Brews, Spirits and Wine…Oh My!

Close your eyes.

Now, when I say “Michigan”, what do you think of?

Me? Honestly, prior to moving here Michigan conjured up virtually nothing positive (other than my Wolverines). I judged the entire state on preconceived ideas. Like…dirty rundown Detroit. Or like…dirty water in Flint. Or even…8 Mile and Eminem. Yikes!

Then we moved to Southwest Michigan, with the big lake less than a mile from our doorstep! Other than the constant snow in the winter, the state has a lot more going for it than I originally thought. For now, I want to focus on breweries, distilleries and wineries!

I recently read an article on Thrillist, where they rank the states by best beer, and sure enough Michigan ranks #4! (If you want to see where your state ranks, you can read that article here.)

The Hubs and I aren’t beer connoisseurs, but recently we’ve been to a few local breweries that have somewhat changed our minds! My favorite brewery is Arclight Brewing in Watervliet, MI. While the brewery doesn’t offer a menu, they do allow you to BYOFood and provide tons of board games! A few weeks ago we stopped by for beer and Battleship! If you happen to stop by, have the Snickerdoodle, a tasty porter with a honey, cinnamon and sugar rim!!

The Hubs & His Game Face!

Snickerdoodle on the left!

Another great brewery in the area is Round Barn Public House in Baroda, MI. Round Barn offers a variety of wines, spirits and beer! On a side note: we had also visited one of their tasting rooms in Saugatuck, MI back in February, and tried several of their wines and a few spirits!We enjoyed their traminette wine so much that we bought a whole case! We stopped by the Public House to break up our day of house hunting in the area! I would recommend getting a flight, where you can choose any six (including wines and spirits)! The presentation is cute and the beer is delicious! And, if you’re going to have a few drinks, it’s never a bad idea to have some food! They have a great deal where you buy two flights and get a FREE appetizer! Make sure to get something with their beer cheese! Yumm-O!

Round Barn Tasting

Finally, if you find yourself in the Grand Rapids area, you must stop by Long Road Distillers! It’s not very often we a distillery that offers Aquavit, a Scandinavian favorite, and LRD gets it right! We both started with cocktails made with the Aquavit and neither of us were disappointed. If you enjoy your spirits straight, they do offer flights or pours, not just cocktails! I think they have something for everyone!

Long Road