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The Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries – the beer scene is strong!

Jeremy B
Image of Beer being poured and text saying The Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries - great beer - beer city USA

The Beer Scene in Grand Rapids, Michigan is strong, very strong! In fact, there are a significant number of Grand Rapids Breweries serving up tasty brews (like a Guava infused IPA!). So, if you like frosty beverages from dudes with hipster mustaches, keep reading this guide to the Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries.

Grand Rapids and the Grand River (Photo Credit: Jerry Hamburg)

Super Quick History of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Listen, I was a history major once and it’s simply in my nature to learn about the history of a place before, during and after I visit. So…sorry…not sorry…but you are stuck with a history lesson on Grand Rapids, MI (albeit a short one…I tried to be good).

Grand Rapids is the 2nd largest city in the great state of Michigan (something I did not know!). According to the 2010 census 188k people live in this western Michigan town that is traditionally known for its furniture. Grand Rapids is also the home of US President Gerald Ford. and there is a great museum in the city featuring the 38th president.

 

The downtown area of Grand Rapids has experienced a revitalization in the last few years becoming quite the hangout with upscale bars, hipster pubs, and other attractions that draw folks back into the city and I experienced this during my trip there (it was a vibrant downtown – full of lots of young people!). Grand Rapids appears to be one of those great “little cities” that continues to rise in popularity and purpose.

I know…you are probably thinking I NEED a nice beer from one of those Grand Rapids Breweries right now – especially after having to slog through a history lesson. Don’t worry, the Grand Rapids Breweries and their delicious brews are up next.

Grand Rapids Breweries

Let’s start with the facts. A quick flyover of the beer scene in Grand Rapids from 10,000 feet (this is a travel blog after all).

Overview of the Grand Rapids Beer Scene

You don’t get named Beer City, USA two years running if you don’t have a dope beer scene and Grand Rapids has some of the best breweries around. By last count there were 37 breweries in Grand Rapids. 37! Yeah, that’s a lot of great beer.

Prior to 2012, there was a pretty steady beer scene in Grand Rapids. 15+ breweries (stalwarts like Vivant), putting out great beer. But, an informal poll was published where Grand Rapids came out in a tie with Asheville, NC. The poll results went viral, spreading like wildfire through craft brew snobbery faster than handlebar mustaches and suspenders in a Nashville airport.

And Grand Rapids decided to double down on this victory (if you can call a tie, victory) by using this to draw tourism to the city.

Soon more breweries began popping up offering tasty cold beverages in the one of the coldest cities in the US. And the rest was history, as they say.

Grand Rapids has also won the award of Best Beer Town USA – via a USA Today poll.

If you are looking for more information on the Brewery Scene here’s a short video:

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Beer City USA

Let’s look at some of the top Grand Rapids Breweries.

The Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries

I’ve summarized the Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries for you here, followed by more detailed reviews of them in the next section.

  1. Brewery Vivant.
  2. Founders.
  3. Hopcat.
  4. The Mitten Brewing Co.
  5. Grand Rapids Brewing Company.

Let’s jump into a more detailed review of these Top 5 Grand Rapids Breweries.

Grand Rapids Breweries – the details

Brewery Vivant

No list of Grand Rapids Breweries would be considered “valid” if it didn’t start with Vivant. Vivant, is a French word that means to “be alive” – and the irony here is that the Brewery Vivant is in a historic funeral home! Hilarious. It’s really more of a chapel, and Vivant fully embraces the “Monk” theme.

Brewery Vivant – Exterior (Photo Credit: Brewery Vivant)

They feature Belgian and French style beers (so tasty!) with mainstays like the Big Red Coq (a strong farmhouse IPA) and my favorite, the 9% Tree Bucket IPA. Sit down for that one.

Location: 925 Cherry St, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Founders

Mike and Steve, the founders of this great brewery, don’t make beer for the masses – they make it for the renegades and rebels. They’ve won numerous awards for their tasty craft brews and are a stalwart of the Grand Rapids Brewery Scene.

Interior – Founders Brewery Grand Rapids Michigan (Photo Credit: Google Maps)

Founders is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan’s downtown district near the “S Curve” of the 131 highway and their massive facility takes up a full block. They feature food, live music, tours and oh yeah…beer.

Some of their feature brews include the All Day IPA (featured below) and the Dirty Bastard – a dark stout Scottish Ale. Yum!

The All Day IPA – from Founders Brewery (Photo Credit: Founders Brewery)

Location: 235 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Hopcat

Hopcat has been doing beer since around 2008. Yeah…I think they have it figured out by now. They have since spread their malty deliciousness to other locations (like 17 other spots in the US), but their downtown Grand Rapids location is where it all began and it’s still their most popular brewpub.

Hopcat is consistently ranked as a Top Brewpup in just about any poll – and that’s because they make damn good beer,  but more importantly they carry a TON of other beers. The selection is considerable.

 

They really only make a few house beers and some of their noteworthy beers include Beer Right Meow and Naughty Nicodemus:

Beer Right Meow – Grand Rapids Michigan Hopcat (Photo Credit: Hopcat Twitter)

Location: 25 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

The Mitten Brewing Co

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to visit the Mitten Brewing Company – although it was highly recommended by the lady I sat next to on the plane (a very conservative retired Catholic school teacher). I am pretty disappointed by this because it is exactly the kind of place I’d love to chug a great beer.

The Mitten’s baseball themed pub is pretty incredible. It’s located in an old firehouse and features baseball nostalgia galore.

The Mitten Brewing Company engine (Photo Credit: Mitten Brewing Company)

Interior: Mitten Brewing Co (Photo Credit: The Mitten Brewing Company)

Like the Vivant and Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Mittens has been around before Grand Rapids was known as Beer City USA. They’ve been putting out solid beers for a while and all reports are they worth the visit! Some of their more popular beers include the Extra Innings Stout and the Triple Crown Brown.

We’d all agree that no brewpub is truly complete without some tasty Pizza. Mittens allegedly has some solid dough’s worth checking out!

Mitten Brewing Stout (Photo Credit: Mitten Brewing Instagram Feed)

Location: 527 Leonard St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Grand Rapids Brewing Company

I had the occasion of visiting the Grand Rapids Brewing Company on my recent visit to Grand Rapids. It’s in a cool old building in downtown Grand Rapids (it’s down the street from the Hopcat). It was October when I visited and they were holding a costume party of some sort when I visited. A lot of drag queens…lol.

Grand Rapids Brewing Company – Exterior – From my visit

Grand Rapids Brewing Company Bar

Grand Rapids Brewing Company is one of the original breweries in Grand Rapids originally opening in 1893…yeah 1893!! Prohibition was tough on the GRBC and eventually it left town. However, in 2012 it came back to life in a new location 5 or 6 blocks from the original location.

The Mug Wall – Grand Rapids Brewing Company (Photo Credit: Grand Rapids Brewing Company)

GRBC features many great beers including the Silver Foam – based on the original brew from 1893 and several great IPAs like the Infinite Flux, which was a solid IPA) and Get to the Copper, a smooth lager. I also enjoyed an off-menu Guava infused IPA which was fabulous during my visit. And the Brewers Board was a delicious board of meets, cheeses, and candied jalepenos! YUM.

Silver Foam Beer (Photo Credit: GRBC)

Photo Credit: GRBC

I highly recommend a stop at the GRBC on any visit to Grand Rapids.

Location: 1 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Honorable Mention: There are something on the order of 37 Grand Rapids Breweries and we simply couldn’t list them all. However, here is a list of honorable mentions: 7 Monks, Creston Brewery, Unruly Brewing, Knickerbocker, and Harmony Beer.

Closing Arguments

Are you salivating for a tasty cold brew from one of the many Grand Rapids Breweries I covered? I know I am and I can’t wait for my next visit to Grand Rapids to enjoy a few more of these amazing brewpubs. I look forward to hearing your stories!

You might also like The Best Things to do in Salem Oregon

By the way…you might find this map to Grand Rapids Breweries hand: Beer City USA Ale Trail.

And here’s an interesting video of a Grand Rapids Beer Crawl:

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