Michigan Beer Trip 2016

Scheduled for the weekend of April 16, 2016.

Confirmed attendees:

  1. Frankson
  2. Edward
  3. Kaushik
  4. Scott
  5. Henry
  6. Michael
  7. Chuy

Hotel

My goal is a room within walking distance. Again we are staying at

Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown
310 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids , Michigan 49504
Hotel Front Desk: 1-616-235-7611

We have 2 rooms. We can fit 8 people. There is an additional easy chair in each room for 2 people to also sleep uncomfortably to make 10. With all the taxes, it is about 240 per room. At 6 people, it will be about 80 per person. If we get 8, it will be 60 per person.

Update: It wound up being ~480 for both rooms. Seven people = ~70.

Vehicles

I will be driving a 7 passenger crossover type minivan. I expect it will seat 6 in reasonable comfort. Or if we have a 4/4 split, I might take my little hatchback. I believe Chuy will also be bringing a similar GMC Arcadia.

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Proposed itinerary. Suggestions welcome. The ? means optional. I’m skipping a few that I’ve mapped, too.

Saturday – I’ll start picking people up at about 8am. Kalamazoo is about 2.5 hours and a time zone away so we will get there about lunchtime. We can stop for breakfast along the way too.

  1. Bell’s, Kalamazoo – Lunch
  2. ?Arcadia, Kalamazoo or Battle Creek
  3. Dark Horse, Marshall
  4. ?Brewery Vivant
  5. Hotel – Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown
  6. Hopcat, Grand Rapids
  7. Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Grand Rapids
  8. Founders, Grand Rapids

Sunday

  1. Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven
  2. Greenbush, Sawyer
  3. Three Floyds, Munster

Update: We wound up going to Greenbush first on Saturday. Then Bell’s for lunch. Dark Horse then Grand Rapids (Hopcat, GRBC, Founders during the Black Party). Sunday we hit Odd Side and Vander Mill Cidery that we ran into while going to Odd Side. Perfect 80 degree days with sun.

Boulevard Love Child No. 4

Cellared 2014.07.14 750ml

Drank 2016.02.27

Boulevard Love Child No. 4

Love Child No. 4 fresh is my favorite sour beer. It was so very complex and interesting. I find too many sours to be very one note. One flavor. Love Child No. 4 was rich with a ton of different flavors from the first sip and it changed as I let it linger in my mouth and swallowed it slowly. It was amazing. I thought Lolita had similar qualities but not to the degree present in Love Child.

With a year and a half spent in the cellar, all I get is sour. And a touch of funk. But mostly just a ton of sour. I ruined the best sour beer I’ve tried to date.

I’m winding down my cellar and I consider the experiment a general failure. But the experience has been valuable. It just doesn’t seem like it is for me.