Perrin Brewery

HarmonMW

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +10.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25 | $$

I have been to the Perrin brewery/brewpub 3 times, all of which have been stellar overall. I did show up there once with my fiancee on a Saturday and it was insanely busy and they don't keep a list, so it's just a bunch of lurchers staring people down for a seat. We ended up leaving that night because we were hungry, so if possible I'd try to hit it at a down time or before the big rush. Place is always clean with large windows to see into brewery area. Beer has always been top notch. Their samplers are huge (up to 9) allowing you to try most everything. So far I've had Auburn Wheat, Dark Knight Lager, DIPA, Extra Blonde, Extra Pale, I2D2, Imperial Stout, IPA, Kona Brown, Nut Brown, Pale, Porter, Raspberry Blonde, Rogue Rye, Strong Pale, and Two Faced and out of all of them there's not a dud in the group, including the blonde which is not a favorite style of mine or my fiancee. I'm not usually into fruit beers, but the Raspberry Blonde is absolutely delicious. Food has been great every time. Overall, one of our favorite places in Michigan!

04-22-2013 02:37:30 | More by HarmonMW

AlMarzo

Michigan

4.45/5  rDev +13.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25 | $$

This is one of 3 breweries that are in very close proximity to me and it has become my primary. It has good prices on a diverse selection of beers from the light to somewhat heavier. I really enjoyed the Chocolate Milk Stout, I2D2 IPA, and their Xtra Pale all of them were affordable. All their beers have a good abv for the location a little more out of the way, and kind of rural. The food is great, a few notches above standard bar food for sure. The Bumpkin Burger, The Pacifist, and even the PBC Chili dog are all worth trying at a good price. The staff is friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable; the feel is similar to Founders but a little more laid back in my opinion. Worth a visit when you come to Grand Rapids.

04-08-2013 11:05:52 | More by AlMarzo

meanmutt

Ohio

4.49/5  rDev +14.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited Perrin while in Grand Rapids on a beer-centric road trip. This place wasn't even on my radar, but it was highly recommended by a few people that my wife and I talked with while sitting at the bar at Founders.

We got there about 45 minutes after opening on a Saturday and the place was pretty empty. It's a good sized place with plenty of tables, but I was a little surprised that the bar wasn't bigger. We sat at the bar and the bartender came over immediately to get our order. We both opted for the IPA, and it was damn good. The turkey club was decent, but the onion rings were AMAZING, but I do wish the portion was bigger.

Overall, the place is kinda far out from downtown Grand Rapids, but I'd say it's worth checking out. I would go back again.

03-22-2013 20:23:51 | More by meanmutt

GVJoemomma

Michigan

4.26/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4 | $$

Comparisons will be drawn between Founders and Perrin, that is inevitable. Both strive for a garage type atmosphere. In addition, Perrin's head brewer is a Founder's alum, so there are bound to be some similarities in the beer profiles. That being said, Perrin is definitely a great place to stop in for a beer, and brewery to watch. On busy nights and weekends service can be somewhat slow, but for the most part you can expect to receive beers pretty quick and food within 5-10 minutes of placing your order. Their hummus, onion rings, and burgers are all great. I'm looking forward to exploring more options over the next few months. For a fairly new operation they have had no issues with "growing pains" with their beer. All of their brews have been excellent right out of the gate. Like another local brewery their taproom has a nice mix of staples (pale ale, IPA, stout, etc.) and rotating taps. I enjoy the fact that Perrin takes a more balanced approach to their beers. There is a time and place for every flavor, but not every beer needs to be hopped to high heaven or taste like a coffee/chocolate bomb. You can enjoy several brews at Perrin without having your palate destroyed. I will go out on a limb and say that their pale ale is by far the best in the state. It has an incredible nose and a nice, hoppy, citrusy bite to it. It really tows the line of an IPA, but man is it delicious. If you are in GR, you definitely need to give Perrin a shot. I look forward to when they start their canning operation, so I can have some on hand in my fridge. Cheers!

02-17-2013 17:18:58 | More by GVJoemomma

chromemittenman

Michigan

2.2/5  rDev -44%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2 | selection: 2 | food: 2 | $$

Visited 3 weeks after opening. It became apparent upon walking in, that they took notes from their former Founders brewing past and copied many of Founders qualities...seemed like a copy cat.

Tried a flight of the beers and 2 pints...average to below average. Their imperial stout was much below any expectations of an imperial stout such as Founders Imp Stout, Dark Horse, or Expedition Stout.

The place was packed, but I would estimate 90% of the people that were there the night I was there, would be just as happy with a Blue Moon as they would a high quality craft beer.

With so many solid offerings in the area with a much better atmosphere, menu, and locale, once is enough for me...unless, they really ramp it up. I overheard someone while I was there say, "I love this Strong Ale, it really tastes like Two-Hearted Ale". If that doesn't speak volumes to the low quality of the beers, I don't know what does.

01-21-2013 02:29:30 | More by chromemittenman

Maxroom

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Little bit "off the beaten path," but not hard to find. Plenty of parking space. Lots of tables & even room at the bar. Friendly "after work" crowd when I visited. Staff was attentive, personable, and knowledgable - of beer and the other brew-pubs in the area. Pleasing experience and a variety of tasty beers. Plan to return regularly.

01-09-2013 16:11:49 | More by Maxroom

Wildeman

Michigan

3.85/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

A brewery that came fresh out of the gate with some very solid beers. Up and down their beer list is pretty solid. I was not disappointed with any that I tried. Their food menu is a typical bar cuisine with sandwiches, burgers, and a small aray of apatizers that you could get for a side with your meal.

The stand out was by far their beer. With pretty much all bases covered for any beer drinker.

The building is "think founders on a slightly smaller scale." You can view into their bottling area from your table in the bar. The only discrepancy I have with the area is that it gets very boisterous with all kinds of sound even if it's not that full. Everything seems to echo and reverberate throughout the brewery.

Overall I'd say it's a place to check out for a good brew.
A few of their must tries are the black ale, kona brown, I2D2, nut brown, autumn, and if you can get your hands on their bourbon barrel stuff give it a try! The bourbon nut brown is probably the best bourbon barrel beer I've ever tried!

Come for the beer, food isn't bad. You shouldn't be disappointed

12-19-2012 04:32:01 | More by Wildeman

Mothergoose03

Michigan

4.08/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The wife and I stopped here while in Grand Rapids to check out a few of the new breweries in the area. This brewery is located well north of town in an out-of-the-way setting, but I think the quality of their beer and food will draw the crowds. It was crowded on a rainy Saturday afternoon while we were there.

This is a new brewery that made sure to have their beers dialed-in before they opened for business. We ordered a sampler flight with 8 beers to go along with a sandwich for each of us. The price for each beer varied from $1.00 to $1.50, depending on whether it was a tier 1, 2 or 3 beer. They were all very good, and each was an above-average example for the style. As an example of how much I was impressed, the Golden Ale that they offer is probably on the beer menu to satisfy the beer drinkers who are new to the craft beer scene so that they can drink a light-flavored beer. I usually don't like these kind of beers, but this one was very good and should prove to be a good first-step beer to the uninitiated.

The food was also very good, and the variety of menu offerings was appropriate for a brewpub. This building was built for this brewery, and it is large enough to handle the number of beers that are being brewed, plus I have heard that they intend to bottle or can their beers in the future, so there is plenty of room to do that.

We liked this brewery so much that we'll definitely go back when we're in the area again.

11-19-2012 03:58:58 | More by Mothergoose03

treepaul

Indiana

3.7/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by Perrin on our annual southwest Michigan ''beerventure''. They had been open 3 weeks at the time. First off this is not a typical newly open brewery. This is a purpose built brand new facility out in the suburbs, plenty of parking, ample industrial-styled public area with complete view of the brewing area and packaging line. All Brand new equipment start to finish - kegging, bottling and canning capability. They appear to be well positioned to jump right into the regional market - think Founders or Bells scale I would guess.

Even though they had only been open to the public for 3 weeks they had a full line of house brewed beers on tap. Food is fairly typical pub type fair cleverly served out of a built in ''food truck'' style catering trailer. Wait staff was attentive even if a little green. Early lunch crowd was light but building and the wait staff reported that they've been filling the place every night. Sounds like a good start.

We limited ourselves to the 9 beer sampler of house beers due to a long drive home. A good collection of solid brews with a good spread of styles for any preference. I thought the styles got a little blurred in the pale ale, IPA zone, but my memory is a bit hazy.

This is definitely a brewery to watch. They have hit the ground running and are well positioned to jump right in to the southwest Michigan quality beer community. I look forward to a return trip when I can spend some time and really get to know their beers.

10-10-2012 15:07:16 | More by treepaul

jbierling

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 2 | $$

Brand new brewery as of September 2012. Perrin offers 3oz samples for between $1-1.50 which is a great way to try their beers. 16oz pints for between $3-5.25 which I think is more than fair for draft micro-brews. The food was less impressive although the prices were reasonable.

There was a large downstairs area with a "food truck" kitchen. A smaller more private area was upstairs with a piano. It was quite elegant. There were large open windows opening to the brewing area. Unfortunately it was unlit at night.

The wait staff was new but very accommodating.

09-30-2012 16:00:27 | More by jbierling