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OK, so this is a Mecca stop, like Stone, Great Lakes, etc. Had the Breakfast Stout on tap and was not disappointed. Plenty of brews to choose from. Food was sandwiches which were nothing special. #2 in town to HopCat.
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MARK,
palm harbor, , FL
(09/30/2012) |
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My wife and I were in the Grand Rapids/Holland area for the weekend, it was Tulip Fest in Holland. We made it to most of the brew pubs in the area and we had the best time May 2 at Founders. Not only did we enjoy great beer and food (Porter for me and Red for my wife) The Blue Moon Blues Band played that night and it was a full night of great beer and great music. We were a little surprised that not many people were there for the band, but oh well their loss and our great time (more room on the dance floor) Of course after a fun night of partying a safe taxi ride back to the hotel!!
Ed and Pam Greenwood MI
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Ed and Pam,
Greenwood , MI
(12/10/2009) |
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Whenever my wife and I travel we try to stop at as many brew pubs/microbrewies as we can. The beer here was excellent. They didn't have any wheat beers, but the other 16 beers on tap were of very high quality. I have found that the best time to visit ANY brew pubn is on a Saturday between 11 and 2.[I hate to give this secret away] They are never crowded, not much smoke, and the staff is available to answer any of your questions. This was the case here. we thoroughly enjoyed the beers and the friendly staff.
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Larry Kelly,
Marion, OH
(05/17/2009) |
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I've gotta agree--I like the new place, especially the fact you can actually breathe air that you can't already see. Beer my last visit was strictly barrel-aged. Red's, Backwoods Bastard and Porter. Really liked the Porter, even stopped a few hours after I had left for a nightcap. As busy as this new, bigger place gets, I wonder where they fit all the people at the old location?
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Beav,
York, PA
(08/21/2008) |
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SO THEY'VE MOVED DOWN THE STREET AND INTO A BRAND NEW BUILDING. SEEMS SORT OF STERILE AND LACKING THE CLASSIC BREWPUB ATMOSPHERE BUT THE PLACE GREW ON ME. AT LEAST YOU CAN BREATHE IN THIS PLACE (SMOKING OUTSIDE ONLY). SIMPLY PUT.....THE BEST FRUIT BEER I'VE EVER HAD....CHERRY ALE. SAME RECIPE AS THE RUBACEUS BUT WITH CHERRIES INSTEAD OF RASPBERRIES. THIS WILL REPLACE THE RUBACEUS IN THE FUTURE DUE TO THE SKYROCKETING COST OF RASPBERRIES. GRAND RAPIDS IS A MUST STOP FOR ANY BEER TREKKER.
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JIMBO,
SPRINGFIELD, OH
(08/16/2008) |
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How can West Michigan have so many outstanding breweries? It's not fair for the rest of the country! I'd never been to Founders before, but plan to make it a regular stop whenever I'm within a hundred miles. The location is convenient, parking plentiful, and the dining area spacious. The sandwiches are fine; cleverly named, if a bit pricey. But the beers are worth the visit. I had an oatmeal stout and then a porter, since I wasn't driving, and both were outstanding. I'd got a six-pack of the Arrogant Bastard, so knew how good that was. Well worth the visit, and I'll be back!
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DreamFielder,
Dyersville, IA
(07/21/2008) |
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I'd also put Founder's in my list of top ten favorite brewers. It's a special treat to have their beers on tap within 15 feet of where they're made. While we were in Grand Rapids for two days, we somehow managed to get to Founder's on both. Go figure. Both visits were mid-afternoon weekdays, so they weren't too busy. Customers (regulars) were friendly, but I'd like to have had more of a challenge on the pool table. Oh, well, it let me concentrate more on the beer. I'm sure we had some kind of food, and it was probably good, but I was there for the beer and the place. I made sure to have at least one of each of the seasonals which, at least in the Chicago area, weren't available in bottles, except for the wheat and fruit stuff. I know a lot of people like those, and they probably do a very good job with them, I'm just more of an ale/stout/porter kind of guy, and theirs are among the best.
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Bruce,
Palatine, IL
(07/10/2008) |
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In my review from last summer, I put Founder's in my Top 10; maybe that should be my Top 5. If I lived in the GR area, I definitely would have (even more)problems, but boy, what great beer! Started with a Red's Rye, and if didn't get any better than that, this trip still would have been great. But finally, I got to savor Kentucky Breakfast Stout on tap. No descriptions, no flavor profile, just this--it's the best beer I've had in a few years. And I've got 2 4-packs at home! Devil Dancer was as good as ever, a big, sneaky punch in the mouth. Tried their Braggot, which was OK, not my cup of tea this visit. Throw in an entire wedding party that stopped for one on the way to the reception, some pretzels and peanuts, and pretty soon you're talking about a full day. These guys cold double their production and still have more orders than they can fill. Kudos to Founder's and all you do!
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Beav,
York, PA
(07/30/2007) |
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I know that Founders is an institution in Michigan brewing and I was very excited to visit during a recent pub crawl in Grand Rapids. I'm a lager kind of guy and they only had ales the evening of my visit. Even more, almost all of there ales that night had a IBU rating of 60 plus. This was a Friday night and the place was packed with college student-aged customers who were all smoking and listening to the Rolling Stones played at the volume of 11. We had one beer and quickly left. If you like hoppy ales, loud music and smoke, then Founders is your kind of place. Not mine.
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Rich,
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
(07/08/2007) |
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Beer, selection, service all excellent. Pull up a stool, talk to the locals and throw the peanuts on the floor kinda place. No food to speak of except pretzels and chips but after a couple of IPA's who's still hungry? I will make sure to visit any time I'm near GR.
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Chris Brewer,
Mount Clemens, MI
(02/16/2007) |
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Ya know, despite my awesome ratings I must give you the truth on the bottled Centennial IPA. Yuck! I am in dismay. I enjoyed several beers at this place and did not have a bad one. But, my god, I bought the IPA in bottles and something was horribly wrong. I poured the beer very carefully, but I got an instant and massive head, but not in a good way. I can only guess that some kind of secondary fermentation had occured. The taste had extreme promise, but what the hell? None of the beers served on premise tasted this bad. Again, this beer must have been left out in the sun or something. Barf, I want my ten bucks back!
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Rob,
romeoville, IL
(02/02/2007) |
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Great Atmosphere! Both pale ales were good, The IPA was better though.
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Mike,
Downers Grove, IL
(01/12/2007) |
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I'm a proud regular of this establishment. The beer's good and you gotta love any place you can eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor! Too cool.
Calling all HOP HEADS - It would be a sin to pass through Grand Rapids without trying a Red's Rye off the tap at Founder's. Yum. Yum. Yum.
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Grand Rapids, MI
(10/18/2006) |
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Not sure if their growing notoriety isn't going to their heads a bit as they seem to always be having some private event going on when I visit their facility. As a result, my visits are always short-lived as I have to take beer to go. However, their beers tend to be big and very well made. They're not afraid to make big a "Breakfast Stout" that will have you passed out at your desk by noon. Their "Dirty Bastard" Ale is also one of my favorites from this place and is not one to miss. Seems to have a very experimental brewer.
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Augustine Iacopelli,
Wichita, KS
(10/16/2006) |
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I've been a fan of Founder's for years and enjoyed their variety of styles, but they are making it difficult and annoying to go there....Cover charge on Tuesday nights?!!! Sunday was a "Harvest Fest" but you had to spend $7.00 on a pint glass to get a $3.50 beer. Our party left and went elsewhere.
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Al,
Mount Clemens, MI
(10/09/2006) |
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my favorite michigan brewer by far - the only negative would be a pretty smokey atmosphere during the busy hours - this has recently been improved with better exhaust - but still a bit annoying for those of us who hate going home smelling like smoke. Everything else about this establishment is amazingly perfect - the right choiuce of eclectic entertainment - just a bit of food, an astounding variety of beers (belgian quad is my favorite) and great, personable staff who remember your name and face after just a few visits. The blueprint of a small microbrewery and brewpub.
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Mike,
Grand Rapids, MI
(09/12/2006) |
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Visiting Grand Rapids for a week, I was able to stop in at least three times. Tried a representative range of the beers over that time - Pale Ale, IPA, Rubaeus (a raspberry-flavored IPA), and, best of all, their Kentucky Breakfast Stout. This is their version of a strong coffee stout (which they call their Breakfast Stout), then age it in old bourbon casks, which imparts a complex, caramel, vanilla sweetness to the product. It clocks in a 10+ ABV, so they only sell it in snifters. But it is well worth trying - perhaps one of the best of its style I have ever tried. Food here is an afterthought - they only sell sandwiches and soup at lunchtime (it is BYO after 2 p.m.). The cheese sandwich I had was too much bread and no enough cheese, but other sandwiches I saw looked better in retrospect.
I've been watching Founders since they were "born" in 1997 and I had my doubts in the early days. But these guys really seem to have figured it out. They are truly helping set the bar for Michigan micros ever higher.
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jonspar10,
Washington, DC
(08/11/2006) |
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I had the Red Rye, Imperial Stout, Old Ale, and Devil Dancer (triple IPA). All of them were outstanding! Great place! It's very much a bar atmosphere, so not a great place for kids.
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TJ,
Cincinnati, OH
(08/07/2006) |
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Founders is now firmly embedded in my Top 10 brewpubs and climbing fast! Was there on a Sunday, and all were worshipping the great brews. Tried a bunch that were new to me and wasn't disappointed. Black Sunshine was a dunkleweiss which reminded me more of a schwarzbier, but very good no matter. The porter was smooth, with vanilla and coffee notes, super! Scalawag Old Ale made me think about Southern Comfort's sweetness; it's big (9.5%) with the malt (and alcohol) very prominent. Not the biggest thing on tap, though. Devil Dancer was 13%--basically malt with hops added. Good luck with it, the alcohol didn't seem to be as noticable as the old ale. Two Guys IPA brought Dreadnaught from 3 Floyds to mind. That beer is one of my favorites, so I loved this as well. Red's Rye continues to be the Founders beer I favor over all others; it's a perfect blend of malt, hops and the crispness of rye. Blushing Monk was a huge surprise. Most fruit beers don't balance out well to my palate. This one? They nailed it! It's framboise that knows someone (10.3%) with a great balancing act from the fruit, the tart and the sweet. I was attended to by a super friendly and accomodating staff. They attract a wide range of patrons here, all who enjoy the spectrum of brews. Founders has it's own vibe, and it's a good one! Went back for lunch the next day and the deli sandwiches were as good as advertised. One negative, though. I missed Kentucky Breakfast on tap by 20 hours!! Maybe next time.
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Beav,
York, PA
(07/15/2006) |
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Founders comes highly recommended by me: I stop there whenever I'm travelling through GR. It's very laidback and informal, the beer is very good indeed.
I'm an IPA man, and one time I was there they had three examples of it on tap! But my companion, whose beer taste sometimes runs elsewhere than triple ipa, had a variety of beers that she very much enjoyed as well.
Some of the weirder beers are . . . weird, but that's what you'd expect. The IPA is justw hat it ought to be, as is the pale. The breakfast stout is also definitely worth a try.
This is a serious contender for best brewery in Michigan, IMHO.
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Eric Hines,
Traverse City, MI
(02/28/2006) |
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During this trip to GR, I stopped by a third brewery; Founders. A wide variety of brews. I sampled the DRS Porter and the Oatmeal Stout. I had to stomach both. Honestly, I haven't been much of a fan of Founders beers over the years. Some things never change I guess.
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Pesci,
Petoskey, MI
(12/15/2005) |
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good beer good people great jukebox 1.50 off beers for restaraunt employees on sundays
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shaun,
Grand Rapids, MI
(11/22/2005) |
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Good selection of home brews although they were out of their ‘Dirty Bastard’ which I was hoping to try. I opted for their ‘Imperial Belgian Razz’, why I don’t know… This brew had good flavor, and I remarked to the bar tender that I bet my wife would like it as it had a very raspberry taste. When I inquired about getting a Growler of the Razz I was told that a growler of the Razz runs $40, WOW... Needless to say I decided on a take home of a different beer.
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West Bend, WI
(10/31/2005) |
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Awesome!
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Walked into this establishment with high hopes because I drink their beer all the time. The beer, both selection and quality is one of the best I've had. I was dissappointed in the service. It wasn't that busy and the wife and I felt as if we were bothering the bartender with our orders. I will continue to buy their beer in six packs, but I probably won't return to the place.
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Allen Burt,
Ann Arbor, MI
(09/17/2005) |
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This is one of the top places for great beer that I have encountered. With very little exception, you can't go wrong here. Red Rye, Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout; they've all become some of my favorites--problem is, I don't live where you can get them! Tried some new brews this trip as well. Imperial Brown reminded me of a barleywine, but without the alcohol funk you often get. Robaeus (raspberry ale) was nice, even with fruity beers not among my favorites. Grand Rapids, you're so lucky to have this place in your city, please take pity on those of us less fortunate.
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Beav,
York, PA
(08/03/2005) |
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