2026 Beer City Brewers Fest

October 3, 2026 at Calder Plaza

One of the most surprising features of Grand Rapids’ award-winning beer scene is how well the people making and selling the beer get along. They may battle each other for market share, but the brewers of Beer City USA are a collegial bunch with a history of supporting each other and our beer-loving community.

In fact, local breweries and related businesses came to together in 2016 to form the Beer City Brewers Guild. This non-profit venture was organized to raise awareness of the local craft brewing culture through events, charitable giving, knowledge sharing and collaborations.

Over the years, Guild members have produced collaborative beers, transformed area breweries into art galleries and organized alternative events for Winter Beer Fest ticketholders when that event was postponed due to flooding of LMCU Ballpark. They’ve teamed up with Friends of GR Parks to raise funds to purchase and plant trees around the city. They’ve helped member breweries achieve food safety certifications for their staff members.

And they’ve hosted an annual community festival inviting the public to sample and celebrate the incredible diversity and craftsmanship of Grand Rapids beers. This year’s Beer City Brewers Festival will be held Oct. 3 at Calder Plaza.

This is a new name for a festival that dates back to August 2016, when the Guild’s inaugural event, dubbed HopStock, debuted at Calder Plaza with beer samples, food trucks and musical entertainment. The event has switched names, dates and locations a few times since then – and it skipped a year due to Covid – but the celebratory spirit has remained intact. It’s always a fun and festive occasion for breweries and attendees alike.

Group of friends using the Beer City Brewsader app at a local brewery.

With over 20 breweries participating in 2024, the ProAm event continues to thrive, showcasing the best of brewing.

Photo by Brian Kelly for Experience GR

Pros and Amateurs Working Together

The Guild ratcheted up the excitement in 2017 by introducing a ProAm component. Guild members collaborated with local homebrewers to create original beers and compete against each other in a fun and friendly competition. A panel of jurors evaluated the entries per Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines to determine a winner. The event was such a hit that it became the defining feature of the event going forward.

While the Grand Rapids beer scene is internationally recognized for its 35+ professional breweries, the local homebrewing scene is also impressive, with a number of clubs offering amateur brewers the opportunity to get together regularly to share tips, swap recipes and share a pint. Members of the different clubs compete to create the best homebrew each year. Their entries are evaluated by Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judges and the members with the highest-scoring beers are invited to participate in the ProAm alongside local craft brewers.

A May event brings professionals and amateurs together to determine ProAm teams. Homebrewers pick brewery names out of a hat, ensuring random assignments. The teams then get to work collaborating on an original recipe. More than 20 brewery-homebrewer teams are competing in 2026.

The teams are vying to succeed last year’s winners, Big Lake Brewing and Paul Arends, who collaborated to create Painkiller IPA, an Imperial Pale Ale inspired by the tropical cocktail.

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The Beer City Brewers Festival offers a perfect chance to unwind and enjoy unique beers, live music, and more.

Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR

Vote for the People’s Choice

Each year, the ProAm creations are offered on tap at their respective breweries for guests to enjoy, starting about two weeks before the Festival on Oct. 3. Votes are cast using the free Beer City Brewsader® app, available on Google Play and the Apple Store.

Introduced in 2025, the people’s choice award is bestowed alongside the longstanding juried award,  just as the annual ArtPrize competition gives separate awards to artists who win a public vote and those deemed the best by a panel of experts. The Mitten Brewing Company and homebrewer Dan Kurtz took home the inaugural people’s choice award last year for their Raisin’ a Pint, an oatmeal raisin cookie Blonde Ale.

Both 2026 awards will be announced in the final hour of the Beer City Brewers Festival – it runs from 3-8pm – and each winner will receive a trophy and a year’s worth of bragging rights.

This year’s Beer City Brewers Festival takes place the final day of ArtPrize 2026, and it’s a great opportunity to relax and refresh in between trying to see all the art you can before it’s gone. 

Entry is free and there will be entertainment for all ages, including live music, food trucks, a bazaar and free caricature drawings. Adults over 21 years of age who want to sample beers will be carded and given a wristband enabling them to buy tasting tickets.  

The Brewers Festival is the most visible example of the way the local beer community pulls together to advance and promote the craft of beer, and further burnish Grand Rapids’ status as America’s Best Beer City. Come down to enjoy some unique beers and have a great time!

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Vote for your favorite ProAm beer in the new People's Choice Award, with results announced alongside the juried awards at the festival.

Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR

Participating Breweries

ProAm collaborations will be available at these breweries starting Sept. 18. If you haven’t already, download the Beer City Brewsader app so you can vote in the people’s choice competition.

 

Brewery Homebrewer Beer Name Description
Adesanya Mead & Microbrewery Matthew Mead Belgian Sunset Starting with the idea of a Belgian Golden Strong, we lightened it up, making it sessionable but then pushed things to the Braggot realm. Using European Pilsen, Munich, Vienna and Honey malts, fermented with Belgian Abbey yeast, Orange Blossom honey in primary and then a touch more OB honey in brite, this Belgian Golden Session Braggot was born.
Archival Brewing Bob Rogers Garded Tradition Traditional Bier de Garde, aged with apple brandied French oak, with calypso hops.
Bier Distillery & Brewery Mark Rocheleau Weiz in the Sky (with Diamonds) A classic German Hefeweizen brewed for maximum flavor expression, with a wheat-forward malt bill and expressive yeast character. Expect ripe banana, soft clove, bready malt, and a smooth, fluffy, and refreshing finish. Created as a collaboration to bring authentic flavor and easy drinkability together. Perfect for celebrating Oktoberfest with a little Bavarian flair.
Big Lake Brewing Eric Slater Talking Bock Talking Bock is a chocolate Doppelbock brewed in collaboration with homebrewer Eric Slater of the Rivertown Homebrewer's Club. This Doppelbock was brewed with chocolate wheat malt (no actual chocolate added!) to give it a rich, velvety malt character and then lagered for several weeks, giving it a full body and depth of flavor.
Bob's Brewery Chad Banks Island in the Sun A pale, standard strength saison, with a generous amount of Mandarina Bavaria hops. Flavored with green peppercorns and blood orange purée.
Brick Haus Brews Shawn Roman King Crimson Brewed with rich Black Treacle, this Old Ale showcases a robust malt complexity infused with tasting notes of fig, raisin and red currant. Presents a mild wood character and residual warmth courtesy of it being aged on bourbon soaked oak chips.
Burzurk Brewing          Steve Morren Resting Wit Face A classic Belgian Wit featuring sweet orange peel, ground coriander, Saaz hops, and Belgian Abbey yeast. Locally sourced lavender & chamomile tea was steeped into the beer post fermentation to give the drinker a harmonious citrus & herbal experience.
Coopersville Brewing Bryce Hunter Pro-Amber A Hoppy American Amber ale brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops. Gluten reduced.
Founders Brewing Co. Ian Purvis Drumstick Mild A dark mild ale inspired by the classic British beer from Birmingham (think Peaky Blinders and heavy metal origins!), with caramel and chocolate maltiness, and light roast, but hopped with Michigan Chinook for tropical and citrus notes. A Brit would call this sacrilege!
Flat River Brewing Gregory Sanial Michicommon Michicommon is our take on the California Common: an American West Coast original style. We selected Michigan-grown ingredients to make this beer stand out: malts from Great Lakes Malting Company and Michigan-grown hops from Michigan Hop Alliance. The result is a toasty, malt-forward ale with distinctly fruity characteristics from the hops and yeast, and a prominent, balancing bitterness.
Gravel Bottom Craft Brewery Matt Bair Krushable A session New England IPA brewed with Krush and Mosaic hops, floor malted czech pilsner, malted oats, and wheat. It is finished off with a dosage of quantum computation... or rather hop extract.
Harmony Brewing Co. Charlie Gies Chuckles Lemon Grass Winter Witbier brewed with lemon zest and lemongrass. Spicy-clovey wit yeast melds with the gingery lemony earthy flavors of the lemongrass to create a bright, refreshing, crushable brew. Double lemongrassed; steeped at whirlpool and cold passed through a hop back on the way to the bright tank for an extra aromatic punch.
The Mitten Brewing Co. Nick Rodammer Olde English D A re-imagined, ultra premium take on the "classic" malt liquor. A blend of Pilsner malt, rice, and a light touch of Dolcita hops make this more than just your average party store 40.
Oakestown Brewery Paul Curran Let Them Drink Cake It's a Red Velvet Golden Milk Stout. Our goal was to make a red velvet cake in a glass. Its rich, creamy, chocolatey, and as red as a red velvet cake should be. Contains Lactose, Vanilla, Cacao, & Coffee.
Perrin Brewing Co. Craig Buno 1836 Kent Street This traditional English style Best Bitter was brewed in collaboration with Craig Buno of Rivertown Homebrewers for the annual Beer City Pro-Am Competition. Brewed as a homage to the first brewer in Grand Rapids, with tradition in mind. Bready and biscuity English malt meets earthy, herbal hops and a touch of caramel. Proceeds from this beer will help support Kent District Library.
Rockford Brewing Co. Justin Solack Rocktoberfest This German style Festbier is a smooth, crisp, easy drinking lager, with Hallertauer Mittelfruh and Tettnang hops. A perfect beer to enjoy with friends.
Third Nature Brewing Co. Lars Poleski Uncle Dunkel It is a German dark wheat beer with a Weizen yeast profile accompanied by richer caramel notes and a deeper mahogany color. Despite its dark color, it is an easy drinker for fall time festivities.
Thornapple Brewing Co. Paul Arends Brunch Stout A decadent oatmeal stout brewed with dark chocolate, coffee, and brown sugar. Copious amounts of dark chocolate and locally sourced coffee add layers of flavor and complexity to this velvety beer.
Trail Point Brewing Co. Dan Kurtz Kactus Kooler Kactus Kooler is a bright and refreshing prickly pear margarita sour made with juicy prickly pear, lime, and a touch of sea salt. It starts with a fruity sweetness, followed by zesty lime and a crisp, tart finish.
TwoGuys Brewing Brent Duncan Twisted Bitter A Best Bitter with a twist. We wanted something to help ring in the fall/winter season. Using hops that push the more earthy, herbal and ever so slightly citrus flavors. Accenting the malt background of bready, slight biscuity and toffee. A Best Bitter that has a more welcoming approach to the style.
Vivant Brewery + Spirits Dick Thunder Dort Thunder Dortmunder Lager. Malt, hops, water, and yeast in their most exalted form.
White Flame Brewing Co. Matt Ransom Half Bocked Half Bocked is an approachable session Festbier. Malt-forward with a deep gold hue, this well balanced lager is pressure-fermented, right on time for the season.