Grand Rapids, MI – Over the Easter weekend my wife Cori, our 3 month old Rowan and I headed downstate to Grand Rapids to see some extended family. We left early, 4:30 AM hoping that Rowan would sleep for some of the drive, which he did, waking up for the first time in Gaylord. This also allowed us some extra shopping time before dinner on Saturday night. As we made our way to the first baby store on our list – Boom – Brewery Vivant! I pulled the truck over into the first parking spot I saw, and the baby store was only 1 block away. We did some shopping, then headed to the brewery for a little tasty taste.
Brewery Vivant has some incredible beers and the brewery was beautiful. I’ve had most of the Vivant beers that are distributed in the U.P. and a few more at Beer Fest. Out of the 6 different beers that we tasted at the brewery my favorite was the Fussy Dutchman. It’s a Wild Sour Ale aged in Red Wine Barrels. It was oaky, a little funky and had some sweetness left to it. Delicious!
The others that we tried were: Sticky Love (made with house made caramel), Framboco (a raspberry stout), Ale from beyond the Veil (strong ale at 10.3%, yum), Meza Mango (a mango IPA), Chene Massif (oak aged with a very wheaty finish). The most interesting one was Chene Massif with the wheat forward finish, it was a real treat to try.
If you’re ever in Grand Rapids and looking for a cool place to hang while enjoying a delicious micro brew, are great food be sure to look up Brewery Vivant. You can grab specialty brews in cans or bottles from the brewery as well, and they have a great gift shop.
