Vander Mill has decided to embark on the best kind of goal for 2015, they are re-purposing the old B & B Beer Distributing Facility in Grand Rapids.

I'm a Beer Hound is excited to bring Cider Fest to Red Salamander in Grand Ledge on October 11th from 5:00 - ­10:00pm. Many of you might remember Lansing Fall Fest which was held at Red Salamander last year, and Cider Fest will be taking it's place.

Vander Mill has stepped it up once more for this year’s annual Fall celebration Vander Fest. Warm weather cooperated with a great lineup including some of Lakeshore’s best breweries, a dozen cideries, great food options, and amazing live music complete with laser show consistent with the best of previous year’s celebrations but also offering plenty new.

Once again, Hopcat has outdone themselves with this year’s weekend celebration of Wood & Wild, putting on tap an amazing array of all things barrel aged and/or wild including a selection aged for years in Hopcat’s own underground cellar. Also featured were a limited selection of bottles as well as some Woodford Reserve Barrel-Aged beers released as part of the Beer City Bourbon Barrel challenge.

In only a few short years, VanderFest has become the premiere fall festival for cider, wine, and beer connoisseurs in Southwest Michigan. Last year’s festival was so well attended leaving many food vendors running out of food. This was remedied this year an abundance of quality food offerings; Vendors included Saburba, Public, and Vander Mill regulars Standard Pizza Co. with their mobile wood fired pizza oven. Another great addition this year was What the Truck? offering a great selection of tacos, chicken and veggie bowls with a lot of kick.

The sold out Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Festival is just days away and the excitement is building. There will be 61 breweries showcasing over 450 beers and the festival layout has been expanded to accommodate the increased number of beer enthusiasts. This festival will be the largest single day event the Guild produces. Many of the beers that I picked to preview will only be available at the Festival. I have selected the following beers based on brewer/owner recommendations, personal intrigue, or the fact they just sounded cool. Some of these will be released at special times so check the event program and plan your attack.