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Friday, 29 September 2017 10:52

Beer Bashes and Blowouts

Written by  Elma Talundzic
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Calling all beer enthusiasts — here’s a look at some of the best upcoming beer events and festivals. If you don’t want to wait until 2018 (assuming the world even lasts that long), don’t miss ’em this time around. 

 

Cedar Springs Brewing Fall Festival
Cedar Springs Brewing Co., 95 N. Main, Cedar Springs
Oct. 6-7, free entry
csbrew.com, (616) 696-2337
For the second year running, Cedar Springs Brewing will celebrate the beginning of fall with beer, flannel and local music. Grab an Oktoberfest or check out the new Red Flannel Ale, a collaboration with the town’s Red Flannel Festival. Hazy Past and Deep Greens & Blues will provide the tunes, along with DJ (and Cedar Springs bartender) Reduce Reuse.
 
Grand Armory 2nd Anniversary Street Party
Grand Armory Brewing Co., 17 S. 2nd St., Grand Haven
Oct. 7, 12 p.m.-12 a.m., $10
grandarmorybrewing.com, (616) 414-7822
October is a popular month for brewery birthdays and Grand Armory is no exception. Put on your jacket and head outside to drink some special release and barrel-aged brews from the Grand Haven brewery, along with the usual favorites like Crop Duster IPA and Nutter Your Business, a peanut butter and chocolate milk stout. Meanwhile, local bands like Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish, The Way Down Wanderers and The Mainstays will provide the soundtrack. Find tickets at brownpapertickets.com or at the brewery.
 
Sourgarten II
The Sovengard, 443 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids
Oct. 7, 12-10 p.m., free entry
sovengard.com, (616) 214-7207
Last February, when the sun broke through and a winter weekend reached the mid-70s, Sovengard opened its biergarten for the first time ever with a celebration of all brews sour and wild. Now, Sourgarten is back in all its puckery glory. If the last event was any indication, expect brews from Brewery Vivant, New Belgium Brewing, Speciation Artisan Ales, Transient Artisan Ales and much, much more. Admission is free, then tickets are purchased for beer samples.

 

Founders 20th Anniversary Party
Founders Brewing Company, 235 Grandville Ave. SW, Grand Rapids
Oct. 14, 1 p.m.-2 a.m., free
foundersbrewing.com, (616) 776-1195
Founders is turning 20, so come on down, grab a beer and celebrate (you still have to be 21 though) with this annual party commonly referred to as Founders Fest. This cover-free celebration starts at 1 p.m. in both the taproom and the street out front. There will be live music from area bands like FBC All Stars, along with food trucks and special offerings from the Founders deli. Keep an eye out on Founders’ event listings for more details to come. 
 

Wood & Wild

HopCat, 25 Ionia Ave. SW, Grand Rapids

Oct. 22, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

hopcat.com, (616) 451-4677

Whenever someone makes a bold claim, I’m inclined to investigate further. And HopCat has done just that, stating that Wood & Wild will be a “tapping of the best barrel-aged and sour beers in existence.” To start, the first 100 guests will receive a limited edition Wood & Wild logo beer glass. More than 35 breweries will bring at least one barrel-aged and/or sour beer, cider or wine. For example: Divine Sauvage from Green Flash Brewing Co., a French red wine barrel-aged Belgian-style tripel; and the 2016 Sobrehumano Palen’ole, an oak barrel-aged American wild ale with Michigan cherries and Hawaiian passion fruit from Jolly Pumpkin and Maui Brewing Co.

KD aLe Book Club: Cedar Springs Brewing Co.

Cedar Springs Brewing Co., 95 N. Main St., Cedar Springs
Oct. 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
kdl.org/events, (616) 784-2007
Grab a beer, crack open a good book and get ready to discuss at Cedar Springs Brewing Co. with this very cleverly named monthly book club. Join for an informal talk about what books the group has been reading, along with book recommendations from KDL librarians. 
 
Kalamazoo Craft Beer Festival 2017
Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Dr., Kalamazoo
Nov. 4, 1-6 p.m., $45-95
Kalamazoo’s fourth annual beer festival features craft breweries from Michigan and across the country. The day includes beer tasting, specialty tappings, cornhole, the infamous keg curling and more. Last year had dozens of breweries, each bringing a handful (or two or three) of their finest brews. General admission tickets get you a fancy souvenir sample glass and 15 tasting tokens.
 
13th Annual Winter Beer Festival
Fifth Third Ballpark, 4500 W. River Dr. NE, Comstock Park
Feb. 23-24, 2018, tickets on sale Nov. 30
With more than 125 Michigan breweries featured and approximately 1,000 unique craft beers available to sample, it’s a good thing this is a two-day event. A guest ticket comes with 15 tasting tokens that can be exchanged for 3 oz. beer samples (that’s like four full bottles of beer). Along with all that fine beer, enjoy music from local bands, ice sculptures and cozy fire pits to keep you warm, along with plenty of barbecue and other food to fill you up. 
 
Cool Brews. Hot Eats.
Grand Rapids
Feb. 15-March 15, 2018
For a full month, restaurants and breweries all over the city will make a special effort to highlight beers right alongside their food. We’re already known as “Beer City” (even if we did just give ourselves that name), and we were recently named Michigan’s Best Food City by Thrillist. Participating restaurants will offer both special food/beer pairings and new dishes cooked with local brews.
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