Grand Rapids, Michigan

We love us some Michigan. We tend to go every time we visit the States, as it’s full of beautiful landscapes, great breweries, and friends scattered here and there.

On our last trip to the U.S., we swung through Grand Rapids (once again) to visit our pal, Andrew, and stay for a few days to check out some delicious craft beer. This city is a mecca for brewing these days. Most of you have probably heard of Founders; and while it’s still as delicious as ever, there are well over a dozen breweries to run through. We did our best to crush many of them during our few days here, as well as check out some of the other, lovely aspects of the city.

So, here are some pictures from our latest GR run, most of which are from breweries. Don’t worry though: If you’re not into beer, there are a ton of other great things to do in Grand Rapids. Museums, sports, food, and more. It’s always worth a visit and we look forward to going back on our next run in the States. Prost!

The view from our room at the downtown Holiday Inn.

Grand Rapids is booming, and has quite a walkable downtown. In case you don’t want to walk forever, though, they have Uber! That not only makes it easy to hail a ride when you’re hot and tired, but also if you’re visiting an endless array of breweries like we were.

One of the coolest places to visit in Grand Rapids is the Downtown Market, a one-stop shop for hungry foodies. We love when a city has a central market like this, which isn’t all too common in the U.S. The one in Grand Rapids is a must-visit every time we’re in town, as we love checking out the different food vendors and restaurants that fill the building.

And, if you’re looking for beer to go – or a tap room – you can hit up the Craft Beer Cellar, which is across the street from the market. They have not only an amazing selection of Michigan and other beers, but their own bar in which you can imbibe for a while.

Now, on to the breweries!

We sadly couldn’t get to all the breweries in Grand Rapids, but we did pretty well for ourselves. :) Here are some of our highlights. For all those we missed, we’ll be back!

First up was Brewery Vivant – housed in a former chapel – with a bonus tour for our Hopsmash project, courtesy of Bates and the wonderful staff at the brewery.

Now, let’s head over to Greyline Brewing Co. for some evening treats. Fantastic setup with some well-done brews.

Naturally, we had to visit Founders Brewing Co. as well, which is now a massive entity that distributes worldwide. They still make great beer, but man! Man. This place has expanded like crazy since our previous visits to Grand Rapids. It’s a behemoth of a space now.

After the insanity and crowds of Founders, we made our way over to one of the city’s newest breweries, City Built Brewing Co. ‘Twas a much more cozy spot for some tasty beers and food, but still very lively with lots of action.

And to cap things off, we ventured over to Creston Brewery for some beer, food, and stand-up comedy!

And that’s that! Great times in Grand Rapids as always. Be sure to check out our other USA posts right here, and our Hopsmash project right here if you love delicious beer.

A very special and very big thanks to all of our friends old and new, to all the brewery folks who welcomed us, and to all the fine folks of Grand Rapids.

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Have you ever been to Grand Rapids? If so, what’d you think? If not, what say ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!