Beer lovers from West Michigan and beyond invaded Hudsonville, Michigan’s fairgrounds last weekend to celebrate a day of Michigan beer. Held on May 3rd, the Beer City Spring Fest 2014 featured dozens of Michigan breweries (and even some wineries) sharing their libations with the masses.
Proceeds from the Beer City Spring Fest, Hudsonville’s first craft beer festival, benefited the American Legion.
It was hard not to notice the inadvertent theme at the event: the explosion of new Michigan breweries on the scene. Elk Brewing of Grand Rapids opened to the public a day before the event, Pigeon Hill Brewing of Muskegon opened in March, and many of the breweries on hand opened within the last year or two. Well established breweries such as Saugatuck Brewing Company, Bell’s, and Founders were all serving up suds, too.
As we visited nearly every brewery throughout the day, we had the chance to sample a wide-variety of brews while chatting with owners and representatives who are passionate about the being part of the Michigan craft beer community. You could sense you were part of something special that extended far beyond this event.
A few of our favorite pours at the Beer City Spring Fest included Smells Like A Safety Meeting IPA by Dark Horse Brewing Company, Satisfied Mind Double IPA by Pike 51, Showtunes Saison by Pigeon Hill Brewing Company, and Country Strong IPA by Mitten Brewing Company. Our hands down favorite was the Front Porch Guava IPA, featuring pronounced guava notes with a hoppy finish, brewed by the folks at Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery in Ada. Can you tell we’re big IPA fans?
A handful of food vendors were there to satisfy the appetites of hungry beer lovers. Low-N-Slow from Midland served up barbeque, Standard Pizza Co. of Rockford baked freshly made pizzas, and the RnR Comfort Foods truck served up street food favorites.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to festival organizers and participating breweries and vendors for contributing to a great event.
Check out our photo gallery below and feel free to tweet us at @MichRestaurants with your photos, favorite beer you tried, or to say hi.
