By Amy Sherman
WKTV Contributing Writer

We are pretty lucky to live in a verifiable hot bed of brewing activity here in West Michigan. Grand Rapids isn’t known as Beer City USA for nothing, with dozens of breweries in and around the city. It’s time to start thinking of what local craft beers might be delicious offerings for your Thanksgiving table, so we looked right in our own backyard for some hyper local beers to serve. 

Wyoming, Kentwood, Dutton, Grandville and Cascade each have breweries that are worth checking out, no matter if it’s a holiday or not. Since most of these are destination pubs, and don’t distribute statewide, you’ll need to grab your growlers and stop on by. A good reason to explore the brewing scene, and maybe find a new favorite place, shopping on site for beer for your holiday table can be both fun and rewarding. 

We’ve put together a list of some great beers to pair with your Thanksgiving meal with recommendations from the brewers of these South side spots themselves. We hope you’ll give some of them a try, and let us know which ones were your favorites. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and happy beer tasting any day of the year.

Railtown Brewing in Dutton has their seasonal favorite Yammit All on tap now at the brewery. Described as tasting like a sweet potato casserole in a glass, the beer has 5.7% ABV and a very low 6 IBU’s. According to the brewery “Maris Otter malt and toasted caramel malts provide the perfect backbone for sweet yams, pecan crust, and marshmallowy goodness.” You can stop by the brewery to grab a pint at the bar, or take a growler home with you. Try it with the Railtown Roots roasted vegetable salad that comes dressed with a bright chimichurri vinaigrette for a complimentary pairing, or with the brewery’s spicy Buffalo chicken mac and cheese for more of a contrast between sweet and heat. Railtown has been open since 2014, and was named after the railroad line that used to run through town. They moved next door, and added a kitchen in 2018.

Osgood Brewing in Grandville recommends their Breitenstein Oktoberfest beer as a great addition to your Thanksgiving table. The brewery describes it as a “refreshing Oktoberfest, that has a sweet and toasted malt flavor and is lightly hopped.” A beer like this is easy to pair with a variety of foods, since it will just be a mellow compliment to nearly everything on your table. They also recommended their Osgood Ohana, a brown ale that comes with just a hint of coconut, for a warm and toasty little ale. Both beers are available to take home in growlers from the brewery. Known for their stone fired pizzas, Osgood is located on Chicago Drive, in Grandville. They also make cider, seltzer and wine, so it can be a one stop shopping trip for all your holiday drinking needs.

Broad Leaf Local Beer and Spirits in Kentwood is offering a sweet potato stout that could just sub in for dessert if your pie doesn’t turn out. This imperial stout is brewed with sweet potatoes, African vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and brown sugar and comes in at a bold 9.8% ABV, for a true holiday warmer that is available on draft at the brewery. If you want to grab some cans, try the Sour Lake, which I think would be a super interesting pairing for Thanksgiving. A fruited sour ale brewed with pink peppercorns and tangerine, this beer would add that bright, fresh note that a heavy Thanksgiving meal calls for. Broad Leaf has a special event the day after Thanksgiving, Blackest Friday. Head on over for some very special beer releases from pop up brewery Black Calder, including their Bougie Caramel Cake and Bougie S’more. There will also be a special menu inspired by Black Calder that will include Bobby Boo-shay Alligator Nachos, Big Mama’s Gumbo and Wodie Creole Egg Rolls.

You can read more about Broad Leaf’s new chef, and menu, here.

Thornapple  Brewing Company in Cascade is brewing up special beer based off of a traditional Italian recipe for holiday cookies. Calzoni de Castagne are classic chestnut cookies that also have chocolate and coffee in them. Thornapple’s beer will be based on a chocolate stout, according to owner and head brewer Eric Fouch. You can stop by the brewery to grab a growler, and while there pair the stout with one of their signature pizzas, or the smoked brisket sandwich that gets topped with caramelized onions and blue cheese. Thornapple has more than just beer, they also make cider, mead, wine, seltzer and hard spirits. At home, this one would be great to save for dessert, chocolate and pumpkin are a surprisingly wonderful combination.

3 Gatos Brewery in Wyoming has only been open for a little over a year, but they have already been making waves in the Grand Rapids area beer scene with their unique blend of both German and Brazilian offerings. Renata and Linus De Paoli are Brazilian, and got transferred to Germany for their engineering jobs. They decided to take a chance, and turn their love of beer into new careers, and bought the former Kitzengen Brewery in Wyoming in 2020. For Thanksgiving, Linus recommends his F6AM Saison. “Garrett Oliver (a very famous beer expert) calls Belgium Saisons the wild card for beer and food pairings,” Linus explained. “They go with almost everything, have a nice spice flavor to balance out typical Thanksgiving food, and high carbonation to cleanse the palate from the fat.” Two other 3 Gatos beers he thinks would work are the Chartreux Raspberry Coconut which would work well with your cranberry sauce, or their Bobtail Double IPA, which would be perfect for the hopheads at the table. It’s big malty bitternes would cut right through the richness of the meal.

Read more about this unique brewery here.

Jaden James Brewery was originally built to complement sister business Cascade Winery, and the two welcome guests to their tasting and tap room located in an unexpected spot on Broadmoor near the airport. Owner Roger Bonga has been making wine here since 2003, and offers a wide variety of styles of both beer and wine. For Thanksgiving, Bonga recommended their Monkey Butter Porter. A peanut butter porter, this beer is only available on site, or to take home in a growler. You’ll get roasty, toasty notes, and lots of peanut aroma on this one, balanced out by hints of chocolate and caramel in this dark ale. I’m betting it would go very nice with a slice of pumpkin pie.