Pure Michigan Pints

Brass Ring Brewing

Grand Rapids, Michigan

I went on an excursion to Grand Rapids recently where I explored two new breweries. The first stop was Brass Ring Brewering. I opened the door and was transported to a pub in England.

Let me preface this: I’m not a big fan of England. I get some our ancestors broke away by claiming they were seeking religious freedom, but really I get why we left; the British are super annoying and generally suck as people.

Vibe

From entry, I felt awed. I loved the colorfulness, the coziness, and I dig those friggen umbrellas. The bar: exactly what you’d not only expect but want out of a bar. The “pub vibes” rock all the way. Even the writing on the wall, “That death will tremble to take us,” from Charles Bukowski brings life to the place. (As well as the other quotes.)

Now onto the most important part: the beer offerings.

Beer Selection

Right away you’ll notice this isn’t a typical brewpub. They clearly don’t care about trends—there’s not a single Hazy IPA or sour on their entire menu; they’re not trying to wow you with their selection. Somebody could misinterpret this and take it as them not being up to date on what’s out there. I recognized this as a strategic choice; they know who they are and what styles they brew. It’s very true to the English pub theme of milder (but still VERY FLAVORFUL) beers.

Service

Our server rocked. He was spot on, could answer questions, all while running around like a madman. I was completely happy here and tipped well.

Beer Quality

I’ll be honest: English style ales don’t appeal to me. I was super skeptical going here, frankly, because these normally are not my style of beers. I do like the eccentric, the crazy, the bold big flavors that take risks. And there’s none of that here.

But their beers work. I wouldn’t change a single one of them.

This place feels authentic to what it wants to be. I applaud them for this.

Danny Whizbang ESB (bitter) and 8 Pound Hammer UK Stout tied as my favorite. I never thought I’d say an ESB beer was my favorite. Their stout, while not strong or containing coffee or anything like that, fit the style as a more flavorful Guinness.

Food

Thankfully, their brunch menu didn’t follow an English theme. Otherwise (with exception of fish & chips) I’d have been in for a very bland menu that has never gone to Flavor Town nor aware of its existence. (And, yes, this is a full shot at British cuisine.) Their regular menu seems to take a nod in that direction, but for now I’d rather not touch on that.  

With that being said, I’d say the food was “good,” but I wouldn’t describe it as “great.” This is based on an honest opinion of the group of expert foodies I went with. For the benny, the base was too hard, the stuffed French toast fell short on stuffing, and the chicken and waffles looked like it came frozen when hand breaded chicken would have went a bit further.

Actually, I was the happiest in the group with my food. My breakfast sandwich was PERFECT—the sausage patty was clearly made in house, the egg cooked perfectly, and I loved the pepper aioli on the sandwich and to dip my fries in.

Overall—Recommend

There’s no denying that this is a brewery that had a vision, went with it, and didn’t care what anybody else thought about it, nor pay attention to what’s popular. While I’m not convinced to move to England, I’ll take their interpretation of it and admit that, yes, maybe I am a bit harsh at times.

Not caring about trends can sometimes be missed opportunities, but here this is not the case; they’re exactly what they are supposed to be and provide something different that you won’t find anywhere else.

If you want something different, I highly encourage you to check out Brass Ring Brewing.

Rating—16/20