Grand Rapids has repeatedly been ranked as ‘Beer City USA’ and with good reason! There is an abundance of fantastic breweries and beer bars sprawling across GR and it’s an overall great city to visit!

Beer City Tips:

Check in your beers along your journey to earn free rewards! Grand Rapids has two programs for this:
- Beer City Brewsader: An app that allows you to earn a super soft t-shirt after visiting 8 local breweries! You can have your shirt mailed to you or pick it up at Founders Brewing.
- Craft Pass GR: Check in your beers and earn both a cute tote bag after 6 visits and discounts on your future visits to each brewery! Each spot has different rewards. If you decide to pick up your tote at Founders instead of having it shipped you’ll also receive a special treat!

Check out my 2 day itinerary for Grand Rapids Here!

Grand Rapids gets lake effect snow from nearby Lake Michigan, so be sure to keep that in mind if you’re planning a trip in the winter months!
There are several companies that offer transportation between breweries if you’re doing a brewery crawl and prefer that route! Once you get to a neighborhood though you can generally walk to several breweries from one spot.

Check out my blog on the best breweries in Grand Rapids here!

Adventures & Ales Top Grand Rapids Recommendations:

Speciation Artisan Ales: Seriously some of the best beer I’ve ever had! Speciation specializes in wild beers that are phenomenal, and they also have natural wines and seltzers if that’s more your style. Their staff is super nice and they have a great patio. Definitely go!
Seven Monks Taproom: A fantastic beer bar with an extensive tap list and can/bottle list. They also have a full food menu and a small patio. We absolutely loved our time at Seven Monks and I highly recommend checking it out! This is their second location, the original is in Traverse City.
Outside Coffee: A super cute coffee shop that is,—you guessed it!—outside! They’ve got igloos in the winter and frequent live music as well.
AC Hotel Grand Rapids Downtown: An incredible hotel in the heart of downtown that I highly recommend staying at! The entire hotel is dog friendly and the location can’t be beat—you can walk to a ton of great spots like Hopcat, Grand Rapids Brewing, Founders, Stella’s, Madcap Coffee, The B.O.B., the Grand Rapids Art Museum, and so much more! The lobby of the hotel has plenty of space to lounge or work and its own bar.
Arvon Brewing Co.: A great brewery specializing in Hazy IPAs and Sours. They have a small but nice taproom and a patio out front.

Lost Art Brewhouse: Located just across the city line in Walker, but Lost Art is worth the drive! They are making fantastic beers that I highly recommend.
City Built Brewing: Delicious beers, a Puerto Rican Food menu, and happy hour on both food and drinks.
Hopcat: A great beer bar with delicious food. I highly recommend the beer cheese, pretzel nugz, crack fries (that are no longer called crack fries), and their hundreds of beers.

Brewery Vivant: A brewery located in the chapel of an old funeral home specializing in farmhouse-style beers. They’ve also got a farm-scratch food menu and a small patio.
Mitten Brewing: A brewery with delicious pizzas and solid beers in this baseball themed brewery.
Grand Rapids Brewing: The city’s oldest brewery has some delicious beers and also a full menu! Located right downtown.

Grand Rapids Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:

Visit Grand Haven: The beach town right outside of Grand Rapids!
- Odd Side Ales: A popular brewery in central Grand Haven. You can get food from The Toasted Pickle delivered to you, they’ve got darts and other games, and it’s a large space overall
- Grand Armory Brewing: In an interesting location with a coffee shop and BBQ restaurant
- Grand Haven State Park: The beach! Park for free in the street if you can instead of the paid lot. It gets packed on weekends in the summer as a forewarning
Founders Brewing: A huge space with a ton of beers on tap. They’ve also got a large food menu and outside seating options. As a forewarning they have made some racist and inappropriate actions and comments, so please go support small and local first.

Explore Wealthy Street: A cute street with lots of restaurants and bars!
- Speciation Artisan Ales from above is located here
- Squibb Coffee and Wine Bar: Delicious food and coffee as well as happy hour specials
- Elk Brewing: This brewery has some yummy beers and some absolutely killer deals! This location has a nice outdoor patio with a fire pit. PB & J’ale’y is my favorite from Elk!
  - They’ve also got a location in Comstock Park that is larger and has a restaurant
Explore the Westside: A popular neighborhood across the river that is perfect for bar hopping!
- The Sovengard: A lovely beer garden style restaurant with an adorable interior and killer outdoor space. We absolutely loved this spot and I highly recommend checking it out!
- New Holland Brewing—The Knickerbocker: The Grand Rapids location for New Holland Brewing is a large restaurant-style space with a variety of beers and a full food menu to select from. They also have a large patio.
- Jolly Pumpkin Brewing: This popular Michigan brewery has taprooms all around the state. Jolly Pumpkin is known for their funky beers and their delicious pizzas.

Other Grand Rapids Things To Do:

Greyline Brewing: A great brewery off the beaten path in Northwest Grand Rapids.
Littlebird: A cute little spot for breakfast and brunch in the heart of downtown. Their sandwiches and toasts are delicious!
Terra: A cute spot for brunch in East Town Grand Rapids. Their food is solid and it’s in a great location.
- Terra Bagels: Right next door to Terra is their bagel shop with great bagels and breakfast sandwiches.
Perrin Brewing: An award brewing in Comstock Park with a full food menu. I didn’t have very good service personally, but I did enjoy my beer
Madcap Coffee: A cute and chill coffee shop with multiple locations around town.
Stella’s Lounge: A dive bar/restaurant in the heart of downtown with games and a great beer list.
The Tin Can Bar: A beer bar with all canned beers and lots of games.
Atwater Brewery: The Grand Rapids outpost of this popular Detroit brewery is right downtown and has a solid tap list!
Brass Ring Brewing: A brewery in a pub-style setting with UK-style Ales and a nice patio.
The B.O.B.: The Big Old Building! This is a Grand Rapids landmark. The B.O.B. has all kinds of things inside of it including a brewery and multiple bars and restaurants. The beers from the brewery are not great but it’s an interesting spot to check out. It gets very club-style at night as a forewarning.
Harmony Brewing Company: We tried to visit but they decided to open late while we were in town (without sharing that information on their website/social media/Google hours).

Speciation Artisan Ales

Speciation is the absolute best stop on the Beer City Ale Trail and my favorite brewery in Michigan! They specialize in Wild Ales and Natural Wines and are the only brewery in the area to do so. Speciation has a unique approach to brewing and you can always expect funky and distinct flavors. Their taproom is located on the popular Wealthy Street in the heart of town.

Arvon Brewing Co.

Arvon is located just south of downtown Grand Rapids on Division Street with a cute and cozy taproom that they opened in 2020. Prior to 2020 they only distributed their beers from their production-only facility in nearby Grandville, and they did not have any options for onsite consumption. Arvon was able to grow their name and flagship beers through this method, but having a taproom has really expanded their beer selection and boosted their popularity. They specialize in Hazy IPAs and Sours, but they do well with every style of beer.

Lost Art Brewhouse

Lost Art opened in 2020 and they are already taking the Grand Rapids area by storm. They are right across the city line in Walker, MI and are putting out some incredible beers! Their different variations of IPAs are definitely their strong suit—whether it’s a single IPA, a Double IPA, or a Milkshake IPA they do it to perfection.

Odd Side Ales

Odd Side is located near Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, Michigan just outside of Grand Rapids. Their large taproom is a popular destination, especially in the summer months. Odd Side makes a wide variety of beers and are best known for Bean Flicker, a coffee blonde. Their Barrel Aged Stouts and Fruited Sours are the best styles they make.