GR's First Collabrative Beer!

 While hanging out at The Hideout doing what brewers do together, the guys in the Grand Rapids Society of Brewers decided some kind of substantial response was needed to mark the city’s new crown as ‘Beer City USA.’
What could they do to ensure the honor doesn’t just pass the city by?
“We wanted to come up with something we could do to celebrate it,” said Wob Wanhatalo, head brewer at The Hideout Brewing Co.
“We figured, there hasn’t been a collaborative effort on a beer in Grand Rapids before, why don’t we do that?”
The fruit, or pale ale of their labor, will hit tap handles all over Grand Rapids on Sunday, July 1 when the 10 different West Michigan breweries that collaborated on the project will unveil the "Beer City Pale Ale" at their respective establishments.
Wanhatalo wrote the recipe for the amply hopped, red pale ale, brewed with cascade and nugget hops from the Michigan Hops Alliance. Each brewery brought a unique touch to the beer in secondary fermentation, resulting in subtle differences.
“There will be style flourishes, but for the most part it’s the same celebration ale,” said Barry Van Dyke of Harmony Brewing Co. in Eastown

Hey, Pass Me A Beer!

Pass Me A Beer

10 Best Vacation Cities for Beer Lovers

Beer drinkers shouldn't limit craft beer to part of their vacation. With enough planning, those IPAs, Hefeweizens and Russian Imperial Stouts can be their vacation.  10-best-vacation-cities-for-beer-lovers

Brewing Water

   Water, we take it for granted yet it is the most important ingredient for brewing. Here is a nice water calculator for adjusting your water to the beer style you want to brew. You will need to know your water's profile first, which can be obtained from city offices or by sending a water sample to be tested. ezwatercalculator
 This is a good forum to help you along. HBT EZwater