Editor's Letter

A year or so ago, I was scrolling through my Instagram, as a millennial is apt to do, and I saw my childhood friend Collin O’Brien rocking out on drums.

Shortly before leaving for Las Vegas in 2017, I shot a segment of "Beer Beat with Pat" on WZZM 13 at Thornapple Brewing Company, at 6262 28th St SE in Grand Rapids.

Last weekend, I went to the Indianapolis 500.

One of my more vivid memories as an adult, for a reason I’ll never be able to understand,  is sitting at a bar in Louisville with Long Road Distillers founders Jon O’Connor and Kyle Van Strien.

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

This week, I caught up with Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss.

The past two-plus years have been incredibly difficult for everyone.

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

This week, we’re catching up with one of the staples of the Grand Rapids beer scene: Brewery Vivant.

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

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.

To celebrate the baseball season each year, the Mitten Brewing Co. releases its Peanuts & Crackjack Porter.

As Drinks with Pat takes shape (maybe you’ve noticed it’s a recurring column at this point, or maybe you haven’t) I’m going to use it to chat with fun people.

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

For nearly five months, I’ve gorged myself eating out at restaurants across Grand Rapids, asking anyone and everyone their favorite joints and then stopping in to taste the fare.

Midwesterners are known for our modest niceness, our “opes” and our inclination to make fun of ourselves.

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

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

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

Whether you’re in dry January, or perhaps a more modest damp January, there are so many new options out there to try in the world of non- and low-alcohol beverages.