And the journey continues.

Having experienced Dark Horse Brewing Co, but having wanderlust in our veins we moved on to Grand Rapids.

American Music

Onstreet parking wasn't a problem in this industrial-going-to-commercial district, but the rain was.  It was threatening rain, which became our theme during this roadtrip.  We parked and speed-walked to Founders

We arrived at Founders Brewing Company and found it completely full.  Well not completely full. There was room for at least 2 more.

The building is flat, and purely industrial.  Which is, to my eyes, beautiful.  It wasn't cold industrial, rather it was warm and welcoming.   Patrons crowded the outer railed patio outside, happily drinking and talking - and a band played inside.

I don't know the name of the band, but they sounded something like the New Heathens (so you could now go listen to, say, Proud Highway from their album Hello Disaster to get the mood of the thing).    We'd lucked out and happened in there on Music Thursdays, and this was a 4 band lineup.  Band #2 was American Rock Music With A Little Twang But Not Too Much.

You know, one thing that trips me up when entering a new place is how things are done.  We entered directly in front of two holes that go to the kitchen, and the bar.   I'm blurry from the road, vaguely blurry from  Dark Horse and had this feeling of this-is-not-what-I-expected.  Which is good.

We sort out and head to the bar.  The kind bartender is happy to give us samples and talk to us about the beer, but we have a crush of people behind us.  I obtain the Cashew Mountain Brown and Jon has the Oatmeal Stout.

Oh and the nosh.  We had nosh:

That, friends, is a basket full of cheesy meaty chippy olive tapanadey goodness (aka the Antipasto platter but my name is more descriptive).  We engaged in toothpick shiv wars over the meat and cheese and hung out, drank and dug the band.

By the way - people are fascinated by Vibram fivefingers shoes.  In the din a yoga instructor was trying to get my attention and we started conversing about my shoes.

I wasn't driving, so my second choice of beer was the Cerise, which Jon and I split (sort of).   Somehow it goes that I'm the woman and not driving, so I get more beer.  He's the guy and driving, so he gets less beer and more food. Well, I try to at least be entertaining when tipsy.

We brought some Cerise home with us, but only because we got it later on at a party store.  The place was kind of crowded to bring more with us, I would have liked to have picked up the Cashew Mountain Brown because it was kind of eye-rolls-in-the-back-of-ones-head good.

The nosh was finished, and the beer was good, so we bid farewell to Founders (home of good music and great beers) and headed onwards.