Category: Beer Of The Month

Monthly article about our favorite new beer from one of our local Grand Rapids, MI breweries.

September: Creston Brewery goes back-to-back with Polar Bear

Packing up the cars, clubs and the coolers before the Labor Day weekend to travel south of the Pure Michigan border to play golf at Blackthorn, visit Touchdown Jesus and find our September Beer of the Month became a much easier crusade once the party found out that Creston Brewery in Grand Rapids was already filling crowlers.

Sent on a mission to the northeast corner of Plainfield Ave. and Sweet Street to chaseBlackthorn Golf Club down some fine ales for our weekend adventure to South Bend, I quickly found a seat at the bar when I arrived at the former DeKorne Furniture building in the recovering Creston neighborhood on Grand Rapids’ northeast side.

After a celebratory cheers to August and the hoppy GRale, it was off to the land of Hoosiers. We held off on the Polar Bear brew with enough patience to count to ten in latin or spell Iehovah in Hebrew, but it felt like they were ripping the hearts out of our chests.  If you need the skinny on the GRale, click here.

Polar Bear by Creston BreweryWe each found ourselves with crawlers of Polar Bear, a multi-grain brew with citrus and midwest hops and a 4.20% ABV. Knowing the holiness we were searching for and what was at stake, it was time to test our fate.

Our taste buds quickly informed us we had chosen wisely. And so, Polar Bear by Creston Brewery in Beer City, USA was named our September 2016 Beer of the Month.

The rest of the story belongs in a museum.

 

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August: Creston Brewery’s GRALE

I wasn’t meant to be there when the doors opened. It just happened. Coincidence, I guess. Or, the stars? However it came to fruition, our August Beer of the Month is Creston Brewery‘s GRALE!

IMG_0737As I drove south on Plainfield Ave. toward downtown last Wednesday morning I noticed a group of news vans parked and three random people standing outside the glass doors to Beer City’s newest local watering hole, Creston Brewery. Obviously, stopping in was mandated by William Miller, my own Jiminy Cricket-like conscience imagined to walk and talk in the manner of Patrick Fugitt’s wonderful rendition of Cameron Crowe’s innocent, wide-eyed reporter in Almost Famous.

When the crew unlocked the door for business at 11am, I happened to be the 6th person in line. Somehow amid all the calamity I missed my favorite beer-guzzling, classically trained chef, Amy Sherman from WOOD Radio’s Behind the Mitten and IRON GR. (How many times has this happened at a new brewery? Countless. Maybe, every time.)IMG_0738

Without time to sit and partake in the festivities with Chris from EatGR.com, I grabbed a quick taste of the GRALE. It’s the closest thing to an IPA that Jarrod and the staff have on tap. While they don’t specify what specific “kind” of beer they serve(think IPA, Porter, Stout, etc.), the Creston team lets you see what the beers are brewed with as not to bias your tastebuds pre-tasting. Their coasters are adorned with a color- and malt-coded scale, as well as a bitterness and hops scale, to let the customer understand where their likings fall on the spectrum.IMG_0736

Want to be a part of the Creston Crew? It’s their insiders club with some great GR benefits like $2 off EVERY drink.

Some of you are asking yourselves, “did he sneeze?”

Yes.

That’s why GRALE from Creston Brewery is our August Beer of the Month.

 

 

 

 

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July: CS IPA from Cedar Springs Brewing

July’s Beer of the Month is the CS IPA from Cedar Springs Brewing!

On July 16th and 30th, CSB hosted their own Sippy Saturday Beer Release parties.

On the 16th, they opened the special dry-hopped cask on CSIPA 1.1: The Comet. Brewed with Citra and Cascade hops, it’s dry hopped with Comet, then served as a real ale from the cask.

Following up two weeks later, the crew then released CSIPA 1.2: Citra-riffic, brewed with Citra and Cascade hops and dry hopped with Citra.

 

June: New Holland’s Extra Time Pale Ale

BeerCityHoops is proud to announce our June 2016 Beer of the Month is New Holland Brewing‘s Extra Time Pale Ale.

It’s the creation of New Holland Head Pub Brewer Steve Berthel and features Michigan-sourced ingredients and is the perfect beer to enjoy before, during, and after cheering on GRFC.

Bob's BarThis past weekend, the team headed down to Bob’s Bar to chase the Grand Army and follow the mob down to Houseman Field for the match against Detroit City FC.

Check out our video from amid the Northern Guard, Detroit City FC’s fan base.

April Beer of the Month: Citra Warrior Imperial IPA from Railtown Brewing

It’s absolutely no coincidence that we’ve picked Citra Warrior Imperial IPA from Railtown Railtown BrewingBrewing as our April 2016 Beer of the Month during the same week that our friends at Behind The Mitten have named it Beer of the Week. Honestly.

We’ve been waiting to honor a brew from Railtown for a couple months now and recently found out about their new bottle release coming Monday, April 18th, the super fruity and hoppy Citra Warrior Imperial IPA. It made this choice a no-brainer.

Brewer Justin Buiter has put together a big, balanced dry-hopped concoction that leaves you wanting more. Made with locally sourced honey, it’s citrusy enough to make this guy sneeze, and finishes smooth.

Coming Monday at 3pm, Railtown will open its’ doors and hope to keep the mobs calm. Better get there early and save me a place in line.

It’s March Madness!: New Holland’s Mad Hatter

I grew up in a Michiana town…no, that’s not it.

‘Cause I’m free. Free fallin’. Again, no. That’s Tidwell’s agent.

Those pigeons down there in Market Square, not the Bird in Indy we’d chase around.

If Stan Van Sundae forms that “f***ing wall”, no one’s backing down.

 

Truth is, when it comes to the BeerCityHoops March Beer of the Month, New Holland’s Mad Hatter tells all contenders to “come around here no more”. Not that I don’t love a good Joe Walsh rendition of Rocky Mountain Way, but akin to the cold brewed mountain river water MillerCoors calls beer, I’d rather fill our casks with something more along the lines of a Stevie Nicks version of “Silver Springs” from southwestern Michigan like New Holland’s IPA.

Just go get one and enjoy it. Maybe you can take it away from someone who doesn’t love it quite enough to see its worth. Tom Petty gets it. Stevie Nicks gets it. Hopefully, you get it, too.

Off-season Beer

February Beer

January Beer

 

February Beer of the Month: The Brew from Grand Rapids Brewing and 101.3fm

Happy Valentine’s Day, Beer City! 

IMG_3320BeerCityHoops is proud to finally* announce our February Beer of the Month is The Brew, a collaboration between Grand Rapids Brewing Co. and local radio station, 101.3fm.

GRBC has found the right mix to co-mingle the craft beer scene and the classic rock soundtrack of Beer City, USA. They’re using rye to give this one a spicy grain character and adding organic Michigan hops for a refreshing kick, according to the bottle. The ABV is 7.6% with an IBU rating of 62.

 

*=We parked in front of B-Dubs on Ionia Ave., hazard lights on in the loading zone, at 8:43pm on Valentine’s Saturday. Ran across the street to GRBC to get The Brew in bottles for takeout, knowing that it might be packed and take more than the (daytime) allowable 20 minutes to “load/unload”, but made it out of there before 8:51pm! The GRBC staff rocks! 

 

 

 

 

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January Beer of the Month: Founders’ Azacca IPA

Azacca IPA from Founders’ Brewing Co. is our January Beer of the Month!

After our monthly meeting of some friendly minds (we don’t seem to schedule the same group well), the five of us in attendance came to the conclusion that this seasonal offering would be January’s winner.

Our subsequent trip to The Tin Can would solidify our choice, as someone in our party (it was The Good Doctor) decided to buy a round of $1 Black Label beers.

Azacca IPA is named after the Haitian god of agriculture. The Azacca hops intense tropical aroma hints of citrus and mango, according to the label and my undying need to drink beer that makes me sneeze. The backbone, sweet with a caramel malt, supports the fruit character of the beer. Again, from the label.

The 7.0% ABV and 70 IBUs help keep you warm when you pour this burnt orange heavenly delight.

 

The Beer City moratorium

Our week away in the Mitten

It took a couple days for the crew to get ourselves packed and head out on our Pure Michigan adventures, but by Monday morning the show was on the road.

With a quick early morning trip south to the Gun Lake Casino, we piled up all our change and headed on in to the penny slots to gamble the morning away. What seemed like an eternity to go through nearly $30 in coins actually only lasted a couple hours seated at the slots consistently luring us in for the ultimate risk and reward. But, playing on the penny slots really helped keep some change in our pocket for later in the day. By the time we were ready to head out to lunch, the last of our paper credits were being played in a $5 machine just to “see what the rich people play like”. No big winners but the house.

On Tuesday it was off to Michigan’s Left Coast and a trip to see our friends at the Grand Haven Brewhouse. But first, as always, the long stroll down the boardwalk from the Marina’s cleaning station past the Surf Shop and south down to Snug Harbor before turning back toward downtown amid the hustle and bustle of a summer day near the Big Lake. As we turned up Washington, we were stunned that we had all previously been to the movie theatre to see a film. Who goes to the movies in Grand Haven? Beer City Hoops crew! Upon our arrival at the GH Brewhouse, we chose to sit outside, which for the weather was a good idea but maybe not so much for the atmosphere. Although the outdoor seating area is in a nice spot behind the restaurant, the surroundings are more reminiscent of a smoking patio for the late-night crowds. That led us to quickly finish up our first round and seek yet another adventure. Having checked in at the Brewhouse on Facebook our good friend and beer aficionado Chuck was adamant that we take our tastebuds over to Oddside Ales across the street, albeit from his home in Pennsylvania.

Oh, dear Varano, thank you for your wonderful gift.

We sat at the bar at Oddsides (I had the Fussy IPA.) and met some interesting folks from Fairmont, IN who just love Michigan beer and spend their days traveling throughout the State vacationing and visiting breweries near and far. Today, Grand Haven was on their agenda. As we talked about where we’ve been and what we’ve enjoyed for local beer, our attention turned toward GR. Although they were fans of Founders’ beer, their take on the Taproom was a bit more sour. Our focus was on getting them over to the Mitten or Harmony Brewing. #WestSideGR Surprisingly, at least to me, their favorite spot in Beer City is the Hideout near Lamberton Lake on the City’s Northeast side. Tucked back behind the Plainfield mile near FOX17, it’s now a place we’ll be seen on the Beer Tour.

You can catch up with the rest of our week away from Beer City right here or by listening to the Beer City Hoops nightly podcast at 6:30pm on blogtalkradio.com or at beercityhoops.com
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