Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Ever since I tried Brewery Vivant’s Zaison, I have been hooked on this brewery’s selection of beers.  They are all interesting and tasty.  I finally had the opportunity to visit the brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan with some friends. 

 The brewery is located in a former church and the wood-beam rafters and strained-glass windows still grace the dining area.  As the start of a day visiting breweries in this wonderful city of beers, we arrived at 5-minutes before it opened and joined the queue of believers to enter the chapel.  After some mix-up with seating, we finally were led to a table in the middle of the dining area.  The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable.  We ordered samplers of all their beers and the duck nachos. 

I have to say that the beer was excellent, as expected, but the duck nachos were outstanding.  I love to be surprised at a brewpub—usually the surprise comes from the beer.  We decided to have an early dinner and everyone loved what they ordered.  The food was gourmet all around and we’re now trying to get the recipe for the duck nachos.

The beer, of course, is what drew us to Brewery Vivant and it was all excellent.  Given my preference for high-gravity beer, I ordered the heavy ones that included a peppercorn rye and barrel aged Contemplation.  Those were my personal favorites for the day, but all of the beers were pleasing.  Alas, I did not choose to get a pint of anything as it was the start of a long day and I still needed to drive us to the hotel.

This is a brewery that any craft beer lover should visit.  And get the duck nachos, you will not regret it.

Cheers,

Zymus

Tart Side of the Moon: Brewery Vivant

Two of my favorite things are progressive rock music and craft beer.  I was delighted to see Brewery Vivant’s tribute to one of the best progressive rock albums of all time, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.  Tart Side of the Moon, a dark farmhouse ale, was brilliantly planned (I’m sure) to be released to coincide with the 40^th anniversary of the album.  Well done Brewery Vivant!

The label artwork is fantastic, using the instantly recognizable prism imagery developed by Hipgnosis with a beer-related twist—the prism is substituted for a chalice-style beer glass. The chalice is divided into four parts, with each part showing what appears to be the four ingredients of the beer: Hops, barley, water, and yeast.  The label also has a description of the beer and a listing of complimentary foods.  I was really hoping for a listing of complimentary progressive rock albums other than Dark Side of the Moon, but alas we will all have to come up with our own list.  Here’s a partial list of mine:  The Yes Album (Yes), 2112 (Rush), Leftoverture (Kansas), Seconds Out (Genesis), Brain Salad Surgery (Emerson, Lake, & Palmer), and I Robot (Alan Parsons Project).

In wonderful Brewery Vivant fashion, Tart Side of the Moon is full of flavor and has a distinct sour/tartness.  The beer is high in alcohol and pours a perfect dark color.  This craft beer is a delight to all of the senses.  I'm told it is available only in limited quantities, so if you are lucky enough to live in Michigan be sure to grab a 4-pack if you can.

Cheers,
Zymus

Michigan Beer Label Competition, Part 5. Ranks 7-8

Here are the next rankings for the Michigan Beer Label Competition.  The next post will announce the top breweries for labels in Michigan.  The tension is getting too much to bear.  It’s time for a great Michigan beer…

Saugatuck Brewing Company.  Score: 23; Rank: Tied for 8th out of 36.

Four breweries tied for 8^th best labels in Michigan.  Saugatuck Brewing Company, in Douglas, began expanding their bottled offerings in the past several years. Now, there are about 10 varieties available to those who know where to look.  The brewery’s mainstay labels are pretty appealing.   The labels have the brewery logo across the top (I like the logo), the beer name in the middle, and a depiction of a scene that relates to the beer name on the bottom.  Many of the beer names celebrate the history of the Saugatuck area and the labels have an explanation of the names and artwork.  This scheme makes for a great regional beer experience. 

The brewery also offers some seasonal and one-time beers.  These labels appear to be developed specifically for the beer and do not follow the format of their mainstays, greatly improving their label variety.  My two favorites are their ode to Western Michigan’s rockabilly queen Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys and Continuum IPA.

Dewey Cannon Winery and Brewpub.  Score 23: Rank: Tied for 8^th out of 36.

I have to admit that I knew very little about the Dewey Canyon Winery and Brewing Company until recently.  The brewery is located in the Southwest corner of Michigan in the city of Three Oaks.  I don’t think that they sell packaged beer, but they have developed labels for at least 4 beers. http://www.deweycannonwinery.com/our_beer_selection.html.

The labels are oval and depict slice-of-life scenes that are related to the beer names and styles. The artwork is detailed and interesting.   I like the label for Dewey Cannon IPA, which depicts a cannon.  This same image is also used on the most of wine labels.  My favorite label from this brewery is Captain Easy, with the twenty-first century blond babe posing in shorts who looks like she should be painted on the side of a World War II bomber. I like the double-meaning for the name.  The only downside to the labels is that neither they nor the website show the ABV%.

Cranker’s Brewery.  Score: 23; Rank: Tied for 8^th out of 36.

This brewery, out of Big Rapids, only started producing beer this past year.  Not many of their bottled beers have made to my part of the state, but the ones I have tried are really quite good and will likely improve with time once they start to build a market and can experiment a bit with the beer styles. Their website shows about a dozen types of beers and labels have been developed for them all.   All of the labels follow the same design with a stark black background, the brewery logo across the bottom, and the beer name written around an oval picture.

The artwork for the pictures depicts scenes from the 1920s or 1930s.  The artwork is really interesting and fun.   They had a label competition for their Bulldog Red Irish Ale, and this is the only label that does not fit well with the label scheme, but I like the label regardless. All labels have the alcohol content and the following words: “Bibete Cerevisiam Bonam Hominibus Bonis.”  According to Google Translate this means “Good men who drink beer,” which is very close the brewey's motto “Drink good beer with good people” or in Latin “Bibere bonum cervisiam cum bonus populus.”  Good stuff indeed!

Atwater Brewing Company.  Score: 23; Rank: Tied for 8^th out of 36.

Atwater brewing has been a leading brewery in the Detroit area for 15 years.  They make a wide variety of good beers, with about 20 types shown on their website.  The brewery employs one basic labeling scheme that involves the circular brewery logo at the center, four colored spokes radiating out to the label edges, and artwork in the background.  There is lots of variation on this theme including a the normally mellow logo character going nuts on the label of Atwater’s Conniption Fit Double IPA. I found that detail to be quite amusing.

My favorite labels from Atwater, however, are the new ones depicting the hot Detroit beer ladies: Dirty Blonde, Teufel Bock, and Double Down Imperial Amber.  It seems that many Michigan Breweries have chosen to help sell their beer by putting pretty young women on the labels.  I think you can’t go wrong with this marketing technique.   

Oh and by the way, Atwater puts both ABV, IBU, and Plato on their labels.  Prost!

Brewery Vivant.  Score: 24; Rank 7^th out of 36.

A relatively new treasure in the Michigan Brewery scene is Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids.  I don’t know what it is about the Grand Rapids area that has led to so many great breweries, but I’m glad I live close enough to visit.  The brewery’s packaged beer is in pint cans, except for their collaboration with New Belgium brewery in Ft. Collins, Colorado (that one is sold in 22 oz bombers).  They have three mainstay beers and several one-off or seasonal beers. All of the labels are shaped like a shield, with artwork that related to the beer name and or style. 

The artwork for the mainstay beers are all stylized Belgium scenes, while the artwork for the others vary substantially.  I particularly like the label for Klüdde Belgian Style Dark Ale, and would love to try that beer.  You can see the label here: http://www.breweryvivant.com/index.php/the-beer/packaged-beer/.

The cans include all sorts of information about the beer, including food pairing suggestions, why the brewery uses cans, alcohol level, and the like. Brewery Vivant’s Zaison is my favorite beer for 2012.  Too bad I can’t find it anymore.

Sorry to stretch this out into yet one more post, but rest assured the next post will reveal the winners.

Cheers,

Zymus

Brewery Vivant: Grand Rapids Michigan

Grand Rapids, MI continues to live up it's title of "Beer City USA."  Back in late 2010, a couple of guys with a lot of brewing experience opened a brewery in a former funeral home.  As I understand it, the concept was to brew Franco-Belgian-style beers in an ecologically responsible way and to pair those beers with local, wholesome food. Thus, Brewery Vivant was born.

Some of Brewery Vivant's Offerings

I'd seen this brewery's beer sold in cans for some time in the beer aisle of my favorite store.  However, being a beer-bottle collector, and having grown up in the age of "cans=bad beer" I never purchased it.  The buzz, however, surrounding the brewery continued to grow and they were getting rave reviews from just about everybody.  As a lark before going out golfing one afternoon, I grabbed a 4-pack of the imperial saison (called Zaison), thinking this style would be perfect for a hot day golfing.  Note that the cans are a pint (about 16 lf oz) and pretty pricy at about $14 a 4-pack. I opened the beer and took a drink.  Wow, I thought.  The beer was marvelous, with a slight hint of spices (peppercorns and orange peel according to the label).  About half way through the pint, I was a little confused as I started to feel an alcohol-buzz.  Sure enough, after carefully looking at the label I found it was 9% ABV!  About twice what I was expecting given the style.  My golf suffered a little, but we all make sacrifices right?

Okay, not a great beer for golfing, but an excellent beer for just about everything else.  The saison, and the other styles they make, are currently some of my favorite beers.

The reputation of Brewery Vivant continues to grow.  They have recently collaborated with the craft brew giant New Belgium Brewing in Ft. Collins, CO.  The first of their collaborations is on sale now in Michigan called Escoffier Brett Beer, a French farmhouse ale (biere de garde). The beer celebrates the pairing of beer and food.  I hear that the next beer will also be a farmhouse ale presented as the next incarnation of New Belgium's "Lips of Faith" series.  Now that New Belgium beers are being sold in Michigan, I hope that we will be able to get it in the Great Lakes State.

I look forward to seeing what else is in store for Brewery Vivant and simply must make a trip over to Grand Rapids to visit the brewery.

Cheers,
Zymus.