The Beer City Spring Fest in Hudsonville, Michigan did not disappoint — bountiful beverage choices, fancy footwear, hard rock, hula hoops, beautiful faces, gnomes and games! What’s not to love?
Beer City Spring Fest
Thank you Joe Boyer and Bill White for organizing and inviting us to the inaugural Beer City USA Spring Festival on Saturday, May 3, 2014. The Crowd was fantastic!
And the best part, all the event proceeds went to the American Legion Post 179.
Chuck and I have attended many Michigan Brewers Guild Festivals and the vibe at the Beer City Spring Festival was similar but more like a party. (I think it was a little more fun, but don’t tell anyone I don’t want to lose my Enthusiast Membership.)
The Irish Rovers — Wasn’t That A Party keeps rolling around in my head:
Could’ve been the whiskey, Might’ve been the gin! Could’ve been the three or four six-packs I don’t know, but look at the mess I’m in. My head is like a football I think I’m going to die. Tell me, me oh, me oh my Wasn’t that a party?
Brewers
Over 25 Grand Rapids area brewers brought hundreds of beer choices to the festival and I am sure all were delicious. Old age has taught me many things and NOT sampling all the beer choices is one of them.
A sampling of our pours!
Russian Imperial from Our Brewing
Satisfied Mind from Pike 51
Enigma from Tapistry Brewing
Country Strong IPA from the Mitten Brewing Co.
The Professor IPA, Old Siberian and Irish Breakfast from Crankers Brewery I’m very sad to report that Chuck didn’t get a picture of Crankers Brewery. B.A. Baracus from Unruly Brewing Co.
Distillers
Beer, wine, spirits… Oh my! I have to say the gin from New Holland Artisan Spirits gets a blue ribbon! I didn’t try the spirits from Coopercraft Distillery so it wasn’t a fair contest. It was a love at first sight and I couldn’t shake the New Holland spell! I promise Coopercraft to sample your offerings soon 🙂
“It might have been the gin,” “Me Oh, me oh my!”
“Could’ve been the whiskey!”
Vinters
I do enjoy a nice glass of wine and Cascade Winery provided one.
The Round Barn Winery had a very yummy DiVine Black Walnut Creme. You can see how you could get into a mess! And we haven’t even gotten to the cider makers yet!
Cider Makers
There were several cider makers sharing their nectar. I only made it to one table, Sietsema Orchards. And yes, I liked it and I think it was the Lemon Grass Cider.
Chuck wandered away from me and “friended” the cool people from Peoples Cider Co. He really liked the 2012 Morrison’s Jig. Chuck is not a cider fan, so this a huge compliment.
Hard Rock
Whoever booked the bands gets a kiss from Chuck! He loved them. Well, I did too, and I think these ladies did too.
They started out with a band called Native Element who did some cool covers (Cliffs of Dover!) and nice originals.
Then Space Brothers took the stage and did some great Black Sabbath covers!
Get Hammered
It is truly a crazy thing to watch! And people were lined up to play.
Hula Hoops
The Hula Hoops were more my speed. This guy was on fire!
Fancy Footware
Beautiful Faces
I couldn’t possibly list them all here! There are many more in the gallery!
Gnomes
We found a Gnome!
Artists
I can’t forget the artists sharing their beer art.
If the Chad Vugteveen’s artwork looks familiar, it is because it is used on the White Flame Brewing website.
I loved the barrel furniture and accessories from the Bad Moon Studio.
Stop by the gallery to check out more pictures. If you went to the event, leave a comment and let us know! We’d love it if you’d subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr. Cheers!
