighted by the 14th Annual Winter Beer Festival, running Saturday, Feb. 22, and Sunday, Feb. 23 (alas, Saturday tickets are sold out).

Beer and cold weather do go together — really. (Supplied/West Michigan Beer Festival)

The 2019 Winter Beer Festival will feature more than 140 Michigan breweries and brewpubs. Each guest ticket comes with 15 tasting tokens which can be exchanged for 3 oz. samples from over 1,000 different craft beers (note that some specialty beers will require 2 tokens per 3 oz. sample). There will also be live music from local bands, other entertainment, ice sculpture demonstrations, and fire pits to warm up by. A selection of tasty food will be available for purchase at the festival.

The Beer Festival runs Friday 5-9 p.m. and Saturday 1-6 p.m., at the Fifth Third Ballpark, 4500 West River Dr. NE, Comstock Park.

For a link to the venues, and special events and offerings, during Beer Month GR visit Cool Brews. Hot Eats. For more information on the beer festival, visit Winter Beer Festival.

Oh, ya, and if you don’t already know about the Beer City Brewsader program, shame on you.

New brews on tap, on sale

In late January, New Holland Brewing Company announced the launch of Dragon’s Milk White, a bourbon barrel-aged white stout, that is the first Dragon’s Milk product to be available in cans.

“The white stout is an entirely new Dragon’s Milk experience, pulling many of the same awesome flavor notes that our fans have come to love in our original bourbon barrel-aged stout, but presenting them in a way that is completely unique,” Dominic Bergquist, brand manager for Dragon’s Milk, said in supplied material. “It’s not simply a visual play. The hazy golden color is really just the first cue that this beer is going to be unique, with the aromas and flavors that follow making it something we feel is truly special to behold.”

At six percent ABV, Dragon’s Milk White brings a much lighter brew but “it promises to appeal to traditional stout drinkers as well as those who simply are looking for a well crafted, full-flavored and accessible drinking experience,” they say.

I’ll be the judge of that.

Dragon’s Milk White is now available in New Holland’s pubs in Grand Rapids and Holland; a nationwide release will follow.

For more information on the Grand Rapids Knickerbocker location and the Dragon’s Milk White, visit newhollandbrew.com .

On Tap: Perrin, Cedar Springs Brewing support local causes; KDaLe’s events

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Runners will need to be dressed for winter weather for the Frostbite 5K. (Wikimedia Commons)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

 
Are you a runner? A drinker of fine craft brews? A supporter of the Kids’ Food Basket? Any combination there of? Perrin Brewing has a event for you.

On Saturday, Jan. 26, Perrin will team up with the Kids’ Food Basket for the Perrin Ice Jam Winter Festival from 3-8 p.m. The third annual event will feature live music from Sydney Burnham, The Turnips, Legal Immigrants, and Go-Rounds, specialty Perrin beers, and the Frostbite 5K Run/Walk. Admission to the party is $10 donation or a bag of food items from Kids’ Food Basket wish list. All proceeds during the event will be donated to Kids’ Food Basket of West Michigan.

“The Kids’ Food Basket provides kids in the community with the nourishment they need to reach their full potential,” according to supplied information. “Every donation provides a child with a nutritious evening meal so they can be their best in school and life.”

Perrin Brewing has already begun to collect food donations in the front foyer from the wish list, which includes dried fruit, toasted oat cereal, cheese crackers, fruit cups or pouches, pretzel twists and snack size zipper bags.

The 5K Run/Walk is $30 for adults and $15 for Kids 12 and under. Packet pick-up will be the January 22– 25 in the Perrin Pub. The race-day check-in is from Noon to 2 p.m. and the race begins at 2 p.m.

To register for the run online visit Frostbite 5K Run . For more information on the event, including updated with beer releases, registration 5k run details, band line-up and more, visit the Perrin Ice Jam Facebook page . Perrin Brewing is located at 510 Comstock Park Dr. NE, Comstock Park.

Cedar Springs Brewing hosts soup drive for North Kent Connect

Cedar Springs Brewing Company has teamed up with Ryanne Donahue State Farm and North Kent Connect to help local families in need by hosting a “Soup for Soup Food Drive” today, Jan. 14, through Jan. 19, with a special event planned on Jan. 19.

The Soup for Soup Food Drive will specifically collect nonperishable non-glass containers of soup, pasta and pasta sauces. But it will also be accepting any non-perishable food donation not in glass jars.

For every donation made, Cedar Springs Brewing will provide a free cup of soup.

Donation Locations include Cedar Springs Brewing Company, at 95 N. Main St., in Cedar Springs; or at Ryanne Donahue StateFarm, at 6585 Belding Rd NE St. E, in Rockford (during normal business hours). The soup drive will end on Jan. 19 at the CSBrew Up To Snow Good Party, where everyone “will celebrate all of the food raised and enjoy a beverage or two on the patio!” we are told.

For more information on Cedar Springs Brewing call 616-696-BEER — got to love that number! — or visit csbrew.com . For more information on the Soup for Soup Food Drive, visit the event’s Facebook page here.

KDaLe plans home brewing competition, brewery tours

The Kent District Library’s adult KDaLe program has several programs and events in the near future including a home brewing competition and a tour at local craft brewer Railtown Brewing.

“If you think your home brew has what it takes to be crowned champion, here’s your chance … see how your beer stacks up,” or so states information on the KDaLe website, promoting the program’s now annual “Book Inspired Brewing” competition, wherein KDL staff and local brewers both amateur and professional will taste test.

“It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it!”, they go on to say.

The winners get to brew with a professional brewer and see their beer on tap at KDL’s Super Party Wonder Day next summer. But registration deadline is Jan. 20, and beer submissions must be delivered to Gravel Bottom (418 Ada Drive, Ada), Railtown Brewing (3555 68th St SE, Caledonia), or Pike 51(3768 Chicago Dr, Hudsonville) by Feb. 28.

The KDaLe Tour will also make stops Jan. 15 at DeHop’s Brewing Company and Café, an “Amsterdam style” brew pub at 363 Cummings Ave. NW, in Walker. Also on tap will be a tour Jan. 22 at Railtown Brewing Company, at 3595 68th St SE, Dutton, to get a tour of their new building and brew house.

For more information on KDaLe events, see kdl.org/events .

On Tap: Rockford Brewing’s birthday party, Wyoming’s Kitzingen gets passport stamp

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It’s always warm and smells like good beer in Rockford Brewing’s main-floor bar — music is upstairs this weekend. (Supplied/Rockford Brewing Company)

By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org

Rockford Brewing Company will be hosting a weekend-long party starting today to celebrate its 6th year of business. While there will be special food menu items, beer releases and live music both days, the moment you tip an imperial oatmeal stout while listening to Delilah DeWylde may well be the moment to have a spot at the bar.

On Friday, Dec. 21, through closing at midnight, patrons can bring in a stein and fill it with 32 ounces of select beer for $5, enjoy a Bavarian-themed menu, and also have a chance to win gift cards and mug club memberships throughout the day, that according to supplied material. Country/pop artist Kari Lynch will be performing at 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 22, will be a holiday extravaganza with holiday-themed trivia (teams of four) starting at 4 p.m., with mug club memberships for the winning team, an ugly sweater party, a “Charles Dickens Christmas” inspired menu, and a holiday set from local rockabilly band Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys at 8:30 p.m. (Looking for a last minute gift and an excuse to go out and have a beer? All merch will be 50 percent off.)

Oh, and the beer? Rockford Brewing Company will be releasing two new beers: the aforementioned imperial oatmeal coffee stout and an amber ale.

“We’ve had an exciting six years in the Rockford community and now we want to throw a party for all of those who supported us,“ Seth Rivard, co-owner of Rockford Brewing Company, said in supplied material. “We not only want to celebrate our business but the customers and staff who have helped us get to where we are today.”


The Rockford Brewing Company is located in downtown Rockford at 12 E Bridge St. NE. For more information visit rockfordbrewing.com .

News for Brewsaders (hint Kitzingten is all in)

There are 43 local breweries in the new Brewsader Passport – including Brewsader newcomer and Wyoming’s own Kitzingen Brewery, as well as other newcomers Castle Brewing Co., Depot No. 36 Brewery, East West Brewing and HopCat Knapp’s Corner.

In case your not in the know, you just need to collect stamps or check-ins from eight breweries to get a free Brewsader t-shirt; but the shirt is secondary to the honor of having a passport bursting at the seams. You can get an app, of course, but that digital stamp doesn’t have beer stains as a bonus.

With or without the passport, go to Kitzingen for the seasonal German Hefeweizen or any of another dozen or so other German styles. And if you want to sound smart, bring up in conversation that Count Dracula is likely buried in a Kitzingen (Germany) cemetery.

For more information on Kitzingen Brewery, located at 1760 44th St. SW, Wyoming, visit kitzingen-brewery.com . For more information on the Brewsader Passport, visit here .

On Tap: Whiskey pancakes, Pink Floyd landing and breakfast bourbon — all real things! 

Beer, Entertainment, Upcoming Events, ,

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By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

You can get a charge these days at Comstock Park’s Bier Distillery: you, your car and your pancakes.

 

Bier Distillery recently re-released its Redeemed Whiskey, and whiskey made from beer pulled off the tap. The original beer was a sour beer, we are told, so the whiskey will be “nothing like you’ve ever tasted before.”

 

Speaking of something never tasted before … The brewery/distillery also released a maple syrup  that — and I quote — is a “barrel aged maple syrup (which) exclusively uses syrup from our local farms to provide a a wonderfully unique flavor.  Aged in our own used Michigan white oak whiskey barrels, the syrup has been transformed with notes of brown butter, creamy vanilla, smokey oak, and caramel.” Warning: it is an very limited release. But can you imagine giving that as a holiday gift.

 

The final charge to be gained from the Bier Distillery is its electric car charging stations, which earlier this fall hosted a Tesla takeover.

 

“The number of electric cars on the road will only be increasing in the near future,” management previously said about the car chargers. “The cars need convenient places to recharge, and the drivers often need to recharge as well.”

 

Hey, a whiskey neat always recharges me.

 

For more information visit bierdistillery.com.

 

Dark Beer, Dark Side returns to GRPM on Black Friday

 

Can you think of a better way to end the day of craziness that is Black Friday than attending an evening music/light show performance at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) which, in partnership with Brewery Vivant, will host Dark Beer, Dark Side.

 

Beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, attendees will hear a brief 45 minute presentation from Ryan Engemann, the Wandering Monk from Brewery Vivant, on the differences between various dark beers including Brewery Vivant’s highly anticipated release of Tart Side of the Moon. After the presentation, visitors have the chance to grab another beer before entering the Chaffee Planetarium for the Museum’s original production, Dark Side: The Light Show, set to the music of Pink Floyd.

 

“Shine on your crazy diamond …” You either know it or you don’t.

 

Tickets include 3 beer samples and admission to the evening’s planetarium show. Beer samples will be Tart Side of the Barrel, Tart Side of the Moon and Velvet Stud. Tickets are $22 and $12 for Museum members. Must be 21 or older to participate.

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located in downtown Grand Rapids, at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For more information visit www.grpm.org.

 

Grey Skies fall releases includes Breakfast Bourbon 

 

Grand Rapids Grey Skies Distillery on Nov. 20 released its limited-edition Breakfast Bourbon, which was aged more than two years and bottled at 87 proof. According to supplied material, the bourbon spent time in two different barrels, starting in charred new, oak barrels before it was finished for 9 months in maple syrup casks.

 

“Breakfast Bourbon offers a playful twist on a typical bourbon whiskey,” Steve Vander Pol, co-owner of Gray Skies Distillery, said in supplied material. “We infused maple flavor into the whiskey by taking a traditional bourbon and finishing it for 9 months in a barrel that was previously used to age maple syrup … The maple finish amplifies the sweetness inherent in bourbon whiskey and imparts a creamy mouthfeel to the viscous finished spirit.”

 

For more information about Gray Skies Distillery please visit the Gray Skies Distillery website.

 

On Tap: The trifecta — wine, beer and food fest; beer bread in Cedar; Long Road goes north

Beer, Entertainment, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Recreation, Upcoming Events, , ,

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By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

It doesn’t matter if your a chardonnay sipper or a porter pounder, there will probably be something to your taste at the 11th Annual Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival, returning Nov. 15-17 to DeVos Place downtown.

 

Three days overflowing with food, beverage and culinary-themed entertainment presented by area chefs, restaurants and purveyors of the spectrum of libations — including of the caffeinated variety. What’s not to like?

 

Six restaurants will offer “pairing menus” throughout the festival, a chance to sit down with the chef and watch as they prepare an elegant multi-course meal table-side paired with the finest wine, beer or spirits. Advanced reservations are required. An additional 15 restaurants serve up small plate offerings.

 

It is on the beverage side of the street that variety is really available, and there is literally whole sections dedicated to one’s beverage of choice.

 

The Vineyard are will feature 1,200 plus wines of all styles. Hemingway Hall will showcase craft spirits and cocktails from Michigan’s finest distilleries. The Beer City Station – OK, my favorite place to wait for a train that will never come — will just about the entire craft brewing world. Cider Row will focus on hard ciders made locally and beyond. And, because we all need to drink responsibly if not eat so, RendezBREW will offer cordials and coffees paired with desserts and other delicious “nightcap” offerings.

 

The festival will also be food demonstrations, educational tasting lessons — including one called “Not Your Grandma’s Rosé: A Tasting of Rosés”; got to love that! — as well as cocktail workshops. And for the ear buds while you are working the tastebuds? Throughout the weekend, musical entertainment will include Melophobix in The Vineyard, Jake & Jimmy Band and Valentiger on the Beer City Station Music Stage and a variety of performers in the RendezBREW seating area in the Grand Gallery.

 

The festival will run Thursday, Nov. 15 and run through Saturday, Nov. 17, and hours are 6-9 p.m. Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Friday and 2-10 p.m. Saturday.

 

Advanced tickets for the Festival may be purchased online for $15 per person and are valid for a one-time use Thursday, Friday or Saturday. A 3-Day Pass is also available. Once inside, festivalgoers can purchase tasting tickets for 50-cents each which are used for all food and beverage tastings (excluding the special pairing menus), with each sample requiring a varied amount of sampling tickets. Admission is for those 21 or older, and valid ID is required to purchase tickets and to enter.

 

For more information on the Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival visit here .

 

Beer bread with really good beer: Who would have thought?

 

Over the summer, favorite Cedar Springs Brewing Company beers were baked into Cedar Rock Bread Company’s fresh homemade breads and sold at the brewery’s farmers market. Now, those same tasty loaves will be available for purchase year round in the CSBrewery Shoppe.

 

“Part of our mission is community involvement, so we were happy to work with Kris and her team at Cedar Rock Bread Company through our CSBrew Farmers Market this summer,” David Ringler, Cedar Springs Brewing Company’s Director of Happiness, said in supplied material. “Together, we created authentic, classic breads using our traditional beers, which are made using only four ingredients.”

 

Fresh beer bread, and humor, are served up at Cedar Springs Brewery and the CSBrewery Shoppe next door. (CSBrewery Facebook photo)

A rotating variety of freshly baked beer breads will be delivered twice weekly to the shop, located at 81 N. Main St NE in Cedar Springs. Customers can purchase styles like Golden Ale Baguette, Golden Grain Artisan Loaf, Irish Stout Rye Sourdough, and IPA Cherry Wheat Bread throughout the week.

 

The beer bread will also be incorporated into Cedar Spring Brewing Company’s food menu, which can be tasted in the brewery’s taproom at 95 N. Main St NE in Cedar Springs.

 

“We will feature these breads regularly in sandwiches, appetizers, and specials served in our taproom and Biergarten,” Ringler said.

 

Follow the CSBrewery Shoppe’s Fresh Bread Days events on Facebook. For more information on Cedar Springs Brewing Company visit Cedar Springs Brewing Company  and on the CSBrewery Shoppe visit CSBrewery Shoppe , also on FaceBook.

 

Grand Rapids-based Long Road Distillers opens new Boyne City location

 

Business is good at Long Road Distillers as the Grand Rapids-based maker of specialty distilled liquors announced recently that they will be opening a new distillery tasting room in Boyne City. The northern Michigan outlet will be the company’s first offsite tasting room apart from their headquarters on the West Side of Grand Rapids, where they house their production facility, cocktail bar, and restaurant.

 

Long Road Distillers is located in Grand Rapids — and now at a second location. (Supplied)

“The Long Road team is thrilled to join the Boyne City community,” Kyle VanStrien, Long Road Distillers co-founder and co-owner, said in supplied material. “It’s a beautiful town with a thriving retail district, engaged business community, and countless activities for residents and visitors to enjoy throughout the year.”

 

The Long Road Tasting Room will be located at 118 Water Street in the heart of the Central Business District in downtown Boyne City.

 

Northern Michigan has become a vital part of the Long Road story and holds a special place in the hearts of VanStrien and fellow owner and founder Jon O’Connor, according to supplied material.

 

“We are committed to using Michigan-grown ingredients in our spirits whenever possible,” said O’Connor. “Michigin, our 100 percent Michigan ingredient gin, depends on ingredients grown in Northern Michigan. Our team spends several days each fall harvesting juniper on nearby Beaver Island, and we’ve incorporated galena hops from the Michigan Hop Alliance in Northport to add a citrus component to the gin’s botanical makeup.”

 

Bottom line: gin and tonics for all!

 

For more information on Long Road Distillers visit their page here.

 

On Tap: Harmony Hall goes political, Brewery Vivant eyes Kentwood expansion

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Election, Local Entertainment, Politics, Upcoming Events,

Harmony Hall will host a night of political discussion focused on the highly anticipated upcoming midterm election as Michigan Radio’s next installment of “Issues & Ale”. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Harmony Hall will host a night of political discussion focused on the highly anticipated upcoming midterm election as Michigan Radio’s next installment of “Issues & Ale” will take place in the hall on Wednesday, Oct. 24 from 6:30-8 p.m., 401 Stocking Ave. NW, Grand Rapids.

 

According to supplied material, Issues & Ale is an ongoing event series designed to get the public talking about issues in Michigan in an informal environment. The events take place throughout Michigan Radio’s listening area and are always free to attend.

 

“We’ve been talking to so many people who are feeling desperate for constructive, respectful dialogue about politics and the issues that impact all of us,” Heather Van Dyke-Titus, co-owner of Harmony Hall, said. “We wanted to provide a forum for that conversation to happen. … I’m also excited that the theme of the night is a preview for the midterm elections. I can’t remember a time when an election felt more important.”

 

Michigan Radio’s It’s Just Politics co-host Zoe Clark will host the panel of Grand Rapids political experts. On Nov. 6, Michigan voters will elect a new governor and attorney general, candidates in a number of contested races in the U.S. House of Representatives and one Senate race, and vote on three statewide ballot proposals.

 

Audience members will also have the opportunity to pose questions about the election to the panel.

 

For more information visit harmonybeer.com .

 

Brewery Vivant owners eying Kentwood as futures pub/brewery

 

While not written in stone at this time, Jason and Kris Spaulding, co-owners of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, have gained initial City of Kentwood approval to opening a new microbrewery after action by the City Commission last month.

 

The Spauldings’ yet-unnamed microbrewery will be housed in a commercial building at 2855 Lake Eastbrook Blvd. Plans were given special land use and site plan approval, as well as a recommendation for a state liquor license, by commissioners at a meeting on Sept. 18.

 

Filed plans for the microbrewery call for 13,400 square feet for production and 3,600 square feet for the tap room and a small retail space, while the remaining 7,300 square feet of the building will continue to house a clothing retailer.

 

For more information on Brewery Vivant, see their website.

 

Of ghosts and beers: The Mitten Brewing Co. has some tales to share

3-bottom, Beer, Citizen Journalism, , , , , ,

By Zac Sgro

WKTV Intern

 

What is it about ghost stories that makes them so compelling? Is it the spine chilling effect, the adrenaline, or maybe it’s an inherent love for the supernatural and anything that goes bump in the night? Whether you believe them or not, one thing is clear, there are some things that just can’t be logically explained. Whatever the case may be for the staff at The Mitten Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, ghost stories have become something a little too real at times.

 

“The exact moment at the ghost footprint the light (points) above started flickering,” said Drew Vanhartsvelt, The Mitten Co. sale representative. “Not like weird current issues, straight up the conjuring movie flickering.”

 

The building on 527 Leonard St. NW, which is now The Mitten Brewing Company, used to be Engine House Number Nine and housed four to six firemen at a time operating for nearly a century before it was decommissioned in 1966. After serving as an office building and apartment complex for 46 years, The Mitten Brewing co-owners Chris Andrus and Max Trierweiler acquired the building in 2012. Soon after their purchase of the property suspicions began to arise that something was amiss.

 

The ghostly footprint preserved in the upstairs bar at The Mitten Brewing Co.

“Well my business partner Max and I did most of the renovations and demolitions ourselves,” Andrus said. “We were here every day for the better part of nine months, and right away we started to see things that weren’t right, shadows moving, and noises at night.”

 

Shortly after that night, following a last-one-out first-one-in shift, Andrus noticed what would become the first of many odd occurrences at the bar. A set of footprints left in the mop water from earlier, roughly the size of a child’s, even more troubling was the fact that Andrus stated the prints lead to a wall and just disappeared. Once the first Facebook post was made the story blew up and the brewery became a huge attraction for those who wished to experience the supernatural or even just hear the stories of what might be in that old firehouse.

 

In the years since, numerous accounts of paranormal activity have been reported by customers and staff alike from a single speaker having music to a light that flickers over the bar where one of the mysteries footprints has been preserved. The Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters has investigated the brewery confirming what the owners and staff already knew.

 

The original lockers of Engine House No. 9, now The Mitten Brewing Co.

“Whatever it is, I believe is playing pranks on us,” Andrus said. “It is appearing oneway to one and appearing another way to someone else. And maybe there are multiple entities here, an old man, a tiny child, I’m not sure. All I know is that I know this building backwards and forwards, I’ve been here since the beginning and I have found something that is not right and on more than a few occasions the being here has made its present felt.”

 

Interestingly, there is no beer named after the ghosts, however Andrus did point out that there is one paying homage to the last to horses to serve at the fire house, Ned and George. That oatmeal stout might just be a good choice to swap a few stories over, whether they be haunted tales or not.

On Tap: co-op brewery selects Kentwood as home; cooking with beer  

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Going Local, Local Business, Recreation

The opening of High Five Co-op Brewery, with its storefront location at 3846 52nd St. SE in the city, is expected for sometime in 2019. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The brewing of beer at High Five Co‐op Brewery, which hopes to become the City of  Kentwood’s first member owned and managed brewery, took a huge step forward in August when it signed a lease for a location just west of East Paris in the center of the “Shoppes at 52nd Street”.

 

The co-op recently signed a lease for a location just west of East Paris in the center of the “Shoppes at 52nd Street”. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

The opening of the brewery, with its storefront location at 3846 52nd St. SE in the city, is expected for sometime in 2019.

 

“We still have to meet with the City of Kentwood for planning and approvals (scheduled for September),” Laura Barbrick, president High Five Co‐op Brewery, said recently to WKTV. “Once we get that, we will file for state and federal licenses. We’ve been told it can be a minimum of a 7 month process. We don’t plan to begin the buildout until some of these things are more of a sure thing. So we won’t be doing a ribbon cutting until hopefully sometime next year. In the meantime there will be lots of planning and paperwork.”

 

High Five announced the lease for their future brewery in August.

 

“Our members have been patiently waiting for this moment,” Barbrick said at the time in supplied information. “Our board of directors have been searching the real estate market in West Michigan for nearly two years. We believe this location offers a lot of great potential and is in a rapidly growing area. We are excited to bring our new cooperatively‐owned brewpub to Kentwood.”

 

According to Barbrick, the cooperative has more than 150 members and expects renewed interest in memberships now that a location has been secured. High Five member‐owners “share a passion for craft beer and a vision to introduce the cooperative brewing model to West Michigan,” she said.

 

The cooperative brewery is built on seven operating principles that include a focus on the community, cooperation with other cooperatives, education of its members, and democratic governance which allows all of its members to vote on the direction of the brewery, according to supplied information.

 

Cooperative member‐owners purchase a lifetime membership for a one‐time $150 fee.

 

While High Five pursues its local, state, and federal approvals, it will also focus on growing its membership and raising additional capital for the new brewpub, according to Barbrick.

 

Inspired by Black Star Co‐op Pub and Brewery in Austin, Texas. Black Star, the first co‐op brewpub in the United States, opened its doors in 2010, and since that time, more cooperatives have opened and several are in various stages of planning. High Five was born in 2011 when founder Dallas McCulloch took part in a 5×5 business competition and was awarded $5,000 in startup capital, according to supplied information.

 

According to the National Cooperative Business Association, more than 100 million people are members of cooperative businesses in the United States, ranging from agricultural co‐ops and credit unions to food, housing and worker co‐ops.

 

For more information visit beer.coop or visit their Facebook page.

 

Downtown Market hosts ‘Cooking with Craft Beer’ class

 

The Grand Rapids Downtown Market will host a “Cooking with Craft Beer” class on Friday, Sept. 21, from 6-8:30 p.m.

 

“We’re lucky to live in the city with the best craft brews, so don’t just drink the good stuff — learn to cook with it too!” information on the class states. “This beer-inspired menu will include a refreshing seasonal salad with a pale ale vinaigrette, delicious brown ale-braised chicken, and rich chocolate stout cupcakes. Yes, beer in dessert!”

 

They had me at “beer”.

 

The cost for the age 21-and-older class is $90 per person. As you cook, beers selected to complement the meal will be available for purchase.

 

The Downtown Market is located at 435 Ionia Ave. SW. For more information on the class email classes@downtownmarketgr.com or call 616-805-5308.

 

Labor Day happenings in West Michigan

3-bottom, Beer, Citizen Journalism, Holidays, Kids Activities, Recreation, Senior Living, Upcoming Events, ,

Courtesy Holland Area Visitors Bureau

By Jeremy Witt, West Michigan Tourist Association

 

Every year, the first Monday of September is designated as Labor Day: a celebration of the achievements of our nation’s workforce. Falling on Sept. 3rd this year, it’s also considered the unofficial end of summer. Take this as an opportunity to spend time with family as they head back to school, or grab some friends and enjoy a nice, long weekend seeing what’s going on in the area. Many West Michigan locations are hosting fun events throughout the weekend, meaning you won’t need to go far to find something fun each day of the three-day weekend.

Labor Day Events

Kick off your Labor Day in Holland at the Annual Labor Day Boardwalk and Pancake Breakfast on Monday, Sept. 3rd. The patriotic four-mile walk winds through Kollen Park and ends at beautiful Windmill Island Gardens where a delicious and scenic pancake breakfast will be held. Afterward, bring the family to the annual Truck Parade downtown! Big rigs that carry locally-made products rumble through downtown Holland and Zeeland, complete their route by parking at the Holland Civic Center, where free food and prizes are all part of the end-of-parade celebration.

 

The city of Muskegon has some great events planned around Labor Day that you should not miss. On Monday, Sept. 3rd, the city kicks off the holiday with their annual Labor Day parade, followed by a celebration filled with food vendors, bounce houses, prizes, and more. The 12th Annual Labor Day Community Walk in nearby Whitehall lets your family explore the White River Bridge and scenic nearby trails.

 

Labor Day weekend is a great time to make a getaway to the Greater Lansing area. Whether you’re a fan of BBQ or buffalo, you won’t want to miss the annual Chicken Wing Festival over Labor Day weekend. The event is filled with music, activities, and, of course, wings! That’s not all the capital city has to offer for the long weekend, so make your Labor Day plans today.

 

The Labor Day Bridge Walk in Cheboygan is Monday, Sept. 3rd. Participants will get to take in the complete beauty of the town while marching up and down the historic streets. The walk will be followed by a community picnic, the perfect place to socialize with friends and family.

 

Courtesy Kiwanis Club of Boyne City

There are tons of events happening in the Boyne City area over Labor Day weekend. Follow the sounds of oldies music to Veterans Park and the Boyne Kiwanis Car Show on Saturday, Sept. 1st. A visit to the area over Labor Day weekend can also include watching sailing races on Lake Charlevoix or drag races at the Boyne City Airport. To further help you plan your travels, the Boyne Area Chamber of Commerce has a special events calendar for Labor Day and beyond.

 

After your short Labor Day work week, stop by Marshall from Sept. 8th to 9th for the 55th Annual Historic Home Tour. This legendary event features eight historic homes, a Civil War Ball, Art Faire, Civil War Encampment, and so much more.

Labor Day specials and packages

With Labor Day coming up, the long weekend poses the perfect opportunity to squeeze in one last getaway to Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire. With boating, biking, golf and more, Shanty Creek offers the perfect balance of relaxation and recreation.

 

Stop by Waters Edge Golf Course in Fremont, where veterans golf for free this Labor Day weekend. This great deal includes a cart and your choice of 9 or 18 holes.

 

Spend Labor Day weekend at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Williamsburg! Featuring golf specials on all three championship courses, live music at the private Beach Club, and countless activities for kids, this is one deal that you do not want to miss. Check out the full calendar of events to plan your visit.

 

Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville is packing so many great deals and activities into Labor Day weekend that it’s almost hard to believe! On Saturday, Sept. 1st, enjoy a “float-in” movie in the pool. Come back on Sunday, Sept. 2nd, for one last splash pool party to wrap up summer. On Monday, Sept. 3rd, celebrate the unofficial last day of summer with some fantastic two-for-one discounts on laser tag, climbing wall passes, adventure course tickets, and much more!

 

Courtesy Crystal Mountain

This Labor Day weekend take the opportunity to discover quaint communities during a getaway to Coldwater Country. Home to more than 100 lakes, it’s a haven for relaxation on the water. You can also stop by the area’s unique shops, which includes everything from antiques to magic. End the day with a performance at Tibbits Opera House or a movie at one of Michigan’s most iconic drive-in movie theatres, the Capri Drive-In Theatre.

 

Spend this Labor Day at TreeRunner Adventure Park in Grand Rapids and enjoy 20% off your ticket price on Monday, Sept. 3rd.

 

Located at Hotel Walloon in Walloon Lake, Tommy’s is hosting a Labor Day sale on Sept. 1st and 2nd. Purchase everything you need to get out on the water, including boards and skis, life jackets, inflatables, and more. If you’re not in the market to purchase gear, you can rent everything you need from Tommy’s to enjoy the holiday weekend on Walloon Lake!

Eat and drink your way through the holiday

Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo knows that Labor Day weekend is a time for family fun. Don’t let the fun stop by visiting one of their on-site restaurants for a hand-crafted meal that your taste buds will thank you for.

 

Start off the long Labor Day weekend at Vineyard 2121 in Benton Harbor on Friday, Aug. 31st for fire-baked pizzas and live music. Wrap up the weekend at Sangria Sunday where you can sip on some tasty sangria and tap your feet to live music all night long!

 

Courtesy JW Marriott

Don’t feel like grilling out this Labor Day? No problem! Stop by Grand Rapids and indulge in a unique and delectable meal with friends and family at six.one.six, located inside the JW Marriott. If you’re looking for drinks, check out The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck’s affordable Happy Hour to go along with some mouthwatering eats.

 

Jam out at Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids this Labor Day weekend with live performances on Saturday and Sunday. While you’re there, don’t forget to taste some of their legendary brews or pick up a six-pack in the gift shop to take a taste of Founders home with you.

 

MyNorth Tickets has beer-centric events that are perfect to add to your long holiday weekend. Head out to the picturesque slopes of Treetops Resort in Gaylord on Sunday, Sept. 2nd for Beer, Blues & BBQ. Your visit will include plenty of stellar blues rock, frosty beers, and great food! Visit MyNorth Tickets’ website for a full calendar of events in Northern Michigan.

On Tap: Railtown expands, dangerous beers, bottle beauties & good vodka

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Food, Going Local, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food, , , , ,

Railtown Brewing Company will hold its grand opening of its new expanded building and offerings on Monday, July 16. (Supplied)

 

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Railtown Brewing Company will hold its grand opening of its new expanded building and offerings on Monday, July 16 — and if you liked its beer, you’ll still like its beer; if you liked the fun atmosphere, you’ll love the extras available; and if you had wished Raltown had its own kitchen, your wish has been answered.

 

Railtown’s new location is located at 3595 68th Street SE, Dutton, but just across the border with Kentwood, and near the brewery’s original location. It will have two floors, an outdoor patio and will seat over twice as many guests as the original space.

 

“Some of the key gains from this new space is a kitchen, larger bar, more taps, more brewing capacity, reserved seating area availability, and patio,” Railtown co-founder Gim Lee said to WKTV in a previous interview. “The tap room will include a mezzanine with additional seating and space that can be reserved for parties and meetings.”

 

Gim and Justin Buiter opened the brewery in late 2014.

 

Railtown Brewing previously allowed patrons to bring their own food, but the new space has a kitchen that, according to other media, “will serve American pub grub with some cultural flavor. Dishes will take inspiration from Chinese, Korean and Dutch cuisine,” we are told.

 

I’m sure there is a beer for that!

 

For more information on Railtown Brewing Company, call the taproom at 616-881-2364 or visit railtownbrewing.com (leads to a Facebook page).

 

Seasons’s final GRPM Beer Explorers night might dangerous

 

Alas, the final 2017-18 season Beer Explorers at the Grand Rapids Public Museum will soon be poured as the museum is partnering with Perrin Brewing Company on Thursday, July 19 to share “the dangers of fruiting beer.”

 

Wait; there is a danger in that?

 

Perrin Grapefruit IPA (Supplied)

“Fruiting beers can be challenging, but Perrin Brewing Company, and its talented brewers, has perfected the process,” according to supplied material. “The company currently boasts a full menu of fruit beers, and in this final Beer Explorers participants will have the opportunity to try three vastly different fruit beers, from Grapefruit IPA to Passion Fruit Gose to Razzberry Blonde!”

 

In the class, participants will learn how the three beers differ from each other, as well as the stories behind other Perrin fruit beers. Participants will also have the chance to taste the fruit concentrate that goes into these beers, and learn unique facts about fruit beer brewing — did you know there is 1.1 grapefruits per pint of Grapefruit IPA.

 

Not usually much for fruit beers, but I must admit that sitting on the outside area at Perrin Brewing Company’s Comstock Park pub and sipping a Grapefruit IPA (5 percent ABV, 35 IBU) would go down pretty well on these hot West Michigan summer evenings.

 

Anyway, the class begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on the first floor of the Museum. Participants will have access to the museum’s first two floors to explore. A cash bar will be available.

 

Tickets for the event are $10 for museum members and $20 for non-members. Participants must be 21 and older. GRPM is located at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For information and tickets to Beer Explorers, visit grpm.org.

 

For more information on Perrin Brewing, visit perrinbrewing.com .

 

Grand Rapids Brewing set to release first bottle-conditioned brews

(Supplied Grand Rapids Brewing/Nate Spangenberg)

Grand Rapids Brewing Company’s new specially bottled brews. (Supplied/GR Brewing Co. and Nate Spangenberg)

Grand Rapids Brewing Company will release two limited-edition bottled beers, including its first-ever bottle-conditioned release — limited run of 150 bottles of bottle-conditioned Sur La Lune and Sur Les Nuages — available to the public at GRBC Saturday, July 14, beginning at noon.

 

GRBC mug club members (and lucky you if you are) will have exclusive access to purchase the bottles two hours prior to the public on-sale. All buyers will be limited to one bottle of each beer on the release day.

 

Sur La Lune golden ale, French for “on the moon,” was created to be bottle conditioned —  a process that includes extra blast of yeast and sugar and a second period of fermentation once bottles are corked and caged similar to a Champagne bottle. The process allows carbonation to occur naturally, with “the pressure of the cork on the additional yeast and sugar enhances flavors, carbonation, aromatics and alcohol content,” or so we are told.

 

“Bottle conditioned beers have more depth and character than their draft counterparts and a finer carbonation and mouth feel, plus corks and cages are just fun and fancy,” Ernie Richards, GRBC’s “brewhouse alchemist”, said in supplied material.

 

Sur La Lune also will be available on tap for samples and comparison.

 

Its companion beer, Sur Les Nuages  — “on the clouds” — first appeared in the 2017and comes from the same base recipe as Sur La Lune, but is force-carbonated, capped and fermented solely with a yeast isolate.

 

For more information on the Grand Rapids Brewing Company and the special releases, visit grbrewingcompany.com .

 

Green Door’s Get Lost Vodka earns (inter)national honor

 

Kalamazoo’s Green Door Distilling Co. submitted its Get Lost Vodka to April’s New York International Spirits Competition and announced last week it had claimed a silver medal, along with a tasting score of 92 – outscoring many nationally recognized brands, such as Belvedere, Grey Goose and Ketel One.

 

(Supplied)

“In a competitive landscape that saw over 600 spirits submitted for consideration, including many exceptional spirits from our own great state, we’re extremely honored to accept this recognition from the judges,” Jon Good, president and head distiller, said in supplied material. “We believe this is a reflection of the time and effort that goes into crafting spirits and the exceptional ingredients that we source.”

 

The competition also awarded Green Door the title of “Michigan Vodka Distillery of the Year”. Along with these recognitions comes the opportunity to compete in several other international competitions.

 

“The recognition that Get Lost Vodka has generated, not only from New York Spirits, but also from American Distilling Institute earlier this year, has definitely validated this wild adventure that we took up four years ago.” Good said.

 

For more information on Green Door Distilling, visit gddistilling.com .

 

Barbecue safety

3-bottom, Area Education, Beer, Community Health, Education, Food, Health, How-To's, Local Food, Recreation, Senior Living, , , ,

Courtesy Michigan State University Extension

By Karen Fifield, Michigan State University Extension 

 

This is the season for food, family, picnics and barbecues. It is important to stay food safe by using a food thermometer when barbecuing. Before you begin the grilling season, explore some tips provided by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to keep you and your family’s food safe.

 

When purchasing foods for grilling, be careful to transport them safely from the store to your home, keeping meats separate from other foods, particularly poultry. Transport cold foods in coolers or thermal containers, keeping them at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, refrigerate until it is time to cook.

 

Keep all cooking utensils and equipment cleaned and sanitized to prevent cross contamination from raw food touching cooked food. Never place cooked foods on platters that have contained raw meats. If you feel you need to precook foods for the grill, the USDA recommends partially cooking foods in a microwave, oven or on a stove to help reduce the time it takes to cook on a grill.

 

To prevent charring, cook foods with low flame or charcoal, also by removing any visible fat that may cause grease to flare. Other safe practices to follow according to USDA guidelines, pertain to cooking foods to proper internal temperatures.

  • Whole poultry: 165 degrees F
  • Poultry breasts: 165 degrees F
  • Ground poultry: 165 degrees F
  • Ground meats: 160 degrees F
  • Beef, pork, lamb and veal (steaks, roasts and chops): 145 degrees F and allow to rest at least three minutes

Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperatures; this is a minimal temperature as the meat can be cooked to a higher temperature if you choose to do so. Always keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold, and remember to package leftovers in small amounts and keep in a refrigerator. When reheating any food items it is recommended to reheat leftovers to a temperature of 165 degrees F.

 

It is Michigan State University Extension’s recommendation to follow safe grilling practices to add to a healthy grilling season.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

On the shelf: ‘Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster)’ by Dave Barry

Beer, Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Reviews, , ,

By WKTV Staff

 

Need a lift? Try a bit of Dave Barry’s humor.

 

Born in 1947, in the vanguard of the “Boomer” generation, Barry’s journalistic work has long provided a humorous slant to that demographic lump in the American loaf. As he’s gotten older it’s worthwhile reading to see what Barry makes of how the overly self-absorbed generation has come to terms with its time on the field.

 

The chapter that resonated with me the most was the one where he is looking back on three generations, with a fourth one just coming onstage, and decides that his parents had more fun than he did.

 

“That’s not how it was supposed to be. My parents belonged to the Greatest Generation; they grew up in hard times. My mom was born in Colorado in an actual sod hut, which is the kind of structure you see in old black-and-white photographs featuring poor, gaunt, prairie-dwelling people standing in front of what is either a small house or a large cow pie…”

 

Dave speculates that the Greatest Generation may have triumphed by not realizing all the mistakes they were making — mistakes that the Boomers rectified by turning “parenting” into a verb, among other things. The laughter has a poignant bite to it, as Barry admits that “The harsh truth is that happiness is an elusive thing.”

 

But that does not slow the author down, as he travels to Brazil with his daughter for the World Cup, and goes to Russia with Ridley Pearson for a literature tour (the State Department tapped them to go). He meets David Beckham, tries Google Glass, and reveals a stunning secret confided to him by Johnny Carson about do-it-yourself home improvements. Great stuff!

 

Going back to a Dave Barry book was like meeting an old friend for lunch — you realize how much you’ve missed them, and wonder where the time went.

Snapshots: Fun news you need to know from Wyoming, Kentwood and beyond

3-bottom, Area Education, Beer, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Food, Holidays, Kids Activities, Local Business, Our Cities, Recreation, Senior Living, Travel, Upcoming Events, , , ,

By WKTV Staff

victoria@wktv.org

Give Dad a Father’s Day he’ll love in West Michigan

Don’t forget that Father’s Day is Sunday, June 17th. Many West Michigan businesses are hosting special events, discounts, or offers for the dad in all of our lives. No matter his interest, you’ll find something for him here.

 

 

Extensive Masayuki Koorida solo exhibit comes to West Michigan at Meijer Gardens

 

If you know the work of Japanese artist Masayuki Koorida exclusively from the polished, yet unfinished, stones of “Existence”, located in the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park’s Japanese Garden, you are in for a surprise.

 

 

West Michigan’s natural history to be explored during community field day

 

The 7th annual Allendale Community Field Day — on Saturday, June 16th — will offer members of the West Michigan community the chance to learn about the natural history of the region.

 

On Tap: New-school Brewsaders book, brews at the Castle, a ‘Feelgood’ tap

Beer, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, , , , ,

Not only does the Beer City Passport program allow you to get great beers, you get to fly your Brewsader freak flag with a t-shirt. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The Beer City Brewsader Passport program recently celebrated the 10,000th Beer City Brewsader, which allows those “that have done the hard work of visiting 8+ breweries to earn the title and the t-shirt,” the group says.

 

For those of us for whom the t-shirt is just a bit of a show-off, the real reward of all that “hard work” is a book full of stamps and beer stains — my stamp book (not to brag; okay, to brag a little) has the original book filled, the first additional book almost filled, and the blank pages stamped with two new breweries not yet in the book(s).

 

Of course, there is also the new Beer City Brewsader app, and you can transfer your paper passport stamps to the app as people work toward their “Ultimate Brewsader” status. “Don’t worry, for those that love your paper passport we are still using those too! The app is an additional option,” according to supplied information.

 

For more information the Brewsader Passport (either new-school or old-school), visit experienceGR.com .

 

57 Brewpub becomes Castle Brewing (still has great outdoor music)

 

As reported here in December 2017, Greenville’s 57 Brewpub and Bistro changed ownership and now Castle Brewing Co. has launched their new “brand”. But don’t worry, its not some Medieval-themed place.

 

According Castle Brewing’s website, “About the name . . . no, our building isn’t a castle. We just wanted to pay tribute to the building that stood on the property for decades and those of us old enough to remember it.”

 

J.R.’s Roller Castle was once a roller rink but also a building that dates to the 1920s before being demolished in 2011.

 

“We’re sure we’re not the only ones who fondly reminisce about our first “hitchhike” skate at JR’s!” the website statement continues. “We know this space holds many more memories to come – we look forward to being a part of them!”

 

There is a little bit of new at Castle Brewing. They have an expanded list of beers on tap, both in-house and guest — I’m looking forward to trying their Red Castle red Irish ale (6.2 percent in case you keep track of such things). They still have their great outdoor seating and occasional music, but now boast a new and expanded beer garden.

 

Castle Brewing Co. is located at 1310 West Washington, Greenville. For more information on Castle Brewing Co., visit castlebrewingco.com .

 

Cedar Springs Brewing’s ‘Feelgood Tap’ helps local fight leukemia

 

Cedar Springs Brewing Company’s June “Feelgood Tap” is its Blood, Sweat and Tears Pale Ale, and during this month $1 from each pour goes to support Kohen Karn’s fight against leukemia.

 

“He is the child of our friends at Elk Brewing: Comstock Park and Elk Brewing: Grand Rapids, and part of the Beer City Brewers Guild family,” Cedar Springs Brewing explains in an email about the promotion.

 

Cedar Springs Brewing Company’s “Feelgood Tap” is part of a Michigan program which works with breweries to raise funds for various community causes.

 

Cedar Springs Brewing Company is located at 95 N Main, Cedar Springs. For more information visit csbrewing.com . For more information on Feelgood Tap visit feelgoodtap.org .

 

Perfect partners: GRPM’s Beer Explorers pairs beers, snacks

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum, as part of the Museum’s Beer Explorers program, is partnering with Creston Brewery for a beer and “beer snack” tasting and discussion on Thursday, June 21. To explore “how fermentation changes flavor,” brewmaster Scott Schultz will take participants through the science of how you get those flavors, and how to pair the beer best with foods, according to supplied material.

 

A sampling of beers at the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program — yes there are glasses of what you like available for purchase. (Supplied)

Creston Brewery will feature five beers in this month’s Beer Explorers, including two with unique names related to Grand Rapids history — Fox Deluxe and Quimby. The museum will also showcase historic beer artifacts for participants to see a glimpse at where these names came from, as well as see artifacts not normally on display.

 

Class begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be held on the first floor of the museum. Admission to class includes beer and snack samples, and access to the museum’s first two floors to explore. A cash bar will be available.

 

Tickets for the event are $10 for museum members and $20 for non-members. Participants must be 21 and older. GRPM is located at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For information and tickets to Beer Explorers, visit grpm.org .

 

For more information about Creston Brewery, visit crestonbrewery.com .

 

Barley field day series scheduled throughout Michigan in June

3-bottom, Beer, Citizen Journalism, Education, Food, How-To's, Our Cities, Upcoming Events, ,
Three opportunities to view malting barley research are scheduled throughout the state.

By Ashley McFarland, Michigan State University Extension 

 

Multiple opportunities exist to engage with malting barley research in Michigan in June. Photo by Ashley McFarland

Malting barley research has reached all corners of the state and researchers from the Michigan State University (MSUE) malting barley research program have developed a series of field days to showcase the research and to provide networking opportunities for those engaged with the industry. Three separate events will feature different programs targeting the stakeholders in the respective region. Those interested in malting barley and malt production in Michigan are encouraged to check out one or all three programs!

  • Luckhardt Field Day | June 19, 6 – 8 pm | Saline, MI
    Event features a winter barley collaborative project in Southeast Michigan, featuring farmer Ryan Luckhardt, a junior at Saline High School and active FFA member. Other partners include local food system consultant, New Growth Associaties; Fermenta, a women’s craft beverage trade organization; and Michigan State University. The showcased research trial is examining the performance of various winter malting barley varieties and their suitability for the local craft malt and craft beer market. Free dinner and refreshments provided. Event address – 5125 Braun Rd., Saline, MI 48176
  • MSU W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Field Day | June 20, 8 am – 1 pm | Hickory Corners, MI
    Event features winter and spring performance and management trials and will include speakers from the seed industry and MSU researcher, Dr. Brook Wilke, who will present on research ventures underway to explore double-cropping options within malting barley production. Guided tours of the research plots will conclude the program. Free lunch provided to registered attendees. Event address – 9702 N 40th St., Hickory Corners, MI 49060
  • Thumb Field Day | June 25, 5 – 7 pm | Kawkawlin, MI
    Event features the winter malting barley trial, a performance trial evaluating over 30 varieties at the Don Shelagowski Farm. Speakers will include MSU Crop Educator, Martin Nagelkirk, and will discuss local farming opportunities for the local craft malt and beer industries. Dinner sponsored by Schmidt Farms of Auburn. Event address – 804 Wetters Road, Kawkawlin, MI 48631

Registration is live and strongly encouraged for all three events, which are free of charge. Registration for each of the events can be accessed here. For questions about the event or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Sarah Hanks at lovettsa@msu.edu.

 

If you are interested in malting barley or malt production in Michigan, contact Ashley McFarland at 906-439-5176 or ashleymc@anr.msu.edu. McFarland is the Director of the Michigan State University Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, Michigan.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

 

Summer Festivals in West Michigan

3-bottom, Beer, Citizen Journalism, Holidays, Kids Activities, Local Faces, Local Food, Our Cities, Recreation, Senior Living, Travel, Upcoming Events, , , , , , , , , , ,

By Jeremy Witt, West Michigan Tourist Association

 

With summer comes a slew of festivals in West Michigan, each entirely unique and memorable. We’re talking about festivals centered around food, beer, art, culture, and more throughout the next few months. With events taking place nearly every week throughout the summer, there’s always something right around the corner for you to experience with these West Michigan festivals.

June Festivals in West Michigan

The Festival of the Arts is a three-day community celebration in downtown Grand Rapids offering art, food, entertainment, and fun activities for all ages. This year’s event is June 1st to 3rd, and will continue the tradition of bringing together the Grand Rapids art community for a summer kick-off. Ongoing for over 40 years, the Festival of the Arts is one of the longest-running festivals in the state.

 

The Mecosta area is home to festivals throughout the summer. The Lilac Festival is a chance for families to come out and do something fun, as a hometown, family-friendly event from June 1st to 3rd. Return for a summer of festivals, including the Morley Celebration on the Pond, Remus Heritage Days, and Mecosta County Agricultural Fair.

 

The Charlevoix Craft Beer Festival is a celebration of Michigan craft beer, local food, and entertainment on Saturday, June 2nd. The aim of the festival is to provide patrons the opportunity to enjoy a varied selection of high-quality Michigan craft beer while mingling with friends at the beautiful waterside venue. Attendees are encouraged to venture out and explore downtown Charlevoix’s culinary and retail offerings prior to and after the event.

 

The band Moxie Strings is set to appear at Cogdal Vineyards in South Haven on Sunday, June 3rd for the Cogdal Vineyards Wine Lovers’ Festival. Attendees can expect a fun experience of high-energy, original, and traditional tunes performed on five-string fiddle and electric cello while enjoying a glass of delicious wine.

 

Plan a summer fun Girls’ Night Out with Divas Uncorked, the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula Divas Uncorked event on Friday, June 8th. This evening is devoted entirely to women, wine, food, and fun. Enjoy wine and food pairings, giveaways, shopping, and pampering. Bring your entourage, relax, and be fabulous!

 

Whether you’re looking for a fun and easy family getaway or a big night out on the town with friends, Mt. Pleasant offers a little bit of everything. They have a wide variety of events this summer, kicking off with the Back to the Bricks car show on Friday, June 8th. The following day, craft beer enthusiasts gather for the Mt. Pleasant Craft Beer Festival, showcasing some of Michigan’s greatest brews. There won’t be a dull moment during your trip to Mt. Pleasant.

 

Feast of the Strawberry Moon is June 9th and 10th in Grand Haven. The event includes reenactments, a kids day, live entertainment, and more as they explore the middleground world that evolved between Europeans and the Native Americans in the Great Lakes Region during the pre-1800 fur trade era.

 

Grand Haven hosts some of West Michigan’s fan-favorite festivals every summer. The Spring Lake Heritage Festival is June 11th to 16th, and has family fun like no other. The following week is the Grand Haven Art Festival on June 23th and 24th. The event seeks to provide the community and visitors with a unique opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind art, directly from the artists.

 

Music, boating, arts, and culture are all happening in River Country. Some of the area’s most popular annual events include the Three Rivers Water Fest from June 14th to 16th and Sturgis Fest from June 23rd to 30th. More events include Covered Bridge Days and the Magic Get-Together later in the summer. They have a full event calendar on their website, so check that out if you need to fill your time in southwest Michigan!

 

The Michigan Maritime Museum presents the 37th Antique & Classic Boat Show on Saturday, June 16th, during Harborfest weekend in South Haven. This event celebrates all kinds of antique and classic small craft from power boats to paddle boats. Woodworkers and collectors alike will show their boats, demonstrations on boat building techniques will be featured, and toy boat building will be available for kids. The aim is to help perpetuate the building, restoration, and use of classic boats and small craft to give participants and the public an entertaining and informative learning experience.

 

Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids is pleased to present to you Founders Fest 2018: A Celebration of Beer and Music on Saturday, June 16th. In its 11th year, Founders Fest continues to marry the finest beer with the tastiest artists from around the country and the world.

 

Located at the scenic Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Festival brings together the members of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail for a spectacular day in the sand on Saturday, June 16th. The festival will feature fantastic regional live music, food trucks, and local restaurants to pair with the world-class wines produced right in southwest Michigan.

 

Whitehall is home to the 40th Annual White Lake Area Arts & Crafts. The festival is expected to draw thousands of people this Father’s Day weekend on June 16th and 17th. Creative artists will participate in this very popular juried art show, and attendees can purchase a variety of hand-made art and crafts such as jewelry, wood furniture, birdhouses, ceramics, and more. A great lineup of musicians will entertain the crowds throughout the weekend.

 

The 9th Annual Traverse City Wine & Cider Festival is Saturday, June 24th. Come celebrate local wine, food, and culture. The festival brings together a true taste of the region with great wines, art, food trucks, and live musical entertainment all in one location!

 

Visit Lansing for the 19th Annual Common Ground Music Festival from June 28th to July 1st! See some of the best rock, pop, country, and hip-hop stars in the world take the stage in downtown Lansing along the Grand River in a setting unlike any other.

 

June in Battle Creek means it’s time for the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show & Balloon Festival from June 28th to July 4th. Balloon launches or fly-ins take place every night (weather dependent) and air shows take place at noon.

 

The Soo Locks Engineers Weekend begins on Friday, June 29th in Sault Ste. Marie. This fun weekend offers exclusive access to some of the area’s historic and interesting attractions such as the Locks and the Cloverland Electric Hydroelectric Power Plant.

 

The 60th annual South Haven Art Fair hosted by the South Haven Center for the Arts is a two-day juried festival held one block from the Lake Michigan shore in picturesque Stanley Johnson Park on June 30th and July 1st. This year’s unique blend of talent includes works in acrylic, oil, watercolor, pastel, drawing, sculpture, photography, glass, wood, clay, and wearable art. Admission is free for this two-day event.

 

The National Cherry Festival brings people from all over the world to Traverse City for a week-long celebration surrounding the cherry. Not only that, it attracts people from all over Michigan, the five-county area, and even just across the street to participate in activities. Come celebrate the Cherry Capital of the World from June 30th to July 7th for another year of food, drink, entertainment, and tradition!

 

On Tap: Thornapple Brewing plans (own) birthday party; beer and associated activities 

Beer, Entertainment, Food, Local Entertainment, Pets/Animals, Upcoming Events, , ,

Cascade Township’s Thornapple Brewing Company will celebrate its first anniversary with a party featuring special releases, live music and games. (Thornapple Brewing)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Cascade Township’s Thornapple Brewing Company will celebrate its first anniversary with a party featuring special releases, live music and games on Saturday, June 9, from 11 a.m to late (12 midnight?).

 

The main attraction will be Thornapple’s 36 pours of beers, ciders, and meads on tap. (Thornapple Brewing)

The main attraction, of course, will be Thornapple’s 36 pours of beers, ciders, and meads on tap, as well as a variety of wine and spirits — including, according to supplied information, a resurrected early version of Hoppy Saison, the first batch of Spicy Salted Session Saison and the first batch of Barrel-Aged Brown-Eyed Girl.

 

“There will be a few more surprises, for sure,” Sebastian Henao, head brewer, said in supplied information. “We’re going to have some fun stuff.”

 

The event will take place both inside the pub and outside in the parking lot under a tent. The bands will play 4-10 p.m, and attendees can also play a variety of outdoor games.

 

Thornapple opened June 10, 2017, serving craft beers, wines and ciders. By September of last year, four new 15-barrel fermenters were installed, increasing the brewery’s capacity.

 

“We started out with just a half dozen ales, now we’ve got a great variety of lagers, ales and more experimental styles on tap,” Jeff Coffey, Thornapple Brewing Company co-founder, said in supplied material.

 

In December of last year, Thornapple introduced spirits to their beverage lineup, including rum, gin, whiskey, vodka and brandy.

 

For more information visit thornapplebrewing.com .

 

Things to do with a beer in hand, or waiting

 

Several Greater Grand Rapids breweries, from downtown to north Kent County, offer the opportunity to be active before, during or after sipping a brew.

 

Atwater Brewery in downtown Grand Rapids boasts outdoor seating and the ability to “bring the pups while you grab a pint” — and just in case you think “pups” is some slang term, they mean you can bring your dogs. Atwater Brewery is located at 201 Michigan Street NW. For more information visit atwaterbeer.com .

 

Rockford Brewing Company — need we say “in Rockford”? — offers “Paddles ’n’ Pints” trips where you can fill plastic growlers at the brewery before spending a couple hours floating down the Rogue River. Please have a duty paddler in the group. Rockford Brewing is located at 12 E Bridge St NE. For more information visit rockfordbrewing.com .

 

And, finally, Cedar Springs Brewing Company — you know where — is teaming with Speed Merchants for “Radfahrer: Bike Night at CSBrew”, either leisure or training group bicycle rides on Monday nights through September starting at 6:30 p.m. According to suppled information, the training ride is 28-36 mile gravel ride for fat tire, mountain, gravel, or cx bikes. The 1.5- to 2-hour ride with a minimum pace of 16 m.p.h., and ending at the brewery. For those who like a more leisurely pace, a family friendly group will embark on a shorter paved ride on the White Pine Trail.

 

Oh, ya. And bike night participants receive $2 off appetizers, or refuel with chef’s “Radfahrer Special”, a power packed meal for cyclists.

 

Cedar Springs Brewing Company is located at 95 N. Main. For more information visit csbrew.com .

 

On Tap: Gravel Bottom moves in Ada; get smart on beer and beer cooking

3-bottom, Beer, Food, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Our Cities, ,

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org 

 

Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery will open a new facility as part of the Ada Village redevelopment project on Friday, May 11.

 

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into making this feel similar to what the other Gravel Bottom was: welcoming and comfortable,” Matt Michiels, Gravel Bottom owner, said in supplied material.

 

The new bar will offers 20 taps, which will allow Gravel Bottom to have more “experimental styles” in rotation.

 

“This was the opportunity to upgrade our equipment so we can brew more styles and be even more creative,” Michiels said. “And we’re able to brew bigger batches of some of those mainstays.”

 

And Gravel Bottom is certainly considered to be part of the Ada community.

 

“Gravel Bottom has become a well-known pillar of the Ada business community and we’re excited about their move,” George Haga, Ada Township supervisor, said in supplied material. “Their new home and highly-visible location on Ada Drive are another example of the transformation that is taking place in the Envision Ada project.”

 

“It’s very important for us to be a part of this community. This is where we started. And it’s exciting to have this chance for renewal,” Michiels said.

 

There will also be a new kitchen serving meals designed by Chef Eric Benedict. The menu will feature locally sourced, seasonally influenced dishes, including small plates designed to pair with Gravel Bottom beers.

 

The brewery is also acquiring a vintner’s license, meaning customers can look forward to wines, meads, and ciders both made by Gravel Bottom and others.

 

For more information visit gravelbottom.com .

 

Experience Beer continues free beer-education series at Harmony Hall

 

Harmony Brewing Company. (Supplied)

Experience Beer West Michigan has already launched its 8th annual free beer education classes but there are still four of the five sessions planned for Mondays from 7-9 p.m. at Harmony Hall in Grand Rapids. This series will be hosted by beer education specialist Ben Darcie.

 

The May 14 discussion will focus on sour maturation in sour beers from a representative of Speciation Ales. The May 21 discussion will feature a field trip to Gray Skies Distillery with representatives from Gray Skies, Long Road Distillers, Bier Distillery and Thornapple Brewing Company speaking about distilling.

 

The classes will wrap up on June 4 and will feature a brewer’s round table with 10 area brewers answering questions and dropping knowledge.

 

To learn more about Experience Beer WM, visit facebook.com/groups/ExperienceBeer .

— Lindsay E. Papciak

 

Downtown Market offers cooking with beer class

 

The Grand Rapids Downtown Market will offer a class called “Cooking with Beer” on Tuesday, May 15 from 6-8 p.m.

 

The class, for ages 21 and older, will be allow for the making of a beer-inspired menu including a refreshing summer salad with beer vinaigrette, delicious beer-braised chicken, and chocolate stout cupcakes — yes, beer in dessert!

 

And you can complement your meal with your favorite brew, available for purchase from a curated list.

 

The cost is $95 per person. The market is located at 435 Ionia Ave. SW. For more information visit downtownmarketgr.com .

 

On Tap: KBS/CBS takeover in Caledonia, Beer Explorers’ bread & ale, French wines at six.one.six

Beer, Entertainment, Going Local, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Recreation, , , , ,

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS).

If you missed out on your fair share of the 2018 Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Uccello’s Ristorante in Caledonia will offer a KBS tapping as part of its planned Founders Tap Takeover on Wednesday, May 2, starting at 3 p.m.

 

The range of Founders pours available at the takeover, in addition to the KBS, will include the 2017 Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS), Oatmeal Stout, All Day IPA and Red Rye. What do you want to bet the KBS is the first tap tapped out? Still, for fans of the dark, the CBS is a good fallback.

 

According to Uccello’s advertising, the range of Founders beers will be offered at $8 for 8 ounce pours.

 

Uccello’s in Caledonia is located at 8256 Broadmoor Ave. SE. For more information visit the event’s Facebook event page here.

 

Yeast anyone? GRPM’s Beer Explorers pairs artisan ales with breads

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum, as part of the Museum’s Beer Explorers program, is partnering with Speciation Artisan Ales for a beer tasting with Field & Fire breads on Thursday, May 17. The class will give the opportunity to taste 3 different artisan ales from a brewery currently putting out beer once a month on a special Saturday releases dates.

 

This Beer Explorers will be presented by Mitch Ermatinger, Speciation co-founder, and Shelby Kibler, Field & Fire owner and chef.

 

Speciation Artisan Ales will be demonstrating their “house culture” with a jar of yeast and bacteria slurry, as well as demonstrating the different pH of beer before and after fermentation and acidification. Bread from Field & Fire will also be made from the yeast and bacteria of the ales.

 

Class begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be held on the first floor of the museum. Admission to class includes three beer samples, bread samples and access to the museum’s first two floors to explore. A cash bar will be available.

 

Tickets for the event are $10 for museum members and $20 for non-members. Participants must be 21 and older. GRPM is located at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For information and tickets to Beer Explorers, visit www.grpm.org.

 

For more information about Speciation Artisan Ales, visit speciationartisanales.com .

 

Boatyard Brewing plans ‘Friends’ brew as Alzheimers Association fundraiser

 

Kalamazoo’s Boatyard Brewing Company will hold the release party of its New Friends Brew on Friday, May 11, and it will also be a benefit for a September “Walk to End Alzheimers” fundraiser.

 

The beer release and tapping party will be Friday, May 11, 5-8 p.m., at the Boatyard Brewing Company, 432 E. Patterson St. The event will include live entertainment from Delilah DeWylde and Lee Harvey.

 

For more information visit boatyardbrewing.com .

 

Makeover at six.one.six at Downtown JW Marriott boasts French wine cellar

 

As part of the “re-concept” of JW Marriott’s six.one.six restaurant into what they are calling a “casual French bistro”, the restaurant has announced it will now have the largest selection of French wines in Grand Rapids.

 

six.one.six’s expansive wine list will now include feature labels such as Domain Jean Louis Chave L’Hermitage Rouge and Blanc, Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande Grand Cru, Henri Prudhon, Les Chambres, Chassagne Montrachet, Domaine Tessier, Les Genevrieres, Meursault premier cru. (Never had any of them, but if I had I bet I would be impressed.)

 

The expanded wine list is accompanied by a focus on French cuisine and the arrival of a new chef.

 

“With newly appointed Chef Alessandro Guerrazzi, classically trained in French cuisine and at the helm of the restaurant’s refresh, our team will deliver the highest level of French taste profiles to discerning diners interested in culturally distinct experiences,” Brian Behler, general manager of JW Marriott Grand Rapids said in supplied material.

 

For more information on the JW Marriott Grand Rapids and six.one.six, visit ilovethejw.com.

 

Get Lost: Green Door Distilling wins award for new vodka offering

 

Kalamazoo’s Green Door Distilling Company announced late last month that it’s Get Lost Vodka, first released in August 2017, has won a silver medal from the American Distilling Institute. The ADI Judging of Craft Spirits is the largest and most respected judging devoted to craft spirits, according to supplied material, and the judges tasted over 1,000 spirits and decided which spirits stood out in their respected categories.

 

Green Door Distilling Company is located in Kalamazoo’s River’s Edge District, and is  proud to be Kalamazoo’s first modern distillery and represent the rich distilling history that Kalamazoo possessed in the 1800’s.

 

For more information visit greendoordistilling.com .

 

Updated 2018 hop management guide available to Michigan hop growers

3-bottom, Beer, Citizen Journalism, Community Health, Food, How-To's, , ,

By Erin Lizotte, Michigan State University Extension 

 

Updated management reference available for Michigan hop growers through Michigan State University Extension.

 

In an effort to assist hop growers in making pesticide and nutrient management decisions, an updated “Michigan Hop Management Guide, 2018” has been created and is available at the Michigan State University Extension Hops page. The packet includes an updated list of registered pesticides, nutrient management recommendations and a guide to seasonal pest occurrence in Michigan.

 

As the growing season approaches, please sign up to receive MSU Extension’s Hop & Barley Production Newsletter, and follow the Michigan State University Hops News Facebook page for up-to-date information. Finally, please sign up for the new MSU Hop listserv for an interactive discussion of all things hop-related. To subscribe:

  • Send an email to: listserv@list.msu.edu
  • Leave the “subject” line blank
  • In the body of the email, type: SUBSCRIBE Hops
  • You will receive a confirmation email directing you to click on a link (this is to avoid spammers). Click on the link.
  • To send an email to the list once you have joined, just send it to: hops@list.msu.edu

To protect yourself, others and the environment, always read the label before applying any pesticide. Although efforts have been made to check the accuracy of information presented in the “Michigan Hop Management Guide,” it is the responsibility of the person using this information to verify it is correct by reading the corresponding pesticide label in its entirety before using the product.

 

Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. Information presented here does not supersede the label directions.

 

This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2015-09785. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888.678.3464).

On Tap: Strong beer in Cedar Springs, fine wine at St. Cecilia, fundraiser at Boatyard

3-bottom, Beer, Food, Local Entertainment, Local Food, , , , ,

Whether it is a pint of beer or a glass of wine, your tastebuds can fine what they want in the Grand Rapids area in April. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Looking for something local to cap off your spring break week? Cedar Springs Brewing Company will host its third annual Starkbierfest — strong beer fest — on Saturday, April 7, with a heated tent with live music, limited beer releases, and a sausage party. And you know how well German beer goes with German sausages.

 

Never heard of Starkbierfest? According to the brewery, besides the famous Oktoberfest, Starkbierfest (“Strong Beer Festival”) is the second big German beer festival time during the year. Historically, monks brewed strong beer (Bockbier), which was higher in calories and a bit stronger to substitute for food during Lenten fasting. This “liquid bread” and annual brewing specialties have survived the times and re-emerged … at Cedar Springs Brewing.

 

Four beers are set to be released: Küsterer Maibock, a spring strong lager in collaboration with North Channel Brewing; Küsterer Pale Bock, a traditional Bavarian pale lager bock; Big Sid Rides a Buffalo, a Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrel aged barley wine; and Tim the Enchanter, a strong Belgian golden ale.

 

There are various party packages available, including the Starknaked Package (we will not delve further into the name) for $20 per person, and the four-person Sausage Party Package (again, no comment) for $60.

 

Live music will be provided from 2:30 p.m. until sometime after 8 p.m. or when the beer runs out, by Dave Salvinski (German/folk music), Fauxgrass (progressive bluegrass), and Delilah DeWilde (rockabilly).

 

The Starkbierfest will be held Saturday, April 7, from 3-9 p.m., at Cedar Springs Brewing Company, 95 N Main, Cedar Springs. For more information visit csbrew.com .

 

St. Cecilia fundraiser to feature Martha’s Vineyeard wine tasting

 

More of a fine wine palette? The “Eat. Drink. Be Merry!” Martha’s Vineyard Wine Tasting Annual Fundraiser to benefit St. Cecilia Music Center will be held on Saturday, April 14.

 

Wine more your taste? Check out the wine tasting event at St. Cecilia Music Center. (Supplied)

Grand Rapids fine wine purveyor Martha’s Vineyard will supply the wine and food at the music center’s annual fundraiser, to be held from 6-10 p.m., on two floors at St. Cecilia’s historic building. The night will feature more than 100 wine varietals at various price points, we are told. Some of the wines to be featured are specific to the event and will only be available through special order at the event. Discounts on all wine orders at the event will be offered.

 

The event will include hors d’oeuvres from Catering by Martha’s and Nantucket Baking Company, as well as musical entertainment and a silent auction with many unique wines, wine-tasting trips, vacations, entertainment packages and  dining packages up for bid.

 

St. Cecilia Music Center is located at 24 Ransom NE, downtown Grand Rapids. The cost is $40 per person and advance tickets can be purchased at Martha’s Vineyard, 200 Union Ave NE, Grand Rapids, online at scmc-online.org or by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224. Tickets are limited.

 

Boatyard Brewing plans ‘Friends’ brew as Alzheimers fundraiser

 

It is still a month away, but summer weekend schedules fill up quickly so you may want to mark your schedule for Kalamazoo’s Boatyard Brewing Company release party of its New Friends Brew on Friday, May 11, which will benefit a September “Walk to End Alzheimers” fundraiser.

 

“I am the captain of our walk team and every year in September there is a big walk,” Corie Shireman said to WKTV. “So all year long we do fundraising as a company to raise funds for our walk team. Last year we made our goal of $5,000. So, every year, it becomes more of a challenge for me to think of new ways to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimers Association. So because of my love for craft beer I took it upon myself to ask a local brewery if they would consider naming a beer after us and the possibilities of any of the proceeds going to us.”

 

The result: New Friends Brew, the sales of which will benefit $1 for each draft beer purchased to the New Friends Walk team, and a party.

 

The beer release and tapping party will be Friday, May 11, 5-8 p.m., at the Boatyard Brewing Company, 432 E. Patterson St. The event will include live entertainment from Delilah DeWylde and Lee Harvey. For more information visit boatyardbrewing.com .

 

Grey Skies Distillery releases first straight bourbon whiskey

 

Grand Rapids’ Gray Skies Distillery released its first straight bourbon whiskey on March 22 and while its initial sales will be exclusively at their downtown Grand Rapids tasting room subsequent releases beginning fall of this year will be available through licensed retailers, bars, and restaurants around Michigan, according to the distillery.

 

Michigan Straight Bourbon Whiskey was aged in charred new, oak barrels for over two years and bottled at 90 proof, we are told. Following their Breakfast Rye and Single Malt Whiskey, Michigan Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the third American whiskey Gray Skies Distillery has released.

 

“Michigan Straight Bourbon Whiskey is simply named to highlight what it is – straight bourbon distilled and aged in Michigan,” Steve Vander Pol, co-owner of Gray Skies Distillery, said in supplied material. “The straight designation signifies the bourbon was aged at least two years and has no additional flavors added.”

 

Grey Skies Distillery is located at 700 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids. For more information visit grayskiesdistillery.com .

 

On Tap: Museum Beer Explorers, Ann Arbor brews and Valentine’s Day darks

3-bottom, Beer, Entertainment, Food, Holidays, Local Entertainment, Local Food, ,

A sampling of beers at the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program — yes there is glasses of what you like available for purchase. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The days are getting longer but we are still in the dark days of winter, despite Valentine’s Day looming. But there are plenty of events on tap on the local beer scene, including some tasty dark brews being poured all over the greater Grand Rapids area.

 

Starting with the next installment of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program, this time partnering with Brewery Vivant and Pilot Malt House, on Thursday, Feb. 8, when beer fans can take a closer look at malts, and how malt variations affect the flavors of beer.

 

Pilot Malt House is an artisan craft malt house who produces and supplies malts to local craft breweries and distilleries, including Brewery Vivant. (FYI: Malt is beer’s main fermentable ingredient, providing the sugars that yeast use to create alcohol and carbonation. Malt is converted barley or other grains that have been steeped, germinated, heated, kilned, cooled, dried and then rested. So we are told in supplied information.)

 

The Beer Explorers class begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on the first floor of the museum. Admission to class includes three beer samples, as well as access to the museum’s first two floors. A cash bar will be available; doors open at 6 p.m.

 

Tickets for the event are $10 for members and $20 for non-members. Participants must be 21 and older. For tickets and more information visit grpm.org/calendar .

 

Dark days, dark brews before and after Valentine’s Day

 

Brewery Vivant will celebrate Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14, for those of you not married/dating/smart) with the release of its Fat Packzi beer on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the  brewery in East Town area. This beer is available only for a limited time, according to the brewery. Also on tap is the return of Love Shadow, Brewery Vivant’s bourbon barrel aged Imperial stout — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

 

For more information visit breweryvivant.com .

 

And speaking of dark days … B.O.B.’s Brewery downtown will host its Dark Days events during Grand Rapids Beer Week highlighted by a Stout Out on Friday, Feb. 16, featuring 12 Michigan-made stouts on tap, including The B.O.B.’s own Tiramisu Stout, Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout and New Holland’s Dragons Milk Mexican Spice Cake — me, I’d go for Dark Horse Brewing’s Plead The 5th, before and after the dark day.

 

The Stout Out will include live music and smoked meats in addition to a tap takeover of the Michigan-made stouts. Beer sample tickets are $3 each, with $1 of each ticket sold being donated to Grand Rapids White Water.

 

For more information, visit thebobsbrewery.thebob.com .

 

And for those of you needing to make up for a bad Valentine’s Day …

 

Ann Arbor’s Wolverine State Brewing will be the featured beer selections at a special beer dinner at Blue Water Grill, located on Northland Drive, on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

 

The four-course dinner, with each course paired with a beer, includes: first two courses paired with Wolverine’s Pastoral Winter Lager and Tundra King West Coast IPL, a main course paired with a brew called Massacre 2015, and a desert course of an espresso chocolate torte paired with a brew called, of course, Barista.

 

The cost of the beer dinner is $45 per person.

 

For more information on the dinner and Blue Water Grill, visit thegilmorecollection.com .

 

 

For more information on Wolverine State Brewing, visit wolverinebeer.com .

 

On Tap: Railtown to move, expand (seating and brewing); KDaLe plans Creston tour

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Food, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food

Railtown Brewing Company has announced it will be moving almost directly across 68th Street from its current location in Dutton, to the site of a now-torn down car wash. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Railtown Brewing Company has announced it will be moving almost directly across 68th Street from its current location in Dutton, to the site of a now-torn down car wash, and co-founder Gim Lee said the brewery hopes to be open by early summer.

 

Railtown’s Gim Lee

“The car wash is demolished and the footings are in,” Gim said Friday to WKTV. “In the next few weeks we hope to start seeing a structure form. … Some of the key gains from this new space is a kitchen, larger bar, more taps, more brewing capacity, reserved seating area availability, and patio. … The tap room will include a mezzanine with additional seating and space that can be reserved for parties and meetings.”

 

Gim and Justin Buiter opened the brewery in late 2014.

 

Railtown is located at 3555 68th St. SE, in Dutton but just across the border with Kentwood. Since it opened it has grown to be a 3,500-square-foot space at the east end of the Village Mall plaza. The brewery’s current tap room has 10 taps and usually 10 different brews available, and it distributes kegs to other restaurants.

 

For more information on Railtown Brewing Company, call the taproom at 616-881-2364 or visit railtownbrewing.com (leads to a Facebook page).

 

KD aLe plans two events in February

 

The Kent District Library’s adult KDaLe program — where educational talks goes down smooth with a little brew — has two programs planned for February.

 

First there will be a KDaLe Tap Takeover at Horrocks Market, 4455Breton Rd. SE, Kentwood, on Friday, Feb. 2, from 5-8 p.m. According to supplied information, area breweries from the Beer City Brewers Guild took KDL up on a challenge to create their own book-inspired beer. The program is for adults 21 and older.

 

Also, there will be a KDaLe Tour visit to Creston Brewery, 1504 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 6-9 p.m. The tour of Creston Brewery will also visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at how beer is made. Discounts on food and beer will be available for all patrons who attend the tour. The program is for adults 21 and older.

 

For more information on KDaLe events, see www.kdl.org/events .

 

If you have news about Western Michigan craft breweries and distillers, drop us a line at ken@wktv.org.

 

On Tap: Perrin hosts benefit winter fest, Bier Distillery goes all Tesla

Beer, Entertainment, Food, Non-Profits, Recreation,

Beer and cold weather do go together — really. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org 

 

Getting a good sweat going, for a good cause, followed by good beer and food? Sounds like a great idea for a cold January day.

 

Comstock Park’s Perrin Brewing will host its second annual “Perrin Ice Jam Winter Festival”, a benefit for the local Kids’ Food Basket of West Michigan, on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 3-8 p.m.

 

The event will feature live music from Jake Kershaw, Mustard Plug, and Hollywood Makeout, as well as specialty Perrin beers, and follows the running of the Frostbite 5K Run/Walk at 2 p.m.

 

Admission without running is either a cash donation or a donation of food items from Kids’ Food Basket wish list. The Kids’ Food Basket provides kids in need in the community with a nutritious evening meal. Perrin Brewing has already begun to collect food donations in the front foyer from the group’s wish list, which includes fruit/ applesauce cups, granola bars, toasted oat cereal, cheese crackers cracker packs, pretzels and snack-size zipper bags.

 

The run/walk is $25 for adults and $15 for age 12 and under. Packet pick-up will be on Friday, Jan. 26 at the Perrin Pub. The run check-in is from noon to 2 p.m., and online registration is available at Frostbite 5K Run .

 

Perrin Ice Jam Winter Festival pre-sale online tickets are available here .

 

Bier Distillery has Michigan first: electric car chargers

 

Also in Comstrock Park, Bier Distillery recently announced the availability of its Tesla car chargers, a first for a Michigan distillery, brewery, or winery, according to supplied material. Owned and operated by Bier Distillery, the Tesla chargers are available free of charge to electric vehicle drivers on a first come, first serve basis. There are four chargers that can be used simultaneously.

 

Got an electric car? Bier Distillery has a charge for you.

“Bier Distillery is proud to support the electric vehicle community,” Joel Bierling, president of Bier Distillery, said in supplied material. “The number of electric cars on the road will only be increasing in the near future. The cars need convenient places to recharge, and the drivers often need to recharge as well. … Why not do it in one location?”

 

Bier Distillery produces an expanding line of grain and fruit-to-glass spirits, beer and wine at the distillery. Its leading brands are Sole Cry Rye Whiskey, Devil’s Message Rum, Mum’s Ruin Gin, Heart Cut Vodka, Brillari Amaro Americano, Henry’s Absent Absinthe Verte, and JusttheShine Moonshine.

 

For more information visit bier distillery.com .

 

On Tap: Railtown takes over Ionia, 57 Brew Pub sold, beer & doughnuts

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Entertainment, Holidays, Local Business, Recreation, , ,

Railtown Brewing Company knows its beers and has the taps to proved it. (grnow.com)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org 

 

Kentwood’s Railtown Brewing Company — OK, actually Dutton’s Railtown — will be invading downtown Grand Rapids Ionia Avenue next week when several holiday variations of its Good Mooed milk stout are featured at a Tap Take Over at the Craft Beer Cellar.

 

According to Facebook posts by both brewer and tapper, the Railtown Good Mooed Tap Take Over will take place Thursday, Dec, 28, from 6-10 p.m. The Craft Beer Cellar is located at 404 Ionia Ave. SW.

 

Plan is, at this point, to have four versions of Railtown’s milk stout on tap. In addition to its Good Mooed (a true-to-style milk stout), also available will be Festive Mooed (featuring coffee, cinnamon and nutmeg), Best Mooed Ever (with coconut, almond and chocolate — think Almond Joy), and Viscous Mooed, which is described as “A completely new and experimental brew for Railtown. The base remains true to the Good Mooed brand however, it was double mashed leading to an ABV of 10.3 percent. They also added a generous amount of bittersweet cocoa. The resulting brew is thick, rich, and chocolaty with a nice balance between sweet and bitter.”

 

Oh ya, there will also be a couple other non-mooed kegs from Railtown on tap for those not into being mooed.

 

Also, remember there is free street parking at downtown parking meters after 5 p.m. weekdays. For more information visit the Facebook pages of either.

 

Greenville’s 57 Brew Pub and microbrewery sold, taps and all 

 

After five years in business, and plenty of great beers brewed and backyard concerts held, the 57 Brew Pub & Bistro has been sold to investment group HMV Holdings, according to a press release by Calder Capital.

 

HMV Holdings is a partnership between Andy Hurst, Jason Mahar, and Marc Vander Velde, who all have strong ties to the Greenville area and are excited to share their brewpub vision with the community, Hurst told WKTV.  Planned changes include a tap expansion that will allow them to continue to brew and serve their own beer while also offering other craft beers from around the state and country.

 

Founded in 2012 — and known to locals as simply “57 Brew Pub” — the pub is a family-owned, award-winning microbrewery and restaurant, according to the release. The business was designed and built from the ground up as a brewery and brew pub, and was founded and run by Greenville locals, Bob and Dottie Olsen. They decided to sell in order to retire to a warmer climate, and say they are pleased that the brewery will continue to be operated by locals.

 

For more information on 57 Brew Pub visit 57brewpub.com .

 

GRPM Beer Explorers goes all beer and doughnuts

 

Founders Brewing Company, Robinette’s and the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) will join forces for the next museum Beer Explorers program on Jan. 11, 2018,  as Beer & Doughnuts will offer a twist on a Founders beer tasting.

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program will pair Founders beer with Robinette’s doughnuts. (Supplied)

According to supplied information, this class pairs Founders beer with Robinette’s doughnuts, allowing participants to “explore their sense of taste and what combinations appeal to individual palates.”

 

The class begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on the 1st floor of the GRPM. Admission to each class includes general admission to the museum as well as four beer and doughnut samples. A cash bar will also be available.

 

Spoiler alert: Beer Explorers will continue on Feb. 8 with Brewery Vivant and the Pilot Malt House to learn all about how malts influence the different beers. They had me at Vivant …

 

Tickets are $22 for non-museum members and participants must be age 21 or older. Tickets can be purchased at grpm.org.

 

Holiday gifts On Tap: 5 years in Rockford, 20 Founders pours, and all-lll that swag

3-bottom, Beer, Entertainment, Holidays, Local Business, Local Entertainment

Holiday lights and a mug of beer. Who could ask for anything more? (Stock Photo)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org 

 

’ Tis the season, for brewery swag gifts for that special boy (or girl), and beer.

 

Rockford Brewing Company today begins five days of holiday fun — translate that as being beer and music — to celebrate five years of business, during which visitors can partake in limited release brews, free live music from local artists, and discounts on brewpub swag.

 

“We’ve had many triumphs and also learned many lessons the last five years,” Seth Rivard, co-owner of Rockford Brewing Company, said in supplied material. “We wanted to extend our anniversary celebration from one day to one week this year so we can thank everyone who has supported us.”

 

Today, Tuesday, Dec. 12, the party begins with 50 percent off pints all day and free live music from An Dro at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, Dec. 13, there will be 55.5 percent off howler and growler fills, and free live music from Patrick Nolan at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 14, there will be 23 percent off total bill and free live music from Eric Engblade at 7:30 p.m.; on Friday, Dec.15, there will be 50 percent off gift cards with any purchase and free live music from Roosevelt Diggs 8:30 p.m.; and finally on Saturday, Dec. 15, there will be 50 percent off merchandise and free live music from Hazy Past at 8:30 p.m.

 

Rockford Brewing Company will also be releasing two specialty brews: Shanty Warmer, a Russian Imperial Stout, and Complete Nutter Madness, a coffee, peanut butter and vanilla Imperial Porter.

 

Rockford Brewing Company has many reasons to celebrate this year, according to supplied information. Along with opening a kitchen last fall, bottling and distributing 6-packs for the first time, it won local awards from Revue Magazine and Best Wings in Grand Rapids by Mlive. On a national level, they were awarded Best Small Brewpub and Best Small Brewpub Brewer, along with a silver medal for their Sheehan’s Irish Stout and a bronze medal for their Rogue River Brown.

 

For more information visit rockfordbrewing.com .

 

Gravity helps Founders celebrate 20 years with 20 pours

 

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, Gravity Taphouse and Grill will take part in Founders Brewing Company’s 20th anniversary celebration by offering 20 Founders beers either on tap or in bottle — and offering a free anniversary growler with most of the brewery’s pours.

 

There will be special brews available all day, including Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS), both 2016 and 2017, and its Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) will be tapped at 6 p.m. Alas, those three are not available in growler; but then most of us could not handle a growler of the magical stuff.

 

For more information visit gravitytaphouse.com or founders brewing.com .

 

 

On Tap: Grey Skies Distillery set to release ‘Breakfast Rye’ whiskey

Beer, Entertainment, Food, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food

Irish coffee with a little maple-flavored whiskey, anyone?

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

In the mood for a little somethin’ somethin’ to get you going on our upcoming frigid winter days?

 


Gray Skies Distillery will release its first rye whiskey — Breakfast Rye — on Sunday, Dec. 3, at their Grand Rapids tasting room, and retailers, bars and restaurants across the state.

 

Not that I am advocating it first thing in the morning, as the name implies, but a little touch of maple-flavored whiskey in your Sunday morning coffee doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

 

Breakfast Rye whiskey was initially aged in charred new, oak barrels then finished for six months in maple syrup casks, according to supplied information, “imparting a subtle, sweet finish to the otherwise spicy rye spirit.”

 

The Breakfast Rye is the fourth spirit released by Grey Skies, following their Utility Vodka, Barrel Finished Gin, and Spiced Rum — after a tasting a fall event at Fulton Street Market, I can vouch for the uniqueness of the gin.

 

According to the distillery, the rye was created in collaboration with Grand Rapids’ BLiS Gourmet, which provided the maple syrup casks used to finish the whiskey. BLiS Gourmet makes Bourbon Barrel Maple syrup by aging raw Michigan maple syrup in old, rustic Kentucky bourbon barrels. After BLiS emptied the maple syrup, Gray Skies Distillery filled the barrels with rye whiskey to impart the maple character responsible for name Breakfast Rye.

 

“Breakfast Rye was named after someone remarked ‘it smells like breakfast’ while trying a sample,” Steve Vander Pol, co-owner of Gray Skies Distillery, said in supplied material. “We distill our rye whiskey from a high rye mash-bill consisting of 85 percent rye grain and 15 percent malted barley. The abundance of rye produces a spicy whiskey and we were thrilled to taste how maple compliments the spice to provide a complex spirit with a velvety mouthfeel and long, smooth finish.”

 

Vander Pol said that additional whiskey releases are planned next year, including Michigan Straight Bourbon whiskey and Michigan Straight Rye whiskey.

 

For more information about Gray Skies Distillery visit: grayskiesdistillery.com

 

Do you have Western Michigan brewery or distillery news? Email ken@wktv.org .

 

On Tap: Cedar Springs pub crawl or passport stops, your call after Black Friday 

Beer, Entertainment, Food, Going Local, Holidays, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food, Our Cities, Veterans,

 

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

After a hectic Black Friday, looking for something to do on Shop Local Saturday? The 3rd Annual Cedar Springs Pub Crawl will take place Saturday, Nov. 25, starting at 5 p.m.

 

Cedar Springs Brewing is the host of the event, with the two other venues in town being The Gun tavern and the American Legion Glen Hill Post 287 — Cedar Springs Brewing has great German beer and food — been there, done that; and I’m a member of the Cedar Springs’ American Legion, so I can vouch for the patriotic local color.

 

Oh, and by the way, speaking of Shop Local Saturday, CS Brewery’s home brew business next to the pub is have a sale on home brew supplied.

 

First, always have a designated driver when your pub crawling. But, second, if your more in the mood to get your Beer City Brewsader Passport book stamped, after a visit to Cedar Springs Brewing, there is also a couple of other north-of-Grand Rapids brew pubs worth a visit: the Rockford Brewing Company in … wait for it … Rockford; and the recently relocated and expanded Cellar Brewing Company in Sparta.

 

For more information on Cedar Spring Brewing and the pub crawl, visit csbrew.com . For more information on Rockford Brewing visit rockfordbrewing.com and for Cellar Brewing visit cellerbrewingco.com .

 

On Tap: brewery smells, cocktail tours, and the “Dark Side of the Moon’

Beer, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, , , , ,

The Grand Rapids Public Museum offers “Dark Side of the Moon: the Light Show:, featuring the music of Pink Floyd. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Unless you are a shop-a-holic, Black Friday is usually a time to stay away from public places, but on Friday, Nov. 24, the Grand Rapids Public Museum just might tempt you out with the offer of “Dark Beer, Dark Side”, an opportunity to get all spaced out with a beer in your hands.

 

The Public Museum, in partnership with Brewery Vivant, starting at 6:30 p.m. will present will host a brief presentation by Ryan Engemann, the Wandering Monk from Brewery Vivant, on the differences between various dark beers including Brewery Vivant’s Tart Side of the Moon. Then, after some time to tour the museum, at 7:45 p.m., visitors have the chance to grab a beer to enter the Chaffee Planetarium for the Museum’s original production “Dark Side: The Light Show”, set to the music of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.

 

In the planetarium, visitors will experience the sounds of the iconic album “The Dark Side of the Moon” while getting blown away by stunning 4K visuals, brilliant LED sequences and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

 

Tickets are $12 for mMuseum members, $22 for non-members, and your must be age 21+.  Tickets include 3 beer samples, general admission to the museum and admission to the planetarium show. ​For more information visit GRPM.org .

 

Tours and tastes at local breweries, distilleries

 

Ever smelled the smell of beer in the making? It is either as a fruity summer ale or as pungent as a strong stout, depending on what’s in the making. And spirits being distilled? Don’t event try to explain it.

 

Several Grand Rapids area breweries and distilleries are open to “behind the scenes” tours, according to supplied information, including Founders Brewing Company, Long Road Distillery, and Grey Skies Distillery.

 

Grand Rapids’ Founders Brewing Company offers limited tours of their production facility on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. Tours are $10 each and include a Founders logo pint glass. They also offer a combined tour and beer tasting — just don’t ask what will be on tap as it changes. For more information visit foundersbrewing.com .

 

Grand Rapids’ Long Road Distillery takes visitors through the distilling process and the principles behind it. As they like to say: “You’ll get the chance to know what’s in your glass and where it came from.” Each tour is conducted by a distilling expert who is friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to answer any question — and the, of course, you get to taste a little somethin’ somethin’. Tours are $10 per person and limited to 15 people. For more information visit longroaddistillers.com .

 

Grand Rapids’ Gray Skies Distillery, which began whiskey production in 2015, has an on-site tasting room and cocktail bar. In September, the distillery began offering weekend tours to guests looking to learn more about craft whiskey, and peek behind the scenes at the distillery. There are two tours available, both are led by a knowledgeable distiller who will walk the guests through the entire whiskey making process, including fermentation, distillation, and aging — all done on-site. The Craft Distilling Tours are free, but the “Sneak Peek Tours” are $10, and include a craft cocktail to enjoy while on your tour. For more information visit greyskiesdistillery.com .

 

And for all you light lager drinkers …

 

Comstock Park’s Perrin Brewing recently announced a new brew has been added to its “core beer line-up”, a American light lager appropriately called Perrin Light Lager. It is described in supplied material as “a refreshingly clean, crisp beer with a perfect balance of malt and hops.”

 

Perrin Light Lager is now available in 15-packs — available in stores, but why not use that as an excuse to stop by the Perrin Pub? — as well as on draft at your favorite tap across Michigan.

 

For more information visit perrinbrewing.com .

 

On tap: Share a brew with a boo, beer fest in Kalamazoo, and GR cocktail week 

3-bottom, Beer, Local Entertainment, Local History, ,

Beer and cocktails — and drinking responsibly — will be the center of attention in November as several special events come to West Michigan. (Courtesy New Holland Spirits)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Mitten Brewing Company — located in an old firehouse at 527 Leonard St. NW, in Grand Rapids — reportedly has ghosts with a taste for beer. But even spirits need to be 21 years of age to get a cold one, you know.

 

According to supplied information,, one night in 2012, during the second week of being open, brewery owner Chris Andrus was the last person to leave the Engine House after doing the final floor mop, at 2 a.m., and the first to open the next morning. The story goes, as he inspected the taproom, he noticed footprints left in the dried mop water on the floor.

 

“At first, Chris thought nothing of it,” we are told. “But after a few minutes of going about his business, he realized no one else had been in the building between his leaving and return, and that the prints were made by bare feet. He returned to the footprints and made a perplexing discovery: they were the footprints of a child.”

 

More footprints would show up over the years, as did shadows, silhouettes and — of course — noises.

 

The Mitten’s tap house is the Engine House No. 9 building: built in 1890, a former West Side Grand Rapids firehouse and one of the city’s few remaining Victorian landmarks. It remained an active firehouse until 1966. It was purchased and restored by The Mitten Brewing Company in 2012. So, it  would not be the first haunted firehouse.

 

So, in case you are into such things, the next time you’re in for a beer, ask the bartenders about the ghosts, or just keep watch.

 

For more information, visit mittenbrewing.com .

 

Kalamazoo Craft Beer Festival to have 250+ brews on pour

 

Talk about the ultimate tasting room …

 

More than 80 breweries will have more than 250 brews favorite and special up for sampling at the Wings Event Center Saturday, Nov. 4, as the Kalamazoo Craft Beer Festival — and while Michigan brews will, as always, be the focus of the event but  there will also be brews and breweries from all over the United States in attendance.

 

Among the special brews of note, according to supplied information, are Imperial Voodoo Vator in celebrate of Atwater Brewery’s 20th anniversary, Roak Brewing’s Cucumber IPA, and Hazy Sunset, a New England IPA from Kalamazoo’s own Boatyard Brewing Co.

 

Since man (or woman) does not live on beer alone — despite what Guinness stout’s makers might say — there will be food trucks on-site at this year’s festival.

 

The Kalamazoo Craft Beer Festival also is offering ways to make sure everyone gets home safe and sound, so while designated drivers are encouraged, taxis, Ubers, and Lyft rides are also available to and from the event— and cars left at Wings Event Center over-night will not be ticketed. Mobile homes can park and stay in the Wings Event Center parking lot, but there are no hook ups to electrical or water.

 

For more information, ticket options, and a complete brewery and beer list, visit kalamazoocraftbeerfestival.com .

 

Hemingway cocktail expert at GR ‘Wine, Beer & Food’ event

 

Drink what Hemingway drank …

 

The 10th Annual Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival at Downtown Grand Rapids’ DeVos Place will host Philip Greene, who has studied and written about the influence of cocktails on the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway (among countless others notables) as part of the festival.

 

The festival runs Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 16-18.

 

Greene is the author of “The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail” and will release “The Drinkable Feast: A 1920s Paris Cocktail Company” in 2018 — named in honor of Hemingway’s posthumously published work, “A Moveable Feast”.

 

Greene’s program, “To Have and Have Another” will be presented Friday at 9 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. There is no charge for these demonstrations and cocktail samples will be provided to the audience. He’ll also present four workshops throughout the course of the using spirits from Holland-based Coppercraft Distillery.

 

The Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival will coincide with the final weekend of Cocktail Week GR, presented by Experience Grand Rapids.

 

For more information on the festival, visit devosplace.org . For more information on Cocktail Week GR, visit experienceGR.com .

 

 

Taste of Redwater event to benefit CASA child advocacy group

 

Party for a good cause …

 

West Michigan’s Redwater Restaurant Group will host an evening of “food, philanthropy and fun” — their words, not mine — with food, wine and beer samples available and a portion of the proceeds going to CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children in Kent County program which “empowers everyday citizens to stand up for vulnerable children in the family court system.”

 

To be held Saturday, Nov. 11, from 6-9 p.m., at Redwater’s Work Wine & Grille, located at 500 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids, the event costs $40 per person with $5 per person going to CASA.

 

According to supplied information, attendees will taste appetizers, entrees and desserts prepared onsite by the Chefs from Reds at Thousand Oaks, FireRock Grille, Rush Creek Bistro, Cork Wine & Grille, Vintage Prime & Seafood, and Gravity Taphouse, as well as RedWater’s pastry chef. Live music will be prepared by the band Oxymorons.

 

For more information visit corkwineandgrille.com/specials/

 

On Tap: New Holland Brewing & GR fire department brew up fundraiser

Beer, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, , ,

Firefighters from the Grand Rapids Fire Department’s Bridge Street station and New Holland Brewing head pub brewer Jon Boer (front, in the grey shirt), in the production area in The Knickerbocker where a special beer was brewed. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

New Holland Brewing’s Westside Grand Rapids location, The Knickerbocker, and the city fire department’s Bridge Street fire station have joined together to produce a locally crafted beer — aptly named “Hose ‘er Down” — of which partial sales proceeds will benefit the Great Lakes Burn Camp.

 

Beer lovers, fire department supporters and those who wish to help raise funds for the burn camp can get “hosed down” this week.

 

According to supplied information, the Great Lakes Burn Camp exists to provide a unique experience that promotes healing, self-esteem, confidence, and general well-being for burn injured children. The camp operates entirely on donations and fundraisers. These donations allow the campers to come for a week of summer camp and a four-day winter camp with no out-of-pocket expense to their parents.

 

The collaboration between The Knickerbocker and the Bridge Street fire station will raise funds to allow Great Lakes Burn Camp to operate and continue to support as many burn injured children as possible.

 

The beer itself, named by the Bridge St. Fire Station, is a red pale ale which is described by the brewery as “an easy-drinking pale ale with balanced, hop-forward flavor and a fiery red hue.”

 

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, at The Knickerbocker, there will be a launch party for the beer. $1 from every Hose ‘er Down sold (as long as the beer is on tap), plus 10 percent of food sales the day of the launch party, will go toward Great Lakes Burn Camp. Those who come to the release also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with local firefighters and learn more about the burn camp.

 

For more information about New Holland’s The Knickerbocker, visit newhollandbrew.com/knickerbocker/

 

In other local beer news:

 

Rockford Brewing wins national awards

 

Rockford Brewing Company announced Oct. 7 that the brewery and two of its beers had been honored recently at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo. According to its Facebook page, the brewery won the 2017 Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer awards.

 

In addition, the brewery won a silver medal for its Sheehan’s Stout and a bronze for its Rogue River Brown — my usual choice when sitting on the downtown Rockford brewpubs deck while watching the parade of people on the White Pine Trail bike and walking/running path.

 

For more information about Rockford Brewing, visit rockfordbrewing.com

 

Brewery Vivant to release new brew, host Halloween party

 

East Grand Rapids’ Brewery Vivant, this month, will have something special for beer lovers and Halloween fans alike as the brewery will “hop” up to a new brew and lay down its plans for a Halloween party later in October.

 

The brewery announced this week the release of “Hop Field”, described in supplied information as “an IPA following the brewery’s farmhouse roots while honoring Michigan’s love of hops.”

 

Later in the month, on Sunday, Oct. 29, the pub will host a “Stranger Things” themed Halloween party featuring the release of an exclusive small batch beer, which will only available for one night. Details on the party and brew will be coming soon, but you may as well mark your beer calendar.

 

For more information on Brewery Vivant, visit breweryvivant.com