There's a very good reason why Grand Rapids, MI was dubbed "Beer City USA". Boasting over 80 craft breweries, you would be hard pressed to find at least once place you didn't like. While Founder's might be considered the flagship brewery for the city, a number of other breweries have proven they are going to be around for a long time.
On a rainy Thursday in March I got the chance to visit New Holland Brewing Co., just across the river from the DeVos Performance Hall and Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
I was there with a group of people from work for a conference that I will write about at a later date and my direct supervisor made reservations for a small group of us to visit New Holland.
If the weather had been a bit nicer, I think we could have easily walked there from our accommodations at the [Amway Grand Plaza Hotel(@bozz/the-amway-grand-plaza-grand-rapids-mi), but given the rain, we all piled into one of the work vans and made our way to our destination.
I was talking to a guy who went to college in Grand Rapids many years ago the next day and I mentioned that we had visited New Holland the night before. He was telling me how that area of town used to be nothing when he was in school. Then suddenly it just blew up and became the trendy neighborhood to hang out in rife with breweries and restaurants with cool names like "Butcher's Union" and "O'Toole's Public House".
I will admit, the area did seem quite shiny and classy. We lucked out and were able to score a parking spot right in front of the entrance. Given the fact it was still raining, that made it really nice. The facility is beautiful. Even on the outside, it is hard not to be impressed by the flare and finishes they used in the building.
The inside is even more impressive with high ceilings, various seating areas, and all manner of industrial/modern decor.
The interior had an elegant mix of wood and metal and despite the name being "New Holland", I almost got a southwestern vibe when we move from the bar area to the general seating area. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of that because it was just too packed. Given the popularity of this place, they enforce a strict two hour limit on parties at tables.
In fact, the two gentlemen next to us were there the whole time we were discussing business and they had clearly been there long before us. As we were getting ready to cash out, their waitress politely reminded them that there was a two hour limit and apologetically insisted that they wrap things up so they could flip the table.
I don't live in a big city, so I don't see things like that too often, but I get it. It's a hard call because if the people are continuing to order drinks the place is going to make money anyway right? However, there is a point of liability where you don't want to keep serving a drunk person. I think the two hour limit is more than enough time for people to enjoy themselves while also maximizing profits and turnover for the restaurant. I would imagine it took a lot of trial and error to find that sweet spot of 2 hours.
As you saw from the opening photo, I got a nice brown ale called Cabin Fever. It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be looking for it the next time I got to the store. I am a sucker for a good brown ale just like I am a sucker for a good marzen. My all time favorite brown ale is Bellaire Brown by Short's Brewing, but I feel this sits right up there with it. I could have drank 3 or 4 of these guys that night, but since I was there with work people we all only had one and then we headed back to the hotel.
At 6.5% alcohol, it is a little heavier than the Lightpoint White Ale my supervisor was drinking at 3.7% alcohol. It's a good thing we only had one, and it's a good thing he was driving and not me.
I should also point out, New Holland has a line of bourbon barrel aged beers called "Dragon's Milk". I didn't try any of those, but I think if I were to ever go back, I might have to do a flight. Some of the flavors sound quite intriguing.
Sometimes when a place is so focused on making good beer, the food can kind of slip through the cracks. I've been to more than one place where there was the case. Thankfully, that wasn't the case at all here at New Holland. Besides being a beer town, Grand Rapids also has a bit of a reputation for being a foodie town. That means places need to step up their game to stick around.
New Holland didn't disappoint.
We started with these pepperoni pinwheels that were simple, but quite delicious. You might notice I forgot to take a photo until we were almost done with us. This actually came out as a huge heaping plate of pinwheels and the four of us proceeded to demolish them in record time. Had it been an option, I think we could have gotten a half order and been just as happy.
My supervisor got the "Jammin Gobbler" which consisted of turkey breast, bacon, berry jam, swiss cheese, pub mustard, and arugula along with fries on the side. He said it was delicious and based on the photo I believe him.
Oddly enough, we had already been talking about Hive and my blogging before we got to the brewery, so they were more than happy to let me take photos of their food. I don't think I made any of them Hive converts though!
One of the teachers in my district got the "Shaved Ribeye Sandwich" that you see above. It consisted of house shaved ribeye, provolone cheese, sweet peppers, haystack onions, horseradish aioli and fries on the side.
The other teacher we were with got the "Carnivore Pizza" with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, and traditional red sauce.
There were so many good things on the menu, that I was having a hard time trying to decide what to get. I was thinking wings, but for some reason my eyes kept drifting back to the area of the menu called "Pub Favorites" and more specifically the "House Smoked Kielbasa"
I was beside myself when my plate came out sporting Michigan potato and chive pierogis, beer braised sauerkraut, a mustard pan sauce, and fresh dill along with the star of the dish, the kielbasa.
If I didn't have any Polish blood in be before, I do now, this was a fantastic meal. I loved everything about it and the only thing I didn't eat all of was the sauerkraut simply because I didn't know how my stomach was going to handle it and I needed to sit through a days worth of conference sessions the next day!
The flavors were out of control and I just can't say enough good things about this. The kielbasa wasn't too salty and the addition of chives to the potato pierogies just made them sing. Everything blended together so well, I can understand why it is a pub favorite.
I would love to bring 
If you want to check out there full menu, you can find it here
If you ever make it to Grand Rapids, MI, do yourself a favor and make it a point to visit New Holland brewing. Even if you have to wait a bit for a table, you won't be disappointed.
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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or