HopCat

swanson45

North Carolina

4.58/5  rDev -1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

I went here on an afternoon while on vacation. The staff was very knowledgeable and gave good recommendations. They could speak at a level for a beer snob and for someone who just wants to try something good or different. We were able to create our own beer flights which was great because they had a huge selection. It appears they have good events since the next day they were going to have a special dogfish head draught night. I recommend vacationing on Lake Michigan and take a trip to HopCat bar, Founders' Taproom, and New Holland brewing Company's pub while you are there.

05-21-2013 02:31:45 | More by swanson45

GRPunk

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

The downtown location and building are great. It's within walking distance of GR's entertainment or any pubcrawl you may want to complete in the area. It had a nice crowd, but enough space for everybody.

It has the biggest taplist I know of in West Michigan as well as a huge selection of bottled beers. It's a nice mix local, regional, and imports. Everything was served in the proper glass.

Service was friendly and helpful. After ordering my first, my waitress offered other selections that were similar or may be of interest.

The food was good and decently priced.

I would definitely suggest the HopCat to any beer lover than finds his/herself in GR.

01-11-2008 02:10:53 | More by GRPunk

crashdavisinoh

Ohio

4.6/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped by here on my first brewery tour of michigan earlier this month. Hit founders first then walked over to Hopcat. I had read a lot of great things about this place and their amazing beer selection, I couldn't wait to check it out. Probably got there at around 7 on a Friday night and had to wait for a seat at the bar (not too long though). The place was jumping. Really good atmosphere. Good engergy in the place. I like that. I like when I go to a place and it feels like people are having a good time (if that makes any sense). My gf and I get a couple menus and are blown away by the selection of what is on tap. I decided to try short's smores stout and the gf a couple pumpkin ales. I regret to say I did not sample any of hopcats own brews but fully intend to on my next trip up. I also decided to order some crack fries that I have read about in reviews on yelp and such. Pretty good...but cheese and bacon make everything better. We hung out here for a little over an hour and had a great experience. Like I said, the place was jumping...but service was exceptional. Had multiple bartenders ask if everything was good, do we need anything, etc. My only regrets are not trying one of the in house beers and not sample more off of their draftlist. Overall, one of the better brewpubs I have ever visited. Will always go back if in grand rapids.

11-23-2010 14:50:03 | More by crashdavisinoh

MarcatGSB

Michigan

4.6/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Being from the U.P. of Michigan, HopCat has been nothing but a mystical beast for me. 460 miles away, there is no way I could travel there to enjoy all it's splendor, and make it home safely, right? Well, I just happened to be passing by, so enjoy I did!

HopCat has a really great corner location right in downtown GR (which is booming with youth, Michigan's light right now). Parking can be a bit tricky, just bite the bullet and park in the nearby parking garage. It's only a short two block walk to your every wish and joy.

The beer menu is vast. I hardly even looked at the bottle list, but most of the premium bottles were in front of my in their large "beer to go" cooler, so I checked it out. Impressive. A good mix of great beers from around the U.S., some really nice Belgian treats, and the who's who of Michigan barley pops.

The tap list is incredible though. I missed the remnants of the Wood and Wild Ale festival a few weeks early, but the tap list was still very impressive. Since this was my first time visiting, I had to try a house brew, the Frontiersmen. It was an interesting American Wild Ale aged in Cedar (which always blows my mind, being a whisky guy, cedar is a huge NO NO). Beer was pretty tasty. Nice funky notes, not too sour, but good depth of flavor, and the cedar really supported what was going on.

Food was good, atmosphere was upbeat with young business people from the local community. Great stop. I will be stopping again next time I pass through. It surely lived up to all the hype I had heard.

12-20-2011 15:38:38 | More by MarcatGSB

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Wow...I read about how good this place is and had a friend of a friend tell us how great this place is...after I told them to tell her to go here. Could it live up to the hype...well, in short, Hell Yeah!

What a place inside..certainly one of the classiest beer bars I have ever seen. Beautiful wooden accents with a gorgeous bar and table area.

With 48 taps, half devoted to MI micros, and 2 engines what more could you ask for...oh well, like a few hundred bottles too! If you come here and leave unsatisfied you are jaded and picky indeed! Plus they get brewery exclusives, like the Arcadia west coast rye IPA that was AWESOME! Like if that weren't enough they will soon have their very own in house microbrewery up and running with Hopcat created brews flowing too! Geesh!

Not only did we have solid service from Cheryl, who was sporting a BA T-shirt, we got to chat with Garry, a.k.a. The ring leader but also had a breif intro to Mark Sellers, the owner of this fine establishment.

Not much food consumed, we got real smart at breakfast at our Holiday Inn express, but we had to have the Crack Fries after being told how damn good they are. Well, they are good, especially with the cheese dipping sauce! I am looking forward to coming back here and enjoying a full meal.

The Hopcat...if you EVER find yourself in GR you would be making a HUGE mistake by not visiting this place. This is place is the bomb-diggity! Plus, Founders is but a stones throw away...one of the best one-two beer combos around!

Edit:One day after my review I get a personal beermail from Mark Sellers thanking me for my review and to make sure I get in touch with him the next time we make the trip to GR. Nice touch! Thank you Mark, keep up the good work!

12-06-2008 09:59:48 | More by Deuane

dorianmarley

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

There is a reason Beer Advocate rates this place the #3 beer bar in the world: it is a blast. Hopcat makes being a beer nerd a cool and exciting experience. They have pages of available beers to choose from, including tons from Michigan and their own stuff, which is typically experimental. The place is always packed on weekends, letting the nerds depart from their basements and sample alongside real people. The food is good and American. And the people are as happy to show you new stuff as you are to try it.

02-22-2012 02:55:41 | More by dorianmarley

ROBSTARR

Michigan

4.63/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

Being from GR I'm here a lot !!! Don't know why I've never given them a review but here ya go .... The atmosphere is classic laid back artsy beer geek heaven. Soon as you walk in you get that feeling of "yep this is a great place" just by the smell. The servers are all very knowledgeable about beer and are always friendly. All though sometimes a lil slow, but they do get busy and stuck at tables of "newbies asking questions about beer". The beer selection is so substantial that one visit will never do. The food is great classic twists on general bar food. DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT TRYING THE CRACK FRIES !!! OR THE BAR CHEESE SOUP !! Over all probably the best bar to visit in Grand Rapids.

08-29-2012 23:42:44 | More by ROBSTARR

wide3345

Michigan

4.65/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

We were heading to Kalamazoo for the weekend but decided to go a bit out of our way to visit Grand Rapids and HopCat. The Kuhnhenn's were brewing the night we were there so I knew we'd have an even better time.

HopCat is situated right next to Van Andel arena and just down the street a block or so from Founders as well as a few other cool pubs and diners.

Inside HopCat they have a beautiful wood bar that goes clear to the ceiling with muchroom style bar taps situated every few feet or so. The crowd is diverse and friendly although I didn't get a chance to really meet anyone as we were busy in our own conversations.

As far as beer selection, I wouldn't go so far as to say they have the largest tap and bottle selection but I would definitely argue that their selection is by far the best in Michigan if not the Midwest. A few notables on draft: Short's Smugglin' Plums, Saison Dupont, Dark Horse Rod, Jolly Pumpkin ESBam, Rodenback Grand Cru..and on and on. They really did a nice job getting a great cross-section of Michigan brews as well as classic styles from Europe.

Their bottle selection is impressive as well. We had a Nogne IPA and an Abbey Trippel that I can't seem to remember the name of...it was good though...it was late.

Food selection is good. I enjoyed the bar cheese and the mac and cheese.

Definitely worth the extra drive if you're anywhere near Michigan!

07-16-2008 20:22:55 | More by wide3345

regeimbk

Virginia

4.65/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Had an odd run-in here with a homeless man who asked me and my girlfriend if we wanted to be in his movie and sat on top of our stuff so he could sit in our booth. However, as soon as customers complained, the man was kicked out.

The food here really is good. I've never had any complaints about it. The fish and chips is delish. Burgers are awesome. Steak is yummy. They have "crack fries" which I wouldn't call addictive, but they are good, especially when dipped in their cheese sauce. Whoever is cooking back there is doing their job.

Beer selection is awesome--duh.

Can be hard to find a table in there some nights, especially in the winter when their outdoor patio isn't open. When we were there, there wasn't a bike rack (not sure if there is one now), so we chained our bikes to a street sign. When we were getting ready to leave, a cop car pulled up beside our bikes and sat there for what felt like fifteen minutes. We had heard stories of cops ticketing bikers for locking their bikes to signs so we had to wait it out. Then we crunk road it.

05-03-2009 00:45:50 | More by regeimbk

ritzkiss

Ontario (Canada)

4.65/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

HopCat was one of the reasons I stopped in at Grand Rapids and it did not disappoint.

Great tap list - hard to choose but the guys behind the bar steered me in the right direction. Was busy when I stopped by in the afternoon (some event) but was much more subdued when I came in that night - guess Sunday night's not a busy night.

Food was good, standard pub fare. Had the quesedilla and then their flagship burger with jalapenos. Both times sat at the bar.

Great vibe, people who enjoy their beer, friendly feel. Close to the top of my list.

06-08-2009 14:16:43 | More by ritzkiss