Click here for the movie! (MPEG-4 format, 13 MB, 4:45 minutes)
As you may have guessed, I am fond of beer. A week ago, I was in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the tail end of my book tour, and visiting my dad. We decided on Friday to go out beer tasting, and took the camcorder along for the ride. If you’re going to be in Grand Rapids any time soon, check out the pubs we visited and vlog them yourself!
Founder’s Brewing Company
648 Monroe Ave. NW
(616) 776-1195
Graydon’s Crossing
1223 Plainfield Ave. NE
(616) 726-8260
Technorati tags: geotagged geovlogged vlog videoblog, beer Grand Rapids
Technorati Tags: beer, geotagged, geovlogged, grand_rapids, videoblog, vlog
Stella is actually my alcohol of choice when I want to taste what I’m drinking. It’s extremely common here – I don’t know how common it is in the US, though. The stereotype for a good ‘British’ night out (as mentioned in the show we saw tonight) is ten pints of Stella and a kebab. The last time I drank that much Stella, personally, I vomited blood (but I was also drinking a lot of spirits – which I don’t recommend).
Coincidentally, I actually had my first beer in months and months tonight – and it was a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft, which is what I drink when I don’t really want to taste my beer, or when Stella would be too expensive because I’m buying beer at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue and it’s costing me several pounds.
MGB…. for when you don’t really want to *keep* the calories.
Seriously, though. There are better American beers. Almost all of them, in fact.
The Stella Artois was good, but it wouldn’t be my preference. I like a dark, meaty beer, so my preference is Guiness. Of course, it’s hard to drink Guiness in the States– it often comes off tasting like “what Guiness would taste like if it were made by Americans” over here. It’s not like it’s weak or anything. It’s more like the flavor has an unenjoyable edge to it, almost bitter but not quite.
Fantastic seeing you and your dad drinking and eating, and as far as drinking is concerned stella is the King of Lagers. Dirty Bastard sounds fun though, may be a little like Newcastle Brown, which is also going towards the stout.
Give me a good German beer like hofbrau (I know I am spelling that wrong) anyday….German beer seems to be the only beer I can really drink…..otherwise it’s OJ 🙂 for me…..
Fun to see a couple of my favorite spots on the web! Next time you visit your dad, you might want to venture further afield and go to Plainwell (45 min south on 131), where there is an excellent pub called Arie’s London Grill. Also, Honeycreek Inn on Honeycreek north of Ada is a fine place (Craig, the bartender, is great!). In Newaygo, there’s the Sportman’s Bar, great burgers, and Moosehead on tap, which is kind of novel. And, last, but first in my heart, The Cottage, on LaGrave in GR. Just tops. Nothing else comes close to it in atmosphere. Thanks for showcasing GR and I hope to see more, soon!