Beercation!

One of the benefits of being retired is that you don't have to wait for the weekend to do weekend stuff. So one Monday morning I said to my wife, 'let's take a beercation!"

Our first stop was a trip to Marshall, Michigan. Home of Dark Horse Brewing. The brewery that had it's own reality TV show on the History Channel. However upon learning that they closed their restaurant and the whole reason for going to Marshall was to meet with family for lunch, Dark Horse was out.

So instead we paid a visit to Grand River Brewery. Grand River is situated in the heart of downtown Marshall in an early 20th century brick building that I am told used to be a mercantile or general store. It looks the part and is quite quaint with a modern flare.

My plan was try new-to-me styles but a few old favorites called loudly. The first being (l-r) Summer Night Tree, a 5.6% Stout... then Black Penny Porter with an ABV of 6% and finally Sleeping Bear Scotch Ale at 8.4%. All were very nice representations of their style. Forced to chose between them, the Scotch Ale wins my vote.

Next came the two I had never had before. A Brut IPA called San Fiasco. It's 7.8% ABV and is crystal clear. It is so dry that it tastes to me like a hop tea. Not my favorite but I will try another somewhere else.

My palate has never like wheat beer but I keep giving them a chance. This time with Blanc Stare, a 5.5% Witbier. I am still not a fan. However the food was very good and the beer selection varied enough to satisfy any beer lover. Grand River is definitely worth a return trip.

After leaving Marshall we took a short trip west to Kalamazoo where of course a stop at Bell's was required. They have a production facility in town that offers tours but not on the day we stopped in. So we visited the brew pub and had lunch.

Bell's beers are not difficult to find in Michigan. You can find Two Hearted Ale, Porter, Oberon, Hop Slam and several others at the grocery store. What they had on tap that was new to me was a limited edition Session Lager. This one I liked enough to buy a six pack to take home. There is a Bell's store next door to the restaurant and to my surprise they also had six packs of Bell's Expedition Stout so I brought one of those home too.

Expedition is a Russian Imperial Stout (10.5% ABV) and except for Founder's KBS is my favorite big beer.




The plan that day was to also visit HopCat which is right across the street from Bells General Store but we didn't think the whole thing though. If we had, we would have ordered something small at Bell's along with a beer... they sell 5oz glasses for just two bucks!... and then go across the street and order another small dish with a beer.

Ahh well, lessons learned and a plan to put into place next time. Besides, a stop in Grand Rapids is also on the docket and they have a HopCat there too! But that's not our next stop.

Next is a jaunt north by north west to Holland, Michigan. My wife has had an urge to visit somewhere new on the Great Lakes that we haven't been before. Holland fits the bill seeing as it has a beautiful State Park beech with the famous Big Red Lighthouse protecting the harbor.

Since this stop was for my wife's benefit I really had not given much thought to breweries or brew pubs. I wrote it off as a decompression day at the beach. I had forgotten totally about New Holland Brewing. Oh. My. God!

First off, Holland, Michigan just as you might imagine was settled by the Dutch and Dutch heritage is wholeheartedly embraced by the town. There is so much to visit we didn't get to see it all. Sadly one of the sights we missed was the Windmill Island Gardens with its 200 year old, authentic Dutch windmill. Again, something for us to do next time.

New Holland Whitefish Po Boy with Fries

For those who aren't familiar with Michigan foods, we are as much a seafood culture as anywhere near the oceans. Instead of crab, shrimp or halibut we value Walleye, Perch... and Whitefish! So when I saw they had a Whitefish Po Boy on the menu I didn't bother looking at anything else. And I was right. The food here is awesome!

This time, a majority of my samples were things that were new to me. Just like Brut IPA, I have read an awful lot about Kombucha. New Holland's Kombucha IPA is 5% ABV and is made with lemon and ginger. It is a bit tart but not as tart as the next offering, Sour Ale with Mango. It has an ABV of 4.5% and tastes both sour and sweet like Sweet Tarts candy.

The next was a real surprise. Dragon's Milk White Stout. It is only 6% ABV compared to traditional Dragon's Milk which is 11%.  The white has all the rich, creaminess of a good stout without any acrid character associated with dark and black malts. I found it disarming and quite delicious!

Brewing display inside New Holland Brewing

The fourth sample in my flight was New Holland Dragon's Milk. It is a bourbon barrel aged stout which is very good and one that I buy often at my local grocer. What I really wanted to try was their Triple Mash Dragon's Milk which was released this past April. It was a limited release however and was all gone by the time I got there. Story of my life. it clocks in at a whopping 17% ABV!

All of this occurred on Monday and Tuesday. Our plan was to swing by Grand Rapids on our way home Wednesday but all that was thwarted by an endless hike in search of the beach at Saugatuck Dunes State Park and the bear.

It was an endless hike, seemingly all uphill, from the parking area to the beach, which we never found. We never found it because at the crest of a dune where we stopped to catch our breath we spotted unmistakable bear tracks on the trail. With still no sign of the beach and bear in the area it was time to call it a day.


Wednesday came early and we were pooped so the trip to Grand Rapids was scratched. Our plans there were to visit Founders Brewing and HopCat and since we have been to Founders a couple of times already it wasn't a difficult choice.

We left with a plan for for the future... when we go next to visit our family in Marshall we will start in Grand Rapids and hit the breweries that were left behind. Then since we missed the Windmill gardens in Holland we will visit there again and possibly make a more concerted effort to find that Saugatuck beach. Or at least track down Saugatuck Brewing Company ;) Then on to Marshall where I hope to include a visit to Dark Horse Brewing. Restaurant or no restaurant.