Grand River Brewery: Marshall, MIchigan

Earlier this month we started the new year with a two-day trip to Michigan. I'd won an overnight at the Firekeepers Casino, so it seemed a good time to cash it in and do a little grown-up getaway without the kiddos. Unlike most trips that have a full itinerary planned in advance because they are work trips, we set off on this trip with no plans other than where we'd spend the night. That was so nice to just wing it. And it ended up being quite the beercation - we visited 5 breweries in about 28 hours.

When we travel we like to seek out craft breweries, so we stopped at one on the way there and then on day two, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Marshall to visit Dark Horse Brewing. As we got into Marshall, there was so much to see - really beautiful homes. There's a roundabout with a fountain in the middle that we saw as we got into town. On one side of it was a historic inn and on another side of it was a museum. We knew we had to explore more. 

The museum turned out to be closed, but I noticed a sign for a welcome center and went in to ask a few questions. I told them I was a food blogger and travel writer and that we were headed to Dark Horse Brewing. A kind lady named Lynn was happy to fill us in on so many things to do and see in Marshall. She also let us know that there was another craft brewery downtown just down the street called Grand River Brewery. 

So, after having a flight at Dark Horse, we made this our next stop. We hadn't heard about the place. It didn't pop up in our online search, so we were glad we stopped and that she let us know about it.

We were kind of in between lunch and dinner and had an early breakfast, but no lunch yet, so we figured we should have a bite. Our next destination would be a tour at the Bell's Brewery, which we expected to last an hour. We knew we'd need to eat before we got there. 

We were impressed as soon as we set foot in the door. The historic building wowed us and the way they converted it into this brewery/winery/distillery was really done well.

We were handed tablets rather than paper menus. I love this concept. You are able to tap to see pictures of everything they serve. You don't get that on a paper menu. 

I spotted jager schnitzel on the menu. Schnitzel is something I love and usually get it whenever I see it on a menu. I opted for gravy on the side. It was amazing. It was served on a bed of spaetzle and saurkraut and topped with sautéed mushrooms. 

Hubby got the Grand Bacon Jam Burger - with bacon jam, gorgonzola and a béchamel blend with arugula and a side of chronic fries (garlic brown butter, bacon jam, rosemary and parmesan cheese with a balsamic reduction.)

We both tried each of the beers in our flight - a blonde ale, a red ale, a porter and two stouts. We really liked them all. I'd totally recommend a stop at this place for both the beer and the food. And with a big selection of wines and spirits yet to try, we will definitely have to revisit for some more sampling.

For more on the place and the menu, visit grbmarshall.com.