October: Ichabod Pumpkin Ale from New Holland Brewing

If you’ve been holding your breath for us to announce our Beer of the Month this October, you’re probably a zombie by now.

And that’s perfect, it’s Halloween!

Had we named this beer earlier in the month, it would have coincided with Oktoberfest and everybody does that. So, we dressed appropriately for the end of the month party, searched far and wide for something mysterious and picked the creepiest local we could find on the shelf. We hope you’re not too scared to join the spooky fun.

The 3-Point Turn podcast’s Beer of the Month for October 2016 is Ichabod from New Holland Brewing.

Ichabod is a pumpkin ale with 5.2% ABV and 26 IBUs that combines malted barley, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg to leave you speechless.

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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.

 

Dolly Konwinski photo

Dutton Days is in a league of its own

IMG_5356When we finally figured out who was the designated driver for the day, the crew headed out On the Mitten Road last Saturday for Dutton Days in southern Kent County.

The 15-minute drive to Dutton, MI for their annual parade, beer tent and festival took IMG_5387us to Railtown Brewing, who renamed their Bike Ride Blonde as Brody’s Blonde for the day. Railtown was donating $1 from every pint sold to the Hope for Brody fundraiser, there were also growlers for sale dedicated to the cause. Gim Lee and the guys at RB were serving some limited editions in the beer tent.

Arts and crafts vendors, jewelry artists and local IMG_5357businesses were on hand to get to know the public. We never made it over to the Motorcycle and Car Show or the Kids Zone, but found a gem in local legend and Grand Rapids Chicks star Dolly Konwinski. Dolly had pictures, cards and books available for sale and autographing. After we talked for a bit about her days teaching kids andumpiring games, including some of my own, through Kentwood Baseball Little League, I was lucky enough to get a photo with her.

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.