Editor's Letter

One of the reasons I fell in love with beer was the stories around it.

As I write this, Grand Rapids is not the bustling city I’ve come to know. Instead, COVID-19 has turned our city into a town where families are sequestered at home, and there still is much inequality within our city. 

With a light at the end of the tunnel, we look back at how COVID-19 has wreaked havoc over the past year.

A couple of months ago, we asked Grand Rapids Magazine readers, “What season is the best time to enjoy Grand Rapids?” The overwhelming response was fall.

One of the best things about living in Grand Rapids is the city’s vibrant arts community. September is an exciting time because many of the community’s finest performing arts organizations kick off their seasons, from the ballet to the symphony to the theater.

Pretty much every Michigan town worth its salt has a decent brewery pumping out great beer, and the amazing aspect of Michigan living for a beer lover is a trip to one of those towns often is less than an hour away.

Selecting the city's best restaurants gets harder every year.

Somehow, we’re deep into summer 2022. How did that happen?

In 2015, Perrin Brewing Company no longer was a West Michigan-owned company.

The Kentucky Derby is here, and for some reason, that holds a special place in my heart.

The craft beer scene in West Michigan was completely different in the mid-90s.

Dry January might be over, but a Grand Rapids native’s nonalcoholic hemp-infused cocktails recently hit Grand Rapids shelves.

Changes. They are all around us. In the way we educate and the way we consume everything from information to medicine, adjustments are constantly being made to our society, hopefully for the better.

Summer might look a little different this year, but that didn’t stop us from putting together our annual City Guide.

One of my favorite breweries in the area is Cedar Springs Brewing Co.

Pickleball! If you don’t know what it is, go look it up and try it out. 

Nearly six years ago, I first wrote about Brewt’s Bloody Mary.

Aloha! Welcome to my inaugural issue of Grand Rapids Magazine.

There’s an old adage, a suggestion for would-be authors that goes like this: write what you know.

Grand Rapids might go by Beer City now, but the brewing industry’s roots are much deeper than the 21st century.